Billy Graham on technology and faith | Video on

Billy Graham on technology and faith | Video on

Speech Evaluation 101

Purpose: To get people thinking that technology or science is not the answer to the heart of the problem of humanity.

Thesis: Technology does not solve problems. The problem is within us, within our hearts and our souls and the solution is in knowing the person of Jesus Christ.

Preacher Graham easily gained the interest of the people. He got his audience to follow his jokes as he went on with the introductory part of the speech. Laughter and applause from the audience determined that he got their attention. Ethos was established such that though people knew he was a widely invited speaker, he shared personal experiences of his invitations to speak by top-notch personalities around the world.

He stated the purpose of his speech very well. He presented the story of David from the Bible. David was a man who brought about technological revolution among the Israelites that solved many problems. But on the other hand he was also aware of the human evil that technology could not solve. As he shared this, he also hit on his thesis again. Graham then transitions to present his thesis by sharing several famous scientists and philosophers dismay at the same problem.


The speaker goes on to restate his thesis. Though technology projects the mortality of man, in reality it has not been able to overcome the inevitability of sufferings and death. He supports this with several people who have lived their life as if death would never come, but at their deathbeds they have shared with the speaker about their regrets and fear for death. As he concludes he shares about his own waywardness and how at a certain time in his life he knew the person of Jesus Christ that has forever changes his perceptions toward life and death. Having known Jesus as his Savior and Lord, he is forever ready to hear that call and be at the presence of God.

Speakers sources were his personal experiences. He also quoted from the Bible and quoted well-known and established quotations of scientists and philosophers. Graham’s verbal expressiveness during speeches is considered to be flawless. He comes across with just the right depth of passion and confidence while delivering his speech. So to speak, his non-verbal expressiveness does not need to be mentioned. He maintained eye contact and used his arms and body effectively. However, due to his old-age he also had notes ready in front of his that he occasionally glances at but did not spend a long time reading off the notes.

The fact that the audience laughed and applauded speaks for itself that he entertained the audience with this storytelling skills also. The following served the audience well:

The speech was very simple. Speaker used a very simple and well-known story from the Bible to make his point that even a non-Christian would know about.

The following required additional attention:

His speech consisted of many famous individuals he interacted with. Since he used the examples of so many, he could not spend a long time in detailing the experience with all of them. It would have been better if he had shared just a few personal experiences and spent more time on just that few.

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