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I Am Malala Nobel Peace Prize Speech

Malala Yousafzai's 2014 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech was a moving and effective speech that highlighted her advocacy for women's education. In the speech, she thanked world leaders for recognizing her work and not limiting her potential. She shared her personal experience being shot by the Taliban for going to school and expressed her hope that all children, especially girls, can become learners. Malala called on leaders and people everywhere to ensure every child receives an education.

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Will Watson
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225 views5 pages

I Am Malala Nobel Peace Prize Speech

Malala Yousafzai's 2014 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech was a moving and effective speech that highlighted her advocacy for women's education. In the speech, she thanked world leaders for recognizing her work and not limiting her potential. She shared her personal experience being shot by the Taliban for going to school and expressed her hope that all children, especially girls, can become learners. Malala called on leaders and people everywhere to ensure every child receives an education.

Uploaded by

Will Watson
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Peace Prize Speech –

A Study in Rhetoric

Malala was named one of the world’s 100 Most Influential People by Time Magazine in 2013.

Since the Taliban shot Malala on her way to school in October 2012 for advocating
education for girls, she has become world famous.
The following is her acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize of 2014. It is an
extremely moving and effective speech. Some have already called it a classic.
Read the speech text, and then complete the below tasks as to why the speech is
so powerful. You may work with a partner (Include both names or work by yourself
but no groups of three).
Names _William Watson_ _Lucas Barton_

● The speech - text

TASKS
1) Questions:

a) In two sentences tell what Malala’s speech is about.


About being a nobel prize winner, thanking everyone, and about speaking up about
women's rights. She is addressing the girls that don’t have the chances that she gets
for education and she wants to fix that.
b) To whom is Malala speaking?
Explain the purpose of her speech.
The leaders of the world, and people in general, she is addressing why she has stood
up for children's education and that she and other girls can learn just as boys can

c) Give at least three reasons why Malala deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
● Campaigning for women's rights
● Resisting the taliban
● Co-writing an influential book

2) Rhetoric:
A speech is a different form of communication than the written word. Often it tries to
persuade, inspire and move its listeners. To that end, it has a particular set of tools at its
disposal, tools that taken together are known as rhetorical methods. Malala makes good
use of some of these in her speech. This is particularly impressive given that she is only
17 years old and is speaking in a foreign language – English.
Find examples of these rhetorical methods used in her speech. Compare your results
with your partner.
● The use of humor to disarm the audience and gain its attention and sympathy.

Example(s) using jokes about preaching peace and fighting with her brothers

● Words and phrases (refrains) that are used to underline points and give rhythm
to the lines spoken.

Example(s) “thank you for not clipping my wings”

● The stating of questions through which the speaker is in fact expressing an


opinion – also known as “rhetorical questions.”

Example(s) “do you not know, if you kill one person it is as if you kill all of humanity?”

● The use of repetition to hammer home a point.


Example(s) I am Malala. But I am also Shazia. I am Kainat. I am Kainat Soomro. I am Mezon
Saying that her voice is that of many people, i am i am i am

● Direct appeals to members of the audience as individuals.

Example(s) everyone must try to help

● Setting up clear alternatives and choosing the most moral or virtuous ones.

Example(s) impracticality, expense, implossibility of educating children

● Using one phrase to focus the intention of the speech as a whole.

Example(s) I am not raising my voice, I am raising the voice of those sixty-six million girls

3) Structure:
a) A good speech is well structured, moving from one focus to another smoothly. Look
through Malala’s speech and use the suggested headings below to decide at which
point in it she moves from one area to another.

● Welcome and thanks


Thanks the leaders of the world and the nobel committee

● Personal background and experiences


The bus situation

● Scope and ambition


To stop children from going uneducated
● Hopes for the future
Hopes to fund and create schools and give education to women.

b) This speech moves smoothly from the local and personal perspective to the
universal and general viewpoint. Discuss how Malala manages to make this transition.
What effect does this have on the impact of the speech as a whole?
She moves from speaking to the audience in the room to speaking to everyone that
ends up seeing the video, It makes the speech have an impact on others around the
world

4) Presentation:

Watch Malala give her speech on YouTube. The speech - video


Make a note of where she uses the following speech techniques to engage her
audience:

How quickly or slowly she speaks -


slowly
How she makes use of her intonation (varying the rhythm and strength of her voice) -
When saying she is one of 66 million
The way she uses gestures to emphasis points or to refer to others in the audience or
the world in general -
Waving hands
Low tone
How she maintains eye contact while using a written manuscript -
To keep the audience entangled with her speech
Other -
Then discuss in groups the effects of these techniques and compare your observations
with those of the rest of your class.

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