The Effectiveness of Robert De Niro’s Graduation Speech for New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Class of 2015

Robert De Niro gave the graduation speech for New York University's Tisch School of  the Arts class of 2015. He spoke about the way society perceives the arts as an illogical career path, and that there will be rejection and struggle in the students' futures. He assures them that these things are expected and should not discourage them. Without explicitly saying so, De Niro argues that resiliency is the key to this industry. He conceals his message that there each student has to be their own light at the end of the dark tunnel that they will enter in once they attempt to work in the arts. De Niro's goal is for his speech to encourage the students to take his advice, which gives the speech an element of persuasion. Overall, De Niro's speech inspires his audience and his method of organization primarily allows him to gain attention, earn credibility, inform, and persuade his audience effectively.

The main reason that the speech is effective is that it is well-organized. De Niro structured the speech to move from attitude to action. He begins by saying that following one's passion to study the arts leads to a pattern of rejection and joblessness. He explains that it will be easy for the students' attitudes to be negative, but then he reassures them. He changes gears to encourage them to be ready for the potential rejection, which he says is normal and okay. His advice is that they continually say "next" when an opportunity or job passes by. This advice contributes to the effectiveness of the speech because it takes a real negative situation that the students will likely face, and turns it into a positive. Turning negatives into positives is the quintessence of the communications and arts industry.

With the attitude to action structure, De Niro is able to accomplish other organizational feats that afford his message its effectiveness. His introduction is saturated with humor, the body of his speech is a mix of his own personal stories and inspirational phrases, and his conclusion drives home the action that De Niro wants the students to accept as the best route to take in their futures.

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Before De Niro even begins his introduction, he pauses and says that he has to blow his nose. He also points out the impracticality of the gowns due to their lack of accessibility to your pockets. Through these gestures and awkwardness, De Niro establishes that he is not nervous. Then once he actually begins the speech he expletively tells the Tisch school graduates, "[y]ou made it, and you're f***ed." The audience sincerely laughs at this joke because everyone realizes that it is more difficult for arts students to get jobs than doctors or lawyers. However, he does not leave them disheartened. He also tells them, "[w]hen it comes to the arts, passion should always trump common sense." This lays the foundation for De Niro to talk about passion and the legitimacy of earning an art degree. He continues to incorporate humor throughout the speech, and uses it to convey a keen awareness of his audience. For example, he makes a joke about how the arts can lead to drugs, and says that he would approve of having a couple of drinks when you have to speak in front of graduates and their families. De Niro's use of humor shows that he is not nervous, which strengthens his portrayal of believing his own messages.

In the body of his speech, De Niro tells a list of stories from his career history. For example, he wanted to play the role of Martin Luther King Jr., but did not get the part. He read for another role seven times, but the producer and director instead chose an actor who was more well-known that he was at the time. Then De Niro intermixes bits of encouragement and advice. He tells the students to "[1]isten to all of it and listen to yourself." As well as other short phrases including: "don't be afraid to fail," "if you don't go, you'll never know," "[r]ejection. It isn't personal," and to always say "next" if an audition or application does not go in their favor. These phrases would be easy for the students to call upon if they become discouraged in their futures.

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