Stephen Colbert hosts a late-night show, "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," whereby he discusses the various dynamics in American society. Through comedy and satire, Colbert has established a strong show, which most Americans love watching. In Colbert's show, the relevant and new concepts in society are discussed. Music, entertainment, technology, business, and politics are the most crucial topics of discussion under this show. The participants in the CBS show are prominent politicians, trending celebrities, new business leaders, theorists, music personnel, sports personnel, and other personalities in American society. On 1st June 2020, Colbert held the show, with the wake of mass protests over the Minneapolis police brutality (Colbert, 2020). In this show, Colbert addresses the demonstrations by using Donald Trump as the primary basis for his argument. Colbert takes numerous quotes from Trump's social media account, Twitter, and uses the quotes to provide elaborate critic into Mr. Trump. In this show, Colbert introduces the aspect of advertisement, where he crafts his way into the series, "Taken." In achieving his intended message, Colbert uses various forms of communication effectively. Connectedly, this paper analyzes this show and establishes the multiple concepts of communication depicted, and then gives my reflection based on the show.
Communication is an essential aspect in life, and Colbert perfectly incorporates all the various elements of communication, to pass his desired message (Colbert, 2020). In this communication, Colbert acts as the sender, whereby he sends the message to the millions of people watching him around the world. As the sender, he uses various communication forms, including; verbal, non-verbal, visual, and written, to ensure that the audience understands his message ( Willkomm, 2018) . The message in this show is political, with Colbert urging Americans to be their presidents, guide themselves into doing the right things, and ignoring Trump's racist sentiments. Colbert uses television and YouTube as his primary channels for transmitting his message, with Americans and online fans being the key receivers of his word. Even though there is no direct communication between the sender and the receiver in this communication, Colbert expects to see the viewers' reaction on his social media accounts, with the comments section presenting viewers with an opportunity to air their views.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Throughout the video, Colbert employs all the forms of communication to pass his message effectively. In verbal communication, Colbert uses humorous language, with the incorporation of satire, to ensure that his audience finds the show interesting to watch. Colbert displays confidence in his voice, whereby his choice of words and tone depicts the importance of the message he is portraying. Colbert also represents clarity in his message, with a moderate speed, pitch, volume, and voice modulation. These techniques ensure that the message is clearly understood. Colbert is, for instance, perfect in mimicking Trump's voice, whereby he expresses the words that Trump would have said, and in doing this, Colbert creates a humorous yet informative scene for the audience.
Non-Verbal communication has a crucial part in shaping Colbert's communication. In his presentation, Colbert uses the non-formal form of communication to express himself. For instance, he uses gestures to imply Trump's reaction to the protests. Colbert shifts his non-verbal techniques to fit the emotional attachments in the message he presents. For instance, he frowns when showing Trump's non-empathetic sentiments to the demonstrators.
Colbert uses rhetoric appeals to win his audience, employing logos, ethos, and pathos throughout the video. In the use of logos, Colbert presents an equation relating human beings with matter and energy, E=MC2. (Colbert, 3:54 to 3:55). This equation aims at triggering the audience to have confidence in the message being relayed. Pathos is also presented in various forms; Trump's Twitter account shows the credibility of Colbert's argument. Apart from using logos, Colbert also employs ethos. He compares the ethical standards of Trump and other historically unethical people, a move that aims at selling the idea that Trump is unethical in his approach. For instance, Colbert uses President Nixon, who is widely known for carelessness, to show that Trump is even worse. In his expression of ethos, Colbert, (4:30 to 4:31) shows a quote of Nixon's visit to protesting students. Colbert also presents incredible pathos, whereby he seeks the emotional affiliation of his audience by using emotional examples to show Trump's wickedness in a satirical manner. For instance, showing the solidarity of all the races in condemning this act is triggers emotional response among the audience.
My perception of this type of communication is that it intends to win the audience to follow a common purpose. The form of communication presented in this video helps in driving people towards a common goal, as well as advertising for some entities. In this communication, Colbert criticizes Trump in a satirical manner, which creates humor for the audience. Using both this form of communication is critical in passing the intended message to a broad audience. In this case, both the white population and the black population will be united in condemning Trump's perspective of the issue. Thus, in my opinion, Colbert wants people to not only find humor in his show but also to understand the implications of Trump's comments on the issue.
After watching this show, I have learned various lessons on personal communication, and intend to apply the lessons in my academic, social, and career life. In my communication, I will apply all the techniques learned from this video to ensure effective communication. My communication will incorporate both the verbal and non-verbal forms to win my audience. Using non-verbal forms of communication helps the audience understand the message being driven well. In oral communication, I have also learned about the application of the elements of communication. As part of communication, I must understand the role of the sender, the receiver, and the actual message being relayed. Understanding this concept will significantly help me in establishing effective communication. These elements are pivotal in ensuring turn-taking in communication. Having understood the applicability of these elements, I will put them into practice to achieve great success in my communication.
In my personal life, applying the techniques learned from this show will result in a massive improvement in my communication with other people. For instance, I will stage effective communications, whereby my points will much reflect all the components of effective communication. In arguments, both formal and non-formal, I will present verbal and non-verbal techniques to win the arguments.
In my academic and career life, communication is an essential component that I must effectively employ to present my arguments. In the presentation of projects in my job market and presentation of essays in the academics, I will apply the rhetoric appeals as applied in Colbert's show. For instance, I will ensure that all my arguments have pathos, ethos, and logos to win my audience. Pathos is critical in any argument because they present the audience with situations, which require emotional attachments. By triggering emotions from the audience, I will have successfully won their attention to my argument. Ethos will similarly ensure that my arguments have an ethical basis and give the audience a reason to consider them. Logos will similarly provide a logical basis for my arguments, which will ensure that my audience has no doubts about my arguments.
References
Colbert, Stephen. (2020, June, 1). After Days of Unrest, America needs Moral Leadership, instead, we have Donald Trump [Video file]. Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Retrieved from, https://youtu.be/RuU-SHQljDQ
Willkomm, C. A. (2018). Five Types of Communication. Goodwin College of Professional Studies. Retrieved from, https://drexel.edu/goodwin/professional-studies- blog/overview/2018/July/Five-types-of-communication/
