Robyn O Brien's Speech

Rachel Lawrence
Mr. Dan Szymczak
English 1320.320
12 February 2014

Robyn O 'Brien: Preventing Productions of Poisonous Pabulum

In 2011, Robyn O 'Brien spoke at a TED talk conference in Austin, Texas on the controversial topic of Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs. She lectured the audience on the importance of Americans knowing what goes into our food that we eat. O 'Brien revealed many shocking statistics about the correlations between cancers and food allergies to the modern modifying of the milk, soy, and corn industries. She made herself known as the run-of-the-mill stereotypical mom who was unaware of the additional ingredients in our food until one day her child broke out in an allergic reaction to a product that had been genetically
modified. Now O 'Brien is an advocate of organic foods and for Americans to make a change in the way that our products of consumption are produced. Robyn O 'Brien 's speech convinced many on the connections between health problems and modified foods through her relatable delivery, use of emotion, and detailed evidence. O 'Brien came off to the audience as a conventional "soccer mom" towards the beginning of her speech as she talked about her four children and her standard routines she carries out with them.
She went in depth to speak on how she never wondered what was in her children 's food, just as many other uniformed moms do. O 'Brien also disclosed that she didn 't ever think about what might be in her food as she said she, "was raised on Twinkies and poboys." She had an extremely relatable presence throughout her lecture by connecting with so many common American parents who are unaware of this scandalous information. She presented herself as a woman who was once uninformed, but who now knows the truth to let the audience know they can become informed and passionate as well. O 'Brien also talks on the points of allergies and how when she was a child she knew no one who had a food allergy, but how in current times they are so common in the midst of small children. She speaks on how in the dark she once was to make the audience feel that they are not inferior to her. O 'Brien used these relatable points to convince the audience to believe in her stance on harmful foods and it makes her credible to her
listeners. In addition to O 'Brien 's positive use of relatable content, she also used emotions positively in her informative speech. She makes a strong effort to connect with the audience by pausing for long periods of time for a dramatic effect and also by staring directly into the camera to attempt to emphasize a point. This use of emotion works well with her persuasive evidence, because she wants the audience to feel as passionate as she does . It is easy to tell from the look on O 'Brien 's face that she was genuinely heartbroken when she describes how she fed her children and husband modified milk. She even becomes slightly teary eyed because she feels disappointed in herself for being so naive about food. This proves her point to the audience that they should care about modified foods as well. On a lighter note, O 'Brien also uses comedy in her speech to lighten the mood. She described the funny conversation she had with her eldest son before she set out on her journey to make a difference; he said, "Mom, you 're going to need a bigger team." The audience chuckled and she used the joke as a transition into her attempt at a successful career as a public speaker. Her constructive use of emotion and passion was beneficial to her lecture. One of O 'Brien 's best talking points in her lecture was the appalling evidence that she used to convince the audience. She had a few graphs that are very affective to proving her point; some that could even possibly make one question what the United States government wants for its citizens health. She had graphs on the studies that show the rising number of people who have cancer and statistics showing how much higher cancer rates are in the United States compared to other nations due to modified food sources. O 'Brien also used shocking statistics that made a compelling argument to prove her points as valid. Some of the statistics she used were comparisons of population demographics from one year to another to show how drastically the rates of child food allergies have risen. The results of the year to year statistics had increased to a point where the shocking degree of the evidence plays on the emotions of the audience as well. O 'Brien obviously did her research; her evidence was convincing, effective and made her argument strong. O 'Brien shed light on an extremely controversial topic that deserved much of America 's attention. In conclusion, Robyn O 'Brien did amazing work convincing the audience of her cause to make food sources in the United States more natural, because of her personable presence, her plays on the audience 's emotions, and the dramatic evidence she had analyzed. Not only did O 'Brien convince the audience to be more proactive about having healthier ingredients in their diet, she did it in a successful manner.

Works Cited

O 'Brien, Robyn. "Robyn O 'Brien at TEDxAustin 2011". Youtube. 24 March 2011. Web. 4 February 2014