Entrepreneurship by Edison Chen

Speech Analysis
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Abstract
The focus of this paper is to analyze a speech titled “Entrepreneurship,” given by Edison Chen at New York University, New York. This paper contains pertinent biographic information about Edison Chen, commentary on Edison Chen’s content, commentary on Edison Chen’s use of verbal and non-verbal communication, and conclusions on the power of communication.
Speech Analysis
The speaker of the speech titled “Entrepreneurship” is Edison Chen, a Hong Kong-Canadian born on 7 October 1980 (Last.fm, 2019). Chen is a multi-talented personality. He is a singer, actor, musician, fashion designer, producer, and entrepreneur. His acting career began in 2002 when he starred in the film Dead or Alive 2: Birds. Since then, he has worked in Asian and American film projects. Chen made his first music debut in 2004 after landing a record deal with Emperor Entertainment Group. He released several back-to-back albums, which helped him secure a place in the music industry. Chen founded CLOT Inc., a clothing empire that revolutionized the fashion industry in China and Hong Kong (Beinghunted, 2001). He is also the co-founder of JUICE, a clothing line that has branches in Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. In 2007, Chen invested ten million Hong Kong Dollars in Clot Media Division, which is his own multi-media firm that produces music albums, commercials, and movies.
Chen gave his speech in September 2017 to an academic audience in New York University, New York, at the China-U.S Entrepreneurship and Business Forum. His underlying message was that the world should realize that there is nothing wrong with “Made in China.” He lets his Chinese audience with a Western upbringing or a Western education know that work quality should be the same in all countries (1:36-1:42). Chen believes that the pros and cons of products, as well as the quality of work standards, cannot be changed because of geographical or environmental changes. He also hopes that sooner rather than later, when individuals talk about China-made products, they would not think of defective or substandard products.
In the speech, Chen is trying to address the prevalent foreigners’ distortions of Chinese made products and up the bar on how people perceive Chinese products. He uses ethos to explain his firsthand experience of “Made in China” stereotypes in the early stages of his career. When he started CLOT Inc., Chen let everyone know that his products are made in China. Most individuals were not pleased with this. When he tried to find out the reason behind the opposition, individuals gave reasons such as baby products from China have LEDs in them, and Chinese products are getting recalled in America (3:15-3:32). He also received comments such as “if you are a Chinese company, that means you are producing cheap and low-level quality” (17:01-17:07). When Chen first approached NIKE about a joint venture of running shoes, he was rejected. NIKE stated that they do not make shoes for Hong Kong-based companies, even though half their shoes are made in China (4:28-4:44). Nike was not willing to give Chen a chance to target the international market. He did not give up. Instead, he spent three years improving product design and quality to show NIKE that CLOT Inc. is not below par compared to other creatives. Ten years down the line, his brand has created six pairs of NIKE running shoes. Currently, his company has secured a NIKE deal (5:10-5:15).
Chen uses pathos to appeal to his audience’s sensibilities. In the modern world, most individuals want to do what is popular, and they often neglect their passion. He tells his audience that they should find a job that they love and not settle for a job simply because it is the next available option. By doing this, the job will not feel like a job because “it is something that you are passionate about and something that you want the whole world to know” (10:02-10:14). He also tells his audience that they should not pursue a particular career because of financial gains because passion is first and finance is secondary (10:36-1045).
Chen uses logos to prove that “Made in China” products are of superior quality. He describes a street convention in Los Angeles known as Complex Khan, where all the best people, musicia...