Rhetorical devices

Direct address

In the talk “How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds every day”, Tristan Harris mainly relies on direct address. He addresses the audience directly from the beginning of the speech, when he invites attendees to imagine the extent of the influence of tech companies and internet platforms on human psychology: 

I want you to imagine walking into a room, a control room with a bunch of people, a hundred people, hunched over a desk with little dials, and that that control room will shape the thoughts and feelings of a billion people. This might sound like science fiction, but this actually exists right now, today. (ll. 1-4)

This captures the attention of his audience right from the start and makes them feel involved in the talk. 

The use of direct address continues throughout the talk. The audience is directly involved in the talk when Harris uses “you” and “your”, like in the following example:

Today, let’s say your friend cancels dinner on you, and you are feeling a little bit lonely. And so what do you do in that moment? You open ...