In his "I Have a Dream" speech, Martin Luther King, Jr., uses the fact that he is a father to build rapport with his audience. Find an example of...

Building rapport with an audience helps listeners pay attention to the speaker, and it increases the persuasiveness of the message. This is part of an ethos appeal, or an appeal based on the speaker's or the message's credibility. A good way to build rapport is to find a connection with the audience--something the speaker has in common with his listeners. In his speech, King wanted to connect with fellow blacks who were listening, and he...

Building rapport with an audience helps listeners pay attention to the speaker, and it increases the persuasiveness of the message. This is part of an ethos appeal, or an appeal based on the speaker's or the message's credibility. A good way to build rapport is to find a connection with the audience--something the speaker has in common with his listeners. In his speech, King wanted to connect with fellow blacks who were listening, and he did so by acknowledging some of the hardships that discrimination caused them, such as being denied a room in a hotel or suffering from police brutality. But he also wanted to connect with his white listeners. He did that by referencing concepts that both blacks and whites revered, namely the Declaration of Independence and the "American Dream."

As he begins to outline how his dream for America fits into the American Dream that both blacks and whites hold dear, he mentions his role as a father to his four children. 

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

This is a powerful part of his speech because fatherhood is a role shared by all races. Any man listening who was a father, hoped to be a father, or had a father would be able to identify with King's words. Indeed, any woman who was a mother, hoped to be a mother, or had a mother would also agree with the desire for children to be treated fairly. By gaining this rapport with both men and women, blacks and whites, King was able to argue persuasively for a common goal, a day 

where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.