He primarily begins his speech by directly addressing his audience, the American people. He said: “We know that we share this pain with everyone in our country. This is truly a national loss. In doing so, he determines who his target audience is, which is very important in a speech like this. This helps the audience feel a greater connection with the speaker since it speaks directly to and relates to them. He uses very simplistic diction in his speech so that it can be understood by the entire nation, from the most educated Americans to young children. He even addresses them directly in his speech by saying “… to the American schoolchildren who watched the shuttle takeoff live. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. He wanted to tell everyone about this tragedy; everyone in America was its target audience. Another contextual factor is Regan's purpose in giving this speech. He had three fundamental intentions. His first goal was to comfort the public, most people wanted to hear his perspective on the event since he was the president, which made him the leader and the man to look up to in times of need. Regan did this using gentle diction and even spoke in a very calming and relatable manner. His second intention was to honor the men who lost their lives and their families. Reagan honored each of the courageous men by mentioning each of their names in the speech. This shows more respect rather than lumping them all together like the seven men, it shows that he truly cares and honors each man. By mentioning families, it also softens his image and shows that he is likable, making him easier to listen to and ultimately easier to understand. The more we are in a relationship with a person, the more likely they are to