Both speeches immerse their audiences into the harsh reality of the world around them. In "This is Water", presented and composed by David Foster Wallace, presents a view of the average day of a working man. Wallace narrates to the audience the heightened emotions that man feels as he goes through traffic, the grocery store, and work. In Morrison's speech "Nobel Lecture" she draws attention to another harsh reality, the violence words can cause. There is a difference here as well. Morrison brings to light an area that we normally wouldn't think about on a daily basis; the violence going on in the world and how easily and recklessly it's caused. Wallace takes the audience to their local grocery store, something people consider often.
The diction used in the speeches is very different. David Wallace uses a more simple vocabulary.  Occasionally he even uses profanities to emphasize points such as " because of all these stupid god-dammed people." I feel that he is using a "looser" vocabulary because his audience is mainly teenagers. Morrison's speech has an advanced vocabulary since she is addressing a higher academic level audience. The "Nobel Lecture" has the appearance of being pre-written and refined, while "This is Water" appears to be constructed on the spot.