The primary difference between those two concepts is focus that each term has. The first one focus on the relationship between the level of production and the level of return. While the second one focus on the relationship between the level of production and the amount of factors used for that production.
Explanation:
One the one hand, the law of diminishing marginal returns is a concept known in the microeconomics theory due to the fact that it establishes the relationship between the productivity and the income for every aspect of it. Meaning that, when the productivity increases because of the increase of only one factor of production then the income will start to slowly decrease, confirming that when only one factor is increased the production will start to be incomplete and the return will decrease for that.
On the other hand, the law of diminishing marginal rate of technical substitution indicates the relationship between the level of output and the different factor used to produce. Meaning that, it shows how to keep the level of output the same while making changes in the amount of factors used.
A company that does this and mostly favors a push strategy is usually selling industrial products. That is because a push strategy focuses on taking the product to the potential customer and showing them how it works as well as how it can benefit them, therefore pushing the product on them. Industrial Products are great for such a strategy since they require actual demonstration and can easily show the potential customer the actual value that the product can provide.
Based on the scenario being described within the question it can be said that to gain attention and interest Paul related the topic to the audience. Paul did this by comparing Lou Gehrig to the audiences daily lives at school. By doing this it is catching the audiences attention which in term causes them to be interested in the rest of the speech that Paul is giving.