6 Steps on How to Write Graduation Speeches
Graduation speeches are given by a graduating student with high distinction. Sometimes because of the pressure upon the student, he or she becomes confused on what to write. Will he or she make it formal or informal? Will he or she speak about what lies ahead after graduation, or recall events during their stay in school? What language must he or she use? Can he or she insert humor to make it interesting and sustain the audience’s attention, or is there a need to keep a formal tone until the end? Here are some tips on writing effective and memorable graduation speeches:
- Before writing your speech, consider your target audience, which includes fellow graduates, teachers, school staff, parents, family and friends. Consider that you have a wide age range so the topics you will insert must be friendly to generally all the people listening.
- A good graduation speech usually starts with a warm greeting. Greet everyone starting from the commencement speaker, to the school officials, the faculty, staff, fellow graduates, parents, families and friends.
- A graduation speech is actually both a response and a state address. State the current event and how it is relevant to everyone else’s lives. State what event are you moving out from, and where you are moving into (for instance, from senior high to college).
- This is a good time to have a short recollection of relevant events during studying days. Remember that in this part, you can’t really go all the way with inside stories, primarily because you have other people in the audience and not just fellow graduates. Some things need a little explaining. Make this part a little interesting by adding some humor, one reason is because this is the middle part of the speech and can be boring to some. But again, be careful of being too inclusive.
- Take this opportunity to express your gratitude to all the people who helped you on your way. This part is not personal. You must always remember that you are speaking in behalf of all graduating students, so do not mention people that only you know. Begin by thanking the parents, and then the teachers and mentors, and of course fellow graduates. Thank also friends, and “those people who are not mentioned anymore but helped in one way or another”.
- End the speech by challenging each graduate to strive for excellence. Remember, graduation is not the end, but the beginning of a bigger and more exciting life. Keep you graduation speech short but catchy, and so it will always be remembered.
