Having earned the prestigious honor of delivering the graduation speech means that you’ll be the representative voice of your generation and graduating class. As honorable as this is, it can also be a great responsibility. So, the question is; how do I prepare and what should I consider? Luckily for you, we have an answer, but before we continue, make sure to also consult online speech writing services, as they can be of great help as well. Delivering a graduation speech can put you in a hot seat if you don’t know what to do.
What is a graduation speech?
Before the actual writing and preparing, you need to understand what a graduation speech is and what it stands for. This will help you get a better idea of what it is that you have to present. So, graduation or commencement speech is a speech generally given at universities, during the ceremony of conferring diplomas and degrees to the students of a graduating class. Usually, a graduation speech doesn’t have a required structure; it is a speech that you have to present as your life lesson to other students. So, it is more about the value rather than about rules and form. But, a graduation speech needs to be memorable, striking, meaningful and interesting for the audience. The words you say will echo with your generation, and they need to be worthy.
How to write a graduation speech?
Even though there is no necessary structure or form to a graduation speech, there still need to be some features that make a speech a graduation speech. Here are some tips on how to write one, and make it amazing:
• Choose the topic for the speech: this might be one of the most daunting tasks; choosing what is it that you’re actually going to say. Some of the greatest graduation speeches were solved by simply having a topic or theme that the graduation speech will revolve around. For example, traditional graduation speech topics center around ideas like following your dreams, learning from failure, the power of hard work, believing in yourself, etc. Make sure to choose a topic that speaks for you as well for the other students. Make it relatable and believable by also providing insight into personal experience, struggle and success you’ve achieved during your studies.
• Build a structure for the speech: even though there are no rules to what the structure of the speech should be, you still need to organize your speech to some extent. Unless you want it to be jumbled and a complete mish-mash, make sure to do as following:
- Grab the audience’s attention with the very opening statement; get them ‘hooked’ on what is it that you have to say
- Turn to storytelling; create an introduction, middle and an ending part for the speech. These parts of the speech should resemble the steps you took to be where you are now; this will make the speech relatable and it will keep the focus and attention on you for a longer period.
- Meaningful conclusion: this is the part when you put together all the aspects of your speech and conclude the story of your life with a message. Sum up the speech with the lessons that you’ve learned and the respective examples.
• Read some good speech examples: of course, your graduation speech needs to be your own, personal and genuine take on the life lessons and experiences you’ve had, but this doesn’t mean you can learn how to express them from the best. Reading, or listening to some good graduation speech examples will surely help you get the basic idea of how to create one on your own. By observing successful speeches, you can be sure to take a more serious approach.
• Don’t learn the speech by heart: this is probably the biggest mistake you can make when writing and preparing for the speech. Make sure to come up with the main structure of the speech, but don’t try to remember every single word you’ve written. You will want to be able to speak genuinely and openly, and you can’t do that if you’ve already prepared what you’re going to say, word to word. So, make sure to add your own take on the experiences and feelings; this will make the speech more genuine and meaningful.
How to deliver the speech?
Once you have the physical part of the speech ready, it is time to prepare for its delivery. For starters, keep in mind that practice is the most important part of the preparation. It is important to know in the back of your mind what is it that you want to say, but by practicing, you’ll actually see in which direction the speech may go. The practice and preparation will allow you to correct mistakes and get yourself back on the right track.
Another thing you can do is practice the way you present. You don’t want to come across as too confident, condescending and overly into what you’re saying. It is important to stay humble, relatable and genuine, so make sure to connect the main ideas of the speech with genuine emotions; this is something you can also practice.
And, finally, make sure to stay aware of the time. As a part of the preparation process, make sure to observe how much does it take to complete the speech. The optimal duration of the speech should be up to 10 minutes, so by practicing, you can reduce and lengthen the speech, according to the recommended time. Don’t forget to show gratitude and respect to your fellow students, professors, and family, but also don’t forget to respect everybody’s time.