How to Deliver a Graduation Speech
Brainstorm about what your experience in school has meant to you., Start to develop a theme., Think about the structure of your speech., Start the introduction with something catchy., Make the middle of your speech interesting and remember to tie it...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Brainstorm about what your experience in school has meant to you.
You've been in school for quite a while now.
Ask yourself:
What has this experience taught me, or others, about life, about success, and about growing up along the way? Some other questions you might ask yourself as a way to brainstorm ideas:
How have I changed since I started this level of school? How might other classmates have changed since they started? What is the most important lesson I can take away from my time in school? What are some success stories that happened during your time in school? What are some of the challenges we face in the next leg of our journey, and how are we better prepared to overcome those challenges now that we're here? , You want your graduation speech to have a theme.
Your theme can be very specific or very broad, but you want a theme in order to tie everything together.
Without a theme, it can seem like you're just reminiscing about your time, and there's no lesson or moral your speech.
Some common themes include:
Adversity.
Adversity is the challenges that you as a group overcame in order to get where you are now.
Maybe one of your classmates got diagnosed with cancer, and taught the rest of the class how to fight, not just a disease like cancer, but any obstacles that come your way.
This is adversity.
Maturity.
An especially good theme for high school students, maturity is about becoming an adult and taking responsibility.
Perhaps you can talk about how young and green most Freshman were when you started, and how Seniors now have grown into shining examples of people who are adults, not because they need to be, but because they want to be.
Life lessons.
School is a microcosm for life.
That's a fancy way of saying that school helps teach people about life in general.
School teaches you that hard work pays off, that there's more to learning than memorizing equations, that what you do outside the classroom is just as important as what you do inside, and that the friends you make are the glue that keeps you together. , The structure is where you place each part in the speech so that what you're saying makes sense.
Consider using the burger method.
The top bun is your introduction; the patty is your ideas in paragraph form; and the bottom bun is your conclusion.
Use a lot of ketchup, mayonnaise, and other condiments:
They are your jokes, but remember that too much mayonnaise can ruin an otherwise good burger. , It can be an interesting quote, fact, story or even a good joke about your school or class.
Whatever it is, it needs to grab the attention of your audience.
This means it needs to be relevant and catchy.
Perhaps start off with something like this: "I remember when we all filed into this room four years ago.
We looked young, like we had just walked out of bed.
And while all of us now look older, I see that most of us still look as sleepy as we did on that fateful day." "I don't want to alarm you, but the class of 20— has a serious problem.
It's not a financial problem.
It's not an intellectual problem.
It's an attitude problem.
The class of 20— has a problem being awesome."
Start off strong.
Put your best idea in right in the beginning to hook people in.
Make it interesting by saying something unexpected.
If you're talking about facing adversity, everyone expects you to talk about tests, dating/relationships, and time management.
Why not talk about something unexpected? Talk about how grades aren't always a sign that you have learned, maybe, or about how hard it is to let teachers let their guard down.
Surprise your audience in novel ways.
Make sure your theme is never far away.
Ask yourself:
How does this paragraph relate back to my theme? If it doesn't relate, ask yourself why it's there. , Take your theme and ask the question So what? What can we learn from the theme? This will be your lesson.
Some lessons might sound a little something like this: "In conclusion, high school has taught us that the grades that we earn aren't as important as the education that we receive.
We earn a grade for taking a History test.
We get an education for understanding why slavery is immoral.
We earn a grade for taking a math test.
We get an education for understanding that mathematical models can help us fly.
We earn a grade for writing an English essay.
We get an education for understanding that words are poems and poems are beautiful." "When I think of our class, I don't think of any one person, I think of a community of workers, a family.
A community has a certain responsibility, and as of yet, we have never forgotten that responsibility.
As we walk off into the wider world today, let us not forget the responsibility that we carry both as members of this community, and as citizens of the world. -
Step 2: Start to develop a theme.
-
Step 3: Think about the structure of your speech.
-
Step 4: Start the introduction with something catchy.
-
Step 5: Make the middle of your speech interesting and remember to tie it in with your theme.
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Step 6: Use your conclusion to draw a lesson.
Detailed Guide
You've been in school for quite a while now.
Ask yourself:
What has this experience taught me, or others, about life, about success, and about growing up along the way? Some other questions you might ask yourself as a way to brainstorm ideas:
How have I changed since I started this level of school? How might other classmates have changed since they started? What is the most important lesson I can take away from my time in school? What are some success stories that happened during your time in school? What are some of the challenges we face in the next leg of our journey, and how are we better prepared to overcome those challenges now that we're here? , You want your graduation speech to have a theme.
Your theme can be very specific or very broad, but you want a theme in order to tie everything together.
Without a theme, it can seem like you're just reminiscing about your time, and there's no lesson or moral your speech.
Some common themes include:
Adversity.
Adversity is the challenges that you as a group overcame in order to get where you are now.
Maybe one of your classmates got diagnosed with cancer, and taught the rest of the class how to fight, not just a disease like cancer, but any obstacles that come your way.
This is adversity.
Maturity.
An especially good theme for high school students, maturity is about becoming an adult and taking responsibility.
Perhaps you can talk about how young and green most Freshman were when you started, and how Seniors now have grown into shining examples of people who are adults, not because they need to be, but because they want to be.
Life lessons.
School is a microcosm for life.
That's a fancy way of saying that school helps teach people about life in general.
School teaches you that hard work pays off, that there's more to learning than memorizing equations, that what you do outside the classroom is just as important as what you do inside, and that the friends you make are the glue that keeps you together. , The structure is where you place each part in the speech so that what you're saying makes sense.
Consider using the burger method.
The top bun is your introduction; the patty is your ideas in paragraph form; and the bottom bun is your conclusion.
Use a lot of ketchup, mayonnaise, and other condiments:
They are your jokes, but remember that too much mayonnaise can ruin an otherwise good burger. , It can be an interesting quote, fact, story or even a good joke about your school or class.
Whatever it is, it needs to grab the attention of your audience.
This means it needs to be relevant and catchy.
Perhaps start off with something like this: "I remember when we all filed into this room four years ago.
We looked young, like we had just walked out of bed.
And while all of us now look older, I see that most of us still look as sleepy as we did on that fateful day." "I don't want to alarm you, but the class of 20— has a serious problem.
It's not a financial problem.
It's not an intellectual problem.
It's an attitude problem.
The class of 20— has a problem being awesome."
Start off strong.
Put your best idea in right in the beginning to hook people in.
Make it interesting by saying something unexpected.
If you're talking about facing adversity, everyone expects you to talk about tests, dating/relationships, and time management.
Why not talk about something unexpected? Talk about how grades aren't always a sign that you have learned, maybe, or about how hard it is to let teachers let their guard down.
Surprise your audience in novel ways.
Make sure your theme is never far away.
Ask yourself:
How does this paragraph relate back to my theme? If it doesn't relate, ask yourself why it's there. , Take your theme and ask the question So what? What can we learn from the theme? This will be your lesson.
Some lessons might sound a little something like this: "In conclusion, high school has taught us that the grades that we earn aren't as important as the education that we receive.
We earn a grade for taking a History test.
We get an education for understanding why slavery is immoral.
We earn a grade for taking a math test.
We get an education for understanding that mathematical models can help us fly.
We earn a grade for writing an English essay.
We get an education for understanding that words are poems and poems are beautiful." "When I think of our class, I don't think of any one person, I think of a community of workers, a family.
A community has a certain responsibility, and as of yet, we have never forgotten that responsibility.
As we walk off into the wider world today, let us not forget the responsibility that we carry both as members of this community, and as citizens of the world.
About the Author
Christina Powell
A passionate writer with expertise in pet care topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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