How to Give a Farewell Speech at the Delivery of the Diploma

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

You have been given the honor of giving the farewell address in front of your class. As you literally become the voice of your peers, responsibility can overwhelm you. Remember that you are lucky to represent everyone in front of your parents and teachers and that this is an experience you will never forget. Ready to write a memorable speech?

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Write it down

Step 1. Brainstorm by rethinking the meaning of your school experience

What did he teach you? You grew up?

• Here are a few more questions to ask yourself:
• How much have I changed and how much have my mates changed since the first year?
• What is the most important lesson I learned in school?
• Do I have school-related success stories to tell?
• What challenges have we faced along our path? Did they allow us to improve?



Step 2. Begin to develop a common thread, which can be very specific or very broad, what matters is that it connects everything

If you do not have a reference theme, the speech will not have the moral that everyone expects. Here are some ideas to find your common thread:

• Adversity, or the challenges that the group faced to become what it is now. Maybe one of your classmates was diagnosed with cancer and he taught the rest of the class how to fight all obstacles.
• Maturity, becoming an adult and taking on responsibilities. You can talk about your conscious growth over the years: what you are today did not happen by chance, but you wanted it.
• Life lessons. School is a microcosm of existence, so it helps people to live. It taught you that hard work always pays off and that, in addition to equations, there is a world outside waiting for you.



Step 3. Think about the structure of the speech:

it will have to be logical.

Consider the "hamburger method". The top slice of bread is the introduction, the burger represents your ideas, and the bottom slice of bread is the conclusion. Use some ketchup, mayonnaise, and other condiments, which are your lines



Step 4. Start with a catchy and relevant phrase, such as a quote, anecdote, or joke

You will need to grab the audience's attention:

• “I remember the first day of school: we were all small and inexperienced, with a 'just got out of bed' expression. And although we all look older today, I see that most of us still look as sleepy as that day."
• “I don't want to alarm you, but this class has a serious problem. No, this is not an economic problem. No, it's not even intellectual. It's a problem of attitude: this class has the problem of being fantastic”.
• Inspired by the farewell speech of one of the protagonists of the TV show "Gilmore Girls": "I live in two worlds and one is that of books: I lived in Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County, I hunted the White Whale on the Pequod, I fought with Napoleon, I have traveled by raft with Huck and Jim, I have done absurd things with Ignatius J. Reilly, I have traveled by train with Anna Karenina, I have been in the way of Swan… It is a rewarding world, but my second world is more rewarding. It's full of less eccentric characters, but much more real, made of flesh and blood, full of love, and they are the real inspirations for everything else."



Step 5. The central part of the speech should be interesting and in line with the common thread

The main idea should be inserted at the beginning, when the attention is still high.

• Say something unexpected. If you talk about adversity, everyone expects you to talk about exams, relationships and time management. Why not try something different? You can say that grades are not always a sign of learning or that it is difficult to win the trust of teachers. Surprise the audience.
• Make sure you follow the common thread. Ask yourself: Does this paragraph go back to the general theme? If the answer is no, delete it.



Step 6. Use the conclusion to draw a lesson

So what did you learn from the theme? This will be your morality, your life lesson:

• “To conclude, high school taught us that grades are not everything, what matters is what we have learned as people. We get a vote on the history question. We gain knowledge about why slavery is immoral. We get a grade for the math test. We learn that mathematical models can help us fly. We get a grade for an Italian essay. We learn that words are poetry”.
• “When I think of our class, I think of a unique person, I think of a community of workers, of a family. A community has a certain responsibility, and we have never forgotten it. As we set out on the journey towards the world, let us not forget that we continue to be responsible as community and world citizens”.

Method 2 of 2: Recite the Speech



Step 1. Speak slowly

When in front of so many people, the heart is beating wildly and the mouth is dry, so it is tempting to speak fast. However, good speeches are always spoken slowly, with force and feeling behind every word. Slows.

• Hear a speech from Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most compelling public speakers ever, and pay attention to his slowness. You will find that, in this way, the audience will assimilate your words.
• Record while rehearsing and listen to yourself to correct your mistakes.



Step 2. Pause to insert effects

Breathe for a few seconds after finishing a sentence. Allow the audience to process your words. Stop after saying a heartfelt phrase so that its meaning is understood by everyone.



Step 3. Learn almost everything by heart, so you won't always look at the notes

Reading a speech makes it less natural and fluent.



Step 4. Look the audience in the eye to engage them with your words and presence

This aspect is crucial for a speaker, but it is often overlooked.

• Cover the entire audience with your gaze by moving it slowly from one end to the other. If you read the speech, obviously you won't be able to, but stop and watch it at the end of a sentence, so you can also breathe.
• Don't be afraid to focus on one person for two, three, or four seconds. Don't do it all the time, just every now and then.



Step 5. Don't worry if you make a mistake; apologize and move on

However, if the mistake has not been perceived, continue as if nothing had happened: no one will notice anything.



Step 6. Speak with feeling, not monotonously, or you will put everyone to sleep

Make it clear that you are proud of your speech and that you are excited. Mix the tone and speed according to what you say.



Step 7. Be confident, but not presumptuous

You need confidence to make others laugh, help them understand you better, and inspire them to be better people and to accept their full potential. The speech was entrusted to you for a reason, right? Trust the people who trust you and you won't let anyone down.

If you're nervous, use the old trick of imagining people in the audience naked



Step 8. Start practicing early, perhaps say the speech in front of friends, like this:

• You will understand what works, you will be able to edit that joke that no one understands, and you will focus on what your friends actually like.
• You will learn it by heart and you will feel more confident.