How to Prepare for a Graduation Speech

Over the years, the fear of public speaking has been consistently on the list of top fears. A graduation speech is usually delivered in front of thousands of people by a graduate with little to no experience speaking to such a large group. Don't worry. If you prepare properly for the graduation speech, you can deliver it without a problem, and most people will never know how nervous you were. Read on to learn how to prepare for a graduation speech.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Ask the person in charge of the graduation ceremony how much time you will have to deliver the speech.

2. Reflect on the past year of school, and jot down some important events in your life and in the lives of many of the students. Write down as many important events as you can recall.

3. Go back through the significant events, and pick a couple that most of the students will remember. You can also talk about experiences you had during school that others had as well, even though you weren't together at the time. For example, staying up late to study for finals is something most students can relate to.

4. Prepare the first part of your speech, which should thank the people involved in the school year. If you have a personal note with the thank you, include it. Be sure to thank all of the people who helped shape your educational experience, including principal(s), teachers, coaches, staff and fellow students.

5. Write down the story behind one of the major events experienced during the school year. Start out with a fun event or experience. Write down your personal experience with the major event to help you connect with the crowd.

6. Decide on an important message to deliver to the fellow graduates. Most of the time, the message will center around taking the experiences learned during the last few years into the next stage of life.

7. Create a good ending statement to wrap up of the speech. You may want to offer a congratulatory statement to the graduates, or you can challenge them to make the most out of their futures.

8. Prepare to give the speech by saying it out loud at least twice. If you have any tongue twisters or confusing sentences, change the statements.

9. Give the speech again with the use of a timer to see how you are doing on time. If you need to have more content, add another good story. If you need to cut some time, focus on delivering the message you have created in a shorter amount of time.

Tips & Warnings

• Focus on the first few rows of people while you are giving the speech. Looking at a few people you went to school with will help calm your nerves. Let everyone else listen in to the message you deliver to a select few.
• Feel free to mark up your speech to remind yourself of important parts or where you want to place more emphasis on particular statements.
• Stay within your allotted time by sticking to your notes. People want to hear what you have to say. More importantly, people want to see the graduates receive their diplomas.