Reminders for Ceremonial Speeches

Here are a few things to keep in mind tomorrow when you deliver your ceremonial speech:

1. Speeches can be anywhere from 5-10 minutes, depending on the nature of the speech itself (though anything less than 5 minutes or over 10 minutes will count against you). I will be grading these speeches based on your delivery, your use of language, your engagement with your audience, your attention to the norms and/or requirements of your specific speech format and, if/when relevant, your knowledge of your particular subject. If you have any questions about  specific formats of speeches, or the expectations of a speaker on a specific speech occasion, be sure to check out Chapter 17 in our book.
2. Ceremonial speeches are meant to mark a specific occasion, for a specific purpose. Since I’ve given you each the freedom to choose the occasion, purpose, and setting of your speech, you will need to make these things clear to your audience through the context of the speech itself, and the earlier the better (i.e. in the first part of your speech). There are many ways in which you can do this (for ex. “When I was told that I was receiving the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for my investigative reporting, I was truly flabbergasted”), but the main thing I want to emphasize is the need for you to do it creatively. In other words, you cannot simply state the nature of your speech to the audience before you begin. Not only is this bad form (for ex. nobody stands before a graduating class and says that he/she is “going to give a commencement speech”…it’s both ridiculous and obvious), it is also an easy way to immediately kill any ambience you could have (and should have) otherwise created through the speech itself.
3. Ceremonial speeches need to be heavily tailored to the audience that’s in the room – they cannot be delivered to a general audience. You need to get your audience to identify with you and the values/ideals that you are highlighting within your speech. This is especially true for speeches of introduction and/or tribute (to give just two examples), where the relevance and importance of a particular person, idea, institution, or event must be made evident to this particular audience.
4. Speeches of tribute are given for a particular occasion, meaning that there should be an obvious reason for your particular speech, whether it’s the anniversary of someone’s death, a recent event that makes a certain person/institution/idea especially meaningful and thus worthy of tribute, and so on. Put simply, giving a speech of tribute does not alleviate you from the responsibility of creating an occasion and setting for your speech.
5. Speeches of introduction should not simply list a speaker’s credentials…they need to make the speaker’s work and/or achievements meaningful in a way that is thoughtful, sincere, and appropriate to the occasion and audience. Similarly, an acceptance speech cannot simply list a number of people one chooses to thank…it needs to engage with both the substance and purpose of the award (and the accomplishment being awarded).
6. If you choose to deliver a wedding toast, please remember that they need to be written for and delivered to the entire audience in attendance…they should not be based on insider jokes, memories that only you and the bride (or groom) share together, etc. While wedding toasts are obviously aimed at the couple getting married, they are also meant to engage every person in the room…not just those who know the couple best.
7. Make sure to rehearse your speech well, and pay particular attention this time around to your use of voice, your use of pauses, and your bodily gestures.