Writing a College Commencement Speech

Now I realize that many people may never have the opportunity to write and present a college commencement speech, or even be in a position to write one. Some people may not attend college at all, and thus this article would be a waste of time for them. Others may never be offered the opportunity to present a commencement speech for their college graduation, or if they are, they might reject the offer because of embarrassment, difficulty with speech writing, fear of public speaking, or just simply due to lack of caring. But for those of you who are presented with the opportunity to write and present a college commencement speech, I hope to provide you with a few guidelines to get you started.

To begin your commencement speech, you must first welcome the audience and thank them for attending the commencement ceremony. This will help to "break the ice" and the audience will feel more at ease with you. After the welcome, I had decided to share my personal thoughts over being nominated as a commencement speaker candidate and my difficulty in writing the commencement speech. At some point after this background information has been shared with the audience, the commencement speech should transition into the main theme of the speech.

The main theme of a commencement speech preferably should relate to the subject of achievement or the process of achieving. Some examples of this would be perseverance, dedication, teamwork, accomplishment, endeavor, hard work, etc. Not only will it give your parents and relatives the impression that you learned a great deal and that the grueling hours of school and homework were worth it, but it also makes your instructors feel good about themselves and the guidance they provided to you during your education.