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?
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.
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. [7] X Research source
“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. "
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.
“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.
Listen to a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. , one of the most effective public speakers ever, and pay attention to how slowly he speaks. [12] X Research source Slow speeches sound really good because they let the audience process what is being said. Practice delivering your speech into a voice recorder and listen to the recording. You’ll see that even when you think you’re speaking slowly, it comes out a lot quicker than you imagine. There’s always an opportunity to slow down.
Scan the audience every once in a while. If you’re reading your speech, you’ll obviously spend a lot of time looking at your paper. When you finish a sentence, however, look up from the dais and scan the people in the audience. This will help you catch your breath. Don’t be afraid of focusing on one person for a short while. It’s not uncommon for a speaker to lock eyes with a person in the audience for two, three, or four seconds. (Four seconds is a really long time when you’re alone on a podium!) Don’t do it all the time, but try to do it every once in a while.
If you’re getting nervous, try out the old public speaking trick of imagining someone in the audience being naked. Don’t fixate on it, but imagine it. It will help rake away some of the butterflies and allow you to concentrate on delivering a more confident speech.
It will get you in the habit of what works in the speech and what doesn’t. There’s still time to change that joke that no one understands, or focus more on that part that your friends really like. It will help you memorize the speech, making you less nervous and giving you better presence.
