3 tips to write the perfect graduation speech
Written by lauren empson
Should I throw my cap? I don’t want to lose it, so maybe a gentle toss. Which hand do I accept my diploma with? I wonder where we’re going out to dinner after the ceremony?
These were all questions I had during my high school graduation. And with all of this running through my brain, I couldn’t, for the life of me, tell you who my graduation speaker was or what they said.
So how can you, as a superintendent (or the PIO writing this speech!), use your time at the podium to cut through the noise and make a difference as these graduates embark on the next phase of life?
It all starts – as so many of our communications efforts do – with understanding your audience and their unique set of values. So, let’s take a dive into understanding today’s 17 and 18 year olds and what they might want to hear as they are staring their future in the face.
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Grab ‘Em At The Beginning
Research shows that a teenager can focus for between 48-80 minutes, BUT they must be actively engaged to hold such focus. Otherwise, attention spans drastically decline.
Don’t worry – you don’t need a clever opening joke. Nor do you need to engage with fancy videos, despite their effectiveness in grabbing people’s attention. You don’t even need to use “teen speak” – no cap, please don’t. Instead, start by making your speech about them – the teens you’re speaking to.
Teens’ high school experiences were vastly different from yours and ours, and that must be recognized. They endured global pandemics, anxiety and mental health challenges, social media trappings, the constant comparison game, widespread poverty and more. By leaning into these experiences, you can grab teens’ attention and keep their focus throughout your speech.
Tap Into Teens’ Values
Once you’ve got your audience hooked, you want to maintain their focus and engagement. You put a lot of work into your speech – people need to hear it! One way to make content resonate is by reflecting their own values, so they can easily see the link between what you’re saying and their own life experiences.
Research shows that the current cohort of high schoolers values education, even though many teens are seeking alternative options to “traditional” four-year colleges. Your speech can tap into this value.
Remind them how their high school experience has prepared them for the future – both from an academic standpoint as well as the various opportunities that they only began exploring at this stage of life. At the same time, your speech can address the multiple options and opportunities available to these graduates.
Think “oh the places you will go…but the final destination may be vastly different from the person sitting next to you” feel. And with 95 percent of teens reporting that their core value is having enough time to do the things that are important to them, and 93 percent wanting to be successful in their future careers, the possibilities for these teens are endless.
Your speech is an opportunity to reach teens where they are, letting them know that one size does not have to fit all, while also providing a sense of comfort during a tough transition.
Take A Storytelling Approach
Your speech delivery is just as important as the content. Again, it’s far simpler than flashing lights or special effects. Instead, take a storytelling approach.
Including a story makes your speech more interesting. You become more animated as you speak, and you let the audience see more of you and relate to you more.
So think about a story that could help illustrate the points you want to drive home, whether about your own, personal experiences or one of an anonymous student in your district and the future they carved for themselves.
Speaking with today’s youth can be a daunting task. No longer can we rely on “tactics of yore”. Their experiences, the way they communicate and their general brilliance require much more of us. Understanding who they are and what they really need to hear from you will set you up to deliver a graduation speech that is the GOAT.
