Charles Wheelan wrote in his book “10 ½ Things No Commencement Speaker Has Ever Said” that commencement is a time of excitement and promise, but it is also a time of anxiety and self-doubt. Are you being invited to a graduation event as a motivational speaker? Perhaps you want to say an out of the ordinary advice that would have prepared you back then in the old days and that you hoped would prepare for the graduate students especially when encountering the rough patches that set ahead in front of us.  So, if you’re currently at your wits’ end on how you will write an effective commencement speech that will ignite the interest and passion of your audience, we include an informative guide and printable commencement speech samples in this article that you can use. Please continue reading!

10+ Commencement Speech for College Samples

1. County College Commencement Speech

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2. Commencement Speech for College Student

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Size: 71 KB

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3. College Student Commencement Speaker Speech

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Size: 268 KB

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4. President Commencement Speech for College

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5. College Commencement Speech

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6. College Virtual Commencement Speech

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Size: 113 KB

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7. Commencement Speech for College

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8. Sample Commencement Speech for College

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9. College Faculty Commencement Speech

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10. Community College Commencement Speech

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11. College Commencement Speech Proposal

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What is a Commencement Speech?

A commencement speech is a brief and clear address that is being provided to many graduating students, commonly at a college or university, as well as in different high school or secondary education institutions in many countries. A well-known and outstanding person in the society or an excellent graduating student is the one who typically delivers this type of speech, especially in addressing the graduating class.

How to Write a Commencement Speech for College

Developing several creative yet powerful commencement speeches is all about sharing both new and relevant information to fully inspire and encourage the graduating students. So, your main goal should be to design effective commencement speeches that will significantly engage the interest of the graduating class. Below are important ways you can do to write a good commencement speech for college:

1. Identify the key interest of your audience

Identify the key interest of your audience for your speech. Conduct research, and analyze your audience which includes graduating students, teachers, principal, instructors, school administrators, parents, and many more. 

Dig deeper about their possible interests and preferences. In this way, you will increase the chance that your audience will find your speech worthwhile and unforgettable.  Also, knowing some information about your audience before giving your commencement speech presentation can help you select the right topics which are paralleled to their needs and interests.

2. Brainstorm and use mind-mapping method

The second step is you should have some time in brainstorming ideas and concepts. So, write down an ocean of your ideas, and thoughts on paper immediately. Later on, you can take those ideas into account for your college commencement speech. We suggest that you construct a clustering or mind-mapping map to arrange and line up your ideas in the proper sequence. Don’t be afraid to write a plethora of topics or concepts. Let your ideas flow while you write.

3. Pick the essential points and write the details

When you write an effective statement for a commencement speech, you need to think carefully and pick the essential points that you will include in your speech. Some topics that you may use are your aspirations, dreams, cultural background, interests, inspirations, and many more. After that, write other useful information about each topic. 

4.  Develop an outline

To maintain structure and harmony in your commencement speech, you need to organize the main points and details as you develop an outline which consists of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. This will make your commencement speech coherent to the audience as they can fully apprehend what is the essence of the message that you want to impart to all of them. 

FAQs

What are the best ideas for a commencement speech?

Some of the best ideas for a commencement speech are self-reflection on past school happenings, turn mistakes into lessons learned, classic graduation quotes and sayings, spoken word poetry or using creative patterns and metaphors, storytelling, using class anthem, show your deep appreciation and gratitude, using life inspirational quotes, and many others.

What are the unique aspects that must be included in a college commencement speech? 

The unique aspects that must be included in a commencement speech for college are showing your thankfulness to the teachers and students, keeping it short and motivating, creativity, and bringing further encouragement to the public.

How to write a memorable self-introduction in a graduation speech?

When writing a memorable self-introduction, you need to capture the interest of your audience. You can do this by starting with a prominent pop culture reference that many people can relate to. If you have a one-of-a-kind name, it is alright to tell them a story about the origin of it. Or you can also accentuate something that sets you apart from others.

How long are graduation speeches?

Graduation speeches of a student typically range from 5-12 minutes. While a principal or notable person delivers a speech which lasts 15-20 minutes. 

Seo Dal-mi, Bae Suzy ’s character from a popular Netflix and South Korean TV drama series “Start Up”, said: “Deserts would cover the entire world if it was sunny everyday. We need rain and snow for plants and delicious fruits like this tangerine to grow.” The rain and snow represent the challenges that we experience in our lives as these things help us to grow, becoming better than before. This wonderful and inspiring quote is one of the thousands of motivational sayings that you can use in your commencement speech. To help you write a clear and enticing commencement speech, you can click and download our good commencement speech examples here

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