How to Write a Graduation Speech
Graduation is an event marking both achievements and transition. For graduates and those who love them, graduation is an event of both potential and possibility and of reservation and anxiety. There’s the question of: what comes next? Even for graduates who know the college they will attend or the job they will walk into, there is still an element of uncertainty for what the future hold. A great graduation speech will embrace the positives of potential and possibility that comes with change and transition while also quelling the inevitable nerves that arise when one is moving forward into the great, wide unknown.
Choose a Theme that Resonates
The aim of a graduation speech is to honor the achievements of the graduates and to inspire them to look forward to the potential and possibility in the unknown of what lies ahead for each of them. You want to give them hope. You want to inspire their courage in knowing that all of the work they’ve done thus far has gotten them to the great place they are today (graduation) and that with a continued ethic and spirit, they will persevere and triumph as they move into the future.
Ultimately, you want to settle on a primary theme that fits the occasion. Examples of such themes might be:
There is more work to be done.
The future is yours to make what you want of it.
Innovation is the key to success.
Trust your instincts, and always be true to yourself.
Passion will see you through to your dreams.
Always look for a way to make the world around you a better place.
Whatever theme you choose should resonate with the story that you tell.
Plot: Tell One Great Story (with a Powerful Ending)
Truly dynamic graduation speeches tell stories. The George Washington University graduation commencement of 2019 took place on the lawn of the National Mall, the Washington Monument towered toward heaven against a bright blue sky behind the stage where African-American mathematician and engineer recounted her childhood as a scientifically-advanced adolescent who overcame multiple race and gender obstacles to one day become a NASA legend and Congressional Gold Medalist.
Later, news anchor and storyteller Savannah Guthrie took the stage where she told a warm and often humorous story of how despite a passion for televised journalism, she ended up practicing law. Though successful, it wasn’t until Guthrie trusted herself, her abilities, and her passion that she ended up where she ultimately knew she was meant to be.
Both of these amazing women told memorable stories; both of these women’s stories have clear themes: tenacity leads to triumph over adversity (Christine) and passion will see you though (Guthrie). Your story should fit your theme, but you should also have a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Choose a Story with a Heroic Arc
The story you do tell should have a heroic arc. The heroes arc is one that starts with a call to action or a driving passion (I love math; I really want to be a journalist; I live to solve puzzles; I am fascinated by marine life).
The passion or call to action (that thing you must do) should manifest through your story. Recount the setbacks, the times you almost failed, the times the voices in your head doubted you or the ways those you counted on to always have your back doubted or failed you).
When it seems like the chips are so far down, you’ll never make it, it’s time for the revelation—what changed in your that gave you the impetus to dust off and get back in the saddle? This is usually the moment when the theme beings to reveal itself. Show the triumphant moment when you took all of that work and the lessons you learned and turned it into success.
Note that success can be a life lesson; it doesn’t have to be a dream job or a three-book contract. Sometimes, success is just surviving hardship. Your story doesn’t necessarily have to be about the time you almost studied law even though you loved journalism, nor does it have to be about systemic oppression.
Overcoming a disease or an addiction or surviving the death of a parent or a childhood trauma are all heroic acts and can inspire those who are about to enter a world where the possibility for grief, addiction, overwhelm, heartbreak, disappointment, and failure await. A truly merit-able graduation speech shows that all of those things can be conquered.
Relate by Being Authentic and Vulnerable
In being honest about your experiences, you are making your character relatable for your audience. Even if your audience hasn’t shared your experiences (a dream job, a publishing contract, an award-winning career, traumatic grief, physical disability, whatever), by writing in a manner that shows the character, you, to be an authentic, humble, genuine person who is equally capable of success and failure, of hope and sorrow, of love and loss, you will be able to connect with every member of your audience.
By telling your story clearly and well with a genuine voice, even those who cannot share your experience can empathize and thus relate. The aim is to tell a story that your audience can see themselves in and can thus learn from. The story should give them hope and should empower them as they move forward. The underlying message should be: if I can do it, so can you.
Summarize the Story’s Message in a Power Quote
After you tell the story, you’re generally ready to wrap up the speech. When stories end, audiences’ attention spans wane. Keep your audience by summarizing the main point of your thesis. If possible, boil it down into a power quote, something your audience can take with them and repeat as an affirmation.
Make it something with meaning, so when the going gets rough or they forget their passion or everyone is doubting them or grief, fear, anxiety…whatever it is, takes hold, they can digest those words like Popeye does a can of spinach and have the superpowers needed to straighten their spines and keep going with courage and conviction.
Graduation speeches are empowering, inspiring, authentically told stories that leave audiences full of hope for the future and their role in it. Graduation speeches are emotional stories full of highs and lows. If you aren’t sure how to write emotional stories, contact us, The Storyteller Agency. Writing stories (and speeches) that catch audiences right in the feels…it’s what we were made to do; it’s our passion.
