My high school speech was short and sweet. In the opening I said “Here we are! There is no turning back now!” These statements set a serious tone for the entire audience who were then listening intently to what I had to say. Then, I joked with my mom who was to the right of the stage snapping pictures that no pictures were allowed during my speech and the whole audience burst into laughter!
Immediately, in the body of my paragraph, I quoted an excerpt from Marianne Williamson’s book A Return to Love stating “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure (Williamson, 1992).” Using quotes in the introduction or in the beginning of the body of a speech is helpful. If you use quotes, these statements should be attention arresting and powerful. They could set the tone for the rest of the speech.
After quoting Marianne Williamson, I spoke about what her words meant to me and should mean to all of my classmates as we moved forward to the next phases of our lives. I told my classmates that we should be proud of the occasion because it was what we looked forward to our whole lives! Then, I said “Well at least for the last 4 years of our lives.” “Actually for me, only since last week!” Laughter burst out again!
I then asked a question; where do we go from here? (I paused). Then I said: “To dinner!” I then said, “I am just kidding.” I stated, “We go to college, we go to the military, some will go to law school, medical school or seminary; eventually we will have families and children, but hopefully we will change the world for the better.” These lines incited applause from me and the audience. I clapped to add humor. Then I said: “I am doing pretty good with this speech, huh?” More laughter emerged from the audience. It is always good to have light moments at these occasions.
Finally, I reflected on the past four years we had together. I said, “Remember four years ago when we were still kiddies and we were immature and thought we knew it all?” “Do you all remember our first homecoming together?” “Most of us do not even want to look at those pictures anymore.” I then reflected on the water dunk contest that we had 2 years prior when the former assistant principal’s wig flew off of her head. I said “Those were the days, but today is a great day!” I said “Today is great because whenever I conclude this speech, you will be conferred with your high school diploma, so I think I will talk for about 2.5 more hours, just kidding!” Now, by the powers vested in me this speech is over and let life begin! Go ’04, I approve this message! Thank you!
Delivered June 10, 2004 at Chene Park, Detroit, Michigan
