Senior Graduation Speech Process

Senior Graduation Speech Guidelines

Do’s

Keep your speech between three to five minutes. As a rule, one double-spaced typed page takes approximately two minutes to read.

Have a solid opening with an attention-getter.

Keep your tone optimistic, grateful, hopeful, and congratulatory.

Be inclusive—reference experiences you have shared as a class.

Remember to thank faculty and staff and especially the parents and family members who stood beside everyone on their journey thus far.

Use appropriate humor in your speech, but recall this is a solemn event.

Use appropriate language in your speech—older people in the audience will not know slang terms.

Have a clear conclusion that sums up the ideas in your speech and leaves the audience with something to think about.

Do Not’s

Call out individual teachers or friends, even if you are praising them. This is not a time anyone should feel singled out.

Mention problems or issues you had with school. Do not mention “boring assignments” or “useless homework” or anything of that nature.

Use this as a political or religious platform. (References thanking God are fine, exhortations to get right with Jesus are not)

Have a pessimistic or unhappy tone in your speech.

Senior Graduation Speech Rubric