What is a Commemorative Speech
As we mentioned earlier, a commemorative speech is a form of public speaking where the main purpose is to celebrate a particular thing.
Most students in the United States are asked to deliver an inspiring commemorative speech at the graduation ceremony. Here students express their gratitude towards their college, professors, family, classmates, etc.
For such occasions, you must write from the heart, reminiscing about the past and the important events. This kind of speech includes personal touch and the tips and tricks given here will help you write a speech successfully.
Commemorative speech requires a focus on the past, present, and future aspects of the topic. For instance, success, loyalty, wisdom, courage, hope, etc.
It can also be an award acceptance speech, or a eulogy to honor someone after their death. Now that you have understood the commemorative speech definition, let’s take a look and learn how to write a commemorative speech?
Commemorative Speech Outline
Just as any other piece of writing, a speech follows a particular outline and structure.
Begin the speech by stating the significance of your topic.
Make it interesting to grab the audience’s attention. If you’re talking about a person, share an interesting thing that they did or said. If your speech is about a particular event, discuss how it brings different people together, etc.
Your reason for paying tribute.
Why are you paying tribute to your subject and the kind of tribute? Why should they be honored and why at this particular event.
Highlight their achievements.
Next, talk about the contributions and accomplishments with examples and evidence.
Importance of these achievements.
Highlight the importance of these accomplishments, who benefits from them? How are these efforts valuable to us?
Make the audience empathize.
If talking about a person, make the audience think about how they can also become like that person, what practices can we learn and adopt?
Summarize
In this section, the transition towards a brief summary of the speech. Share an anecdote or short story.
Commemorative Speech Examples
How to Choose a Commemorative Speech Topic
When asked to deliver a commemorative speech for a class, you must first brainstorm different ideas that can be added to your speech.
Consider the following points in mind when brainstorming different topics:
Online Research
There is a list of commemorative speech topics available online. You can also find videos of previous commemorative speeches delivered at your school or by celebrities, etc.
Brainstorm
Brainstorming potential ideas will enable you to come up with a topic relevant to you and your personal situation.
In order to make your speech and topic meaningful, think of the things you would want to share about the person. Or the information you want to share with others about a situation or event.
When thinking about the different stories to add, consider sharing that maybe you would want to hear in a commemorative speech.
If you are talking about a person then think of ways how you can share things about them respectfully, without offending them or anyone else.
Understand Your Audience
The most important ingredient that makes any piece of writing or speech work is the audience. It is they who decide whether or not the piece was worth it.
In order to ensure that you stay relevant to the audience, keeping in mind their interests and personalities and build your work around that.
Also, if you are going to mention someone directly in your speech you must be aware of the people who are going to be there.
Convey a Meaningful Message
A commemorative speech is a type of informative speech where the aim is to inform the listener about a particular topic. Although the main goal is to praise or commemorate something, your message must be clear and meaningful throughout the rest of the speech.
A speech writing guide will help you create an impactful and impressive speech.
Commemorative Speech Topics
There are several different categories of commemorative speech ideas depending upon the event or occasion.
Here are some of our best suggested commemorative speech ideas that you can choose from:
- Paying tribute to a family member
- Paying tribute to an important personality, dead or alive (Martin Luther King, Barack Obama)
- Paying tribute to a big movement (Women's rights movement, the civil rights movement)
- Celebrating the values of a religion (Buddhist values)
- Speak on the importance of hope (NASA's Apollo 13 survival mission)
- Celebrate human courage, or a courageous act in a challenging situation by policemen, firefighters, veterans
- Selflessness of a teacher or parent, their dedication and love
- An act of compromise that marked the start of you becoming a mature and evolved person
- Show respect to the greatest travelers that ever lived (Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama)
- Eulogy for a professor at your college
- Speak about your transformation both spiritually and intellectually after starting college
- The series of events that lead to you and your classmates becoming a family
- A time you and your team won a match due to the support of the College
- Provide an example of loyalty by discussing war comrades
- What does freedom mean to you?
- Commemorate the lives lost on 9/11
- Celebrate the legalization of gay marriages
- Queen Elizebeth and her life
- Teamwork
- Respect
- Buying your first house
- Remembering your grandmother
- Women who changed the world for the better
- Father of the bride speech
- Maid of honor speech
- Best technology inventions
Here is a little activity for you to clarify the concept of commemorative speech. Which of the following is an example of a commemorative speech?
- A speech that demonstrates how to plan a wedding.
- A speech honoring the life of Martin Luther King.
- A speech telling the people where they can find the work of Vincent Van Gogh.
- A speech for the school board to get funding for the school dance.
These were some of the topics for a commemorative speech just to give you an idea of what direction to think in. You may use these topics as is, or brainstorm staying on this track and you'll have an inspiring topic to talk on.
If you are unable to come up with an engaging topic, feel free to reach out to the expert writers at 5StarEssays.com.
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