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Learn How To Give Great Speeches From Commencement Speakers Like Robert Smith

This article is more than 4 years old.

Not everyone can win over an audience like billionaire Robert F. Smith did when he announced during the May 2019 commencement speech at Morehouse College in Atlanta that he and his family would pay off the entire graduating class' student debt.

There are less costly ways to deliver a great speech, according to Toastmasters International, a nonprofit organization that has trained communicators and leaders since 1924.

“With commencement season now in full swing, many politicians, executives and other prominent figures will serve as commencement speakers,” says Dennis Olson, a spokesperson for Toastmasters International, which has 357,000 members in 143 countries. “The most effective and memorable speeches are light-hearted and engage and inspire the audience of graduates and their guests.”

In May of 2019 Toastmasters International highlighted five speeches (below, in chronological order) as among the most memorable commencement speeches in the past five years.

“Great commencement speeches include six elements: authenticity (being yourself), transparency (sharing a story of failure), wisdom (having failed, picked yourself back up, failed again, hit reset, and used the lessons learned from the previous failures to become successful), humor (comic relief, keep their attention, make that connection), credibility (Are you somebody?) and preparation (practicing the speech or hiring an exceptional speech writer),” said Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking Ramona J. Smith, who I was honored to share the stage with at the Toastmasters District 57 conference in Northern California in May. “These five speeches were great because each speaker incorporated these six elements into the content and delivery of their speeches.”

Here are Toastmasters International’s five memorable commencement speeches to learn from:

“Actor Jim Carrey, while speaking at Maharishi University of Management in 2014, urged the graduating class to not let a fear of the unknown cause them to settle. ‘So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality. What we really want seems impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect, so we never dare to ask the universe for it.’”

“Former President George W. Bush used his well-known sense of humor to his advantage when delivering Southern Methodist University’s keynote speech in 2015. The 43rd president of the United States received laughter and applause throughout his speech, none more so than when he delivered this line, ‘Those of you who are graduating this afternoon with high honors, awards and distinctions, I say well done. And as I like to tell the C students, you too can be president.’”

“Scientist and animal-rights activist Jane Goodall, when speaking to the University of Redlands graduating class of 2016, reminded the students of the impact their behavior has on the rest of the world. ‘We may have different colored skin, we may be from different cultures, we may eat different things and wear different clothes, but wherever you go in the world: If you cry, your tears are the same. If you’re happy, you laugh, and the laughter around the world is the same...Within each one of us all around the world, the human heart is structured the same.’”  https://tinyurl.com/y6mjck7r

“Actor Will Ferrell’s speech at the University of Southern California in 2017 might best be remembered for his impromptu performance of Whitney Houston's classic I Will Always Love You, but he also offered some words of wisdom to the students who are unsure of what to do after graduation. ‘For many of you who maybe don’t have it figured out, it’s OK. That’s the same chair I sat in. Enjoy the process of your search without succumbing to the pressure of the result. Trust your gut, keep throwing darts at the dartboard, don’t listen to the critics, and you will figure it out.’”

“When Apple CEO Tim Cook gave the commencement speech at Duke University in 2018, he challenged the graduating class to break with conventional wisdom. ‘Don't just accept the world you inherit today. Don't just accept the status quo. No big challenge has ever been solved, and no lasting improvement has ever been achieved, unless people dare to try something different, dare to think different.’”

All great speeches should have a main point or key idea, says Diane Pleuss, Director of District 57 for Toastmasters International, who I met several years back when I helped her edit a book she is writing.

“This should not be a lecture, but rather a personal, engaging story the audience can relate to,” says Pleuss. “Your speech should evoke emotion and if there are some humorous twists and turns to the story, so much the better. Keep it short. Practice it and practice it some more. You want to be able to warmly and confidently communicate your message. You want to be able to enjoy the laughter when the audience laughs with you. Finally, have fun.”