You don’t become the salutatorian of your graduating class by luck; you do so by working hard and getting the second-best grade in your class. After your hard work pays off, the next step is to deliver the salutatorian speech during your graduation ceremony.
This is where many people get nervous, but we’re here to show you how you can get on stage and deliver a great speech on that day. These detailed tips, steps, and salutatorian speech examples will guide you towards giving a speech that you won’t forget easily, as you’ll see later in this article. But first, let us go over what a salutatorian speech is and why it is so important.
A salutatorian speech is a speech given by the salutatorian of a graduating class, either in high school or college. A salutatorian is a student with the second-highest cumulative GPA in the whole set. As a result of their academic achievement, salutatorians are given the honor of delivering a speech during the graduation ceremony.
The word salutatorian comes from the word salutatory, which means ‘welcoming.’ Hence, a salutatorian speech is given at the opening of the graduation ceremony. With this speech, the salutatorian is tasked with welcoming people to the graduation ceremony, acknowledging important guests, and speaking to the audience on behalf of their fellow students.
Different schools have different rules guiding their student behavior, so you need to find out the ground rules about giving speeches and what to avoid. Talk to a teacher or organizer beforehand, so you know how to tailor your speech. Ask if there are any specific rules you should follow or avoid. Also, find out what you’re expected to cover in your speech.
You should also find out how much time you have, what jokes or quotes are inappropriate, and what kinds of speeches are allowed. A great way to avoid trouble is to go over your speech with a staff member before the ceremony.
The typical salutatorian speech already has a theme, but you can always add your own spin on it. You can decide to give a funny speech or a motivational speech, or both. Whatever you choose, you need good salutatorian speech ideas that tie it together, so it doesn’t look all jumbled up. Awesome salutatorian speeches tend to have a mix of different themes that blend well together.
The audience for salutatorian speeches is usually the parents, graduating students, and staff of the school. With that in mind, you need to study them beforehand so you can understand how to address them. How will they respond to your salutatorian speech ideas? Will they enjoy the salutatorian speech examples you have in mind? Answering these questions can help you understand how to deliver your speech. If you’re stumped, check out some salutatorian speech examples.
Brainstorming before writing your speech is very important because it helps you arrange your thoughts. It will help anyone come up with the most awesome salutatorian speeches. Brainstorming will help you figure out the direction you want your speech to go, what stories you want to include, and any other salutatorian speech ideas you may want to implement.
When brainstorming, you must do your research and look for other salutatorian speech examples. That will help you come up with more salutatorian speech examples and salutatorian speech jokes.
Looking up other salutatorian speech examples will give you an idea of what you’re expected to do. It is part of your research, and you can learn a lot of new things that way. You can also check out other speeches that aren’t necessarily salutatorian speeches to get a better idea of speechwriting.
There are many awesome salutatorian speeches online, and you can find templates that will help you structure your work. Good research will provide you with more salutatorian speech ideas to help you develop a great salutatorian speech.
The structure of your speech is the most important part of the speechmaking process. Awesome salutatorian speeches have a typical structure or outline that you need to follow – but we’ll get to that soon. First, you need to know the direction your speech will take and create your outline accordingly.
Then, you need to assemble all the salutatorian speech ideas, quotes, and salutatorian speech jokes you have into a rough draft. This draft will be your first draft. It doesn’t have to be perfect because you will still edit it. Keep in mind that you will still do some major editing and leave room for improvement.
Once you have your first draft, the next step is to edit the speech until you are satisfied. The editing part is where you refine the speech and make it good enough to deliver in front of your school. As you edit, you need to keep the following in mind;
Once you’re satisfied with your final result, it is time to get some external opinions. A lot of people skip this step, and it doesn’t always turn out great. When you try out your salutatorian speech in front of other people, you can get a good idea of how your audience will respond to it on graduation day.
Practice giving your speech in front of some of your classmates, teachers, or family members. Try out your salutatorian speech examples on them and see how they respond. Ask for feedback and see how you can improve your speech. Also, try out your salutatorian speech jokes and stories on them and see if they find them appropriate and entertaining.
The popular saying goes, ‘practice makes perfect,’ and there are few things that embody this saying more than speeches. You need to practice your speech for several hours until you can deliver it without sounding stiff and unnatural. As you practice, you can find ways to improve your salutatorian speech more.
An easy way to practice is by using a mirror. When you practice your speech in front of a mirror, you can see where your mistakes are and make adequate corrections to your posture, carriage, and demeanor. You can also practice in front of a friend who can give you honest feedback.
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A salutatorian speech comes at the beginning of a ceremony, so it differs from many speeches. The speech is primarily used to welcome guests and family to a graduation ceremony. It has 3 distinct sections that we are going to look at in this section. They are;
The beginning of the speech is where you welcome the guests to the event. If there are any special guests, they also get acknowledged here.
This is where you give the main part of the speech. Here, you thank the people that contributed to your graduation. Remember that you’re also speaking for your classmates, so don’t make it too personal.
The ending should be directed to your classmates. This is your chance to talk to them and congratulate them on their achievements.
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Don’t forget that your audience will be made up of mainly your classmates and family. You don’t need to use complicated words or long sentences in your speech. Your aim should be to leave them with something good and not confuse them. A clear and simple language will make you easier to understand when giving your speech.
This tip sounds easy enough to follow since you’ll be talking to an audience with your classmates in it. However, remember that you give your salutatorian speech to the other guests on behalf of your classmates. If you want them to follow along with your speech, try to be relatable.
Typical salutatorian speech examples don’t follow a specific time limit, but you can find that out by asking a teacher in your school before graduation day. Since the salutatorian speech happens at the beginning of the ceremony, you may get a limited time. You have to make sure your speech fits into that time, so you don’t go over and bore people with an extra-long speech.
Writing down key points that you can reference during your speech is important for most speeches. For your salutatorian speech, you may want to write down the names of the important guests you have to welcome, as well as other important topics in your speech. This way, you avoid making an embarrassing mistake or digressing from the main purpose of your speech.
Becoming a salutatorian is no easy feat, so you have to take your speech seriously. This means that you have to be confident and comfortable on the stage. Remove all signs of nervousness from your posture and be charismatic.
Nobody wants to listen to a grumpy or bored person deliver a speech, no matter how short that speech is. It would be best if you smiled, have good body language, and be generally engaging and polite. All these affect how well your audience will receive your speech.
One mistake many people make is climbing on stage to give a speech with a fake personality. Audiences can usually tell when you’re forcing something, and it doesn’t always end well. Practice your delivery skills until you can give your speech as naturally as possible. You don’t want to sound like you’re acting.
Most awesome salutatorian speeches come with good jokes. As easy as this sounds, one bad joke can change the whole mood of a salutatorian speech. You need to pick appropriate jokes that work well with your audience and your speech’s tone and won’t offend people. Here are some ways you can do that:
Every school has its set of drama, funny events, and embarrassing moments. You can bring up one of those stories in your speech and retell it with a funny twist. It works even better if the event involves you or your friends. Make sure the story is on an appropriate topic so you don’t offend anyone.
Your salutatorian speech can include inspirational quotes and stories from your life for your classmates. Talk about the lessons you have learned on your journey and the dreams you have in mind. You can touch on the future of your class and the goals you hope to achieve. Inspire them to believe they can achieve their goals too.
Motivational quotes are a great way to get people hooked on your speech from the beginning. You can quote some great and successful people that resonate with your audience to get the best results. However, you can ruin your speech by adding too many clichés like “This is the first day of the rest of our lives.” They are lazy, and you can expect to lose people’s interest immediately.
Typically, a salutatorian is supposed to thank the relevant people who contributed to their success and their class. To avoid it becoming monotonous, you can pick a few people and thank them individually while mentioning specific ways they helped.
Traditionally, a salutatorian speech is given by the salutatorian, i.e., the student with the second-highest GPA in the graduating class. Technically, any good speechwriter can write a speech – you need some great salutatorian speech ideas to guide you. But it is best for the individual presenting the speech to write it themselves. So, while anyone can write one, a salutatorian speech should be written by the salutatorian.
| VALEDICTORIAN | SALUTATORIAN |
| A valedictorian is a student with the highest cumulative GPA in a graduating class. | A salutatorian is a student with the second-highest cumulative GPA in a graduating class |
| The valedictorian gives the valedictory speech at the end of the graduation ceremony. | The salutatory speech is given at the beginning of the graduation ceremony by the salutatorian. |
| The valedictorian’s speech is usually directed to their fellow students, usually with admonitions to do better and accomplish more future goals. | The salutatorian’s speech is given to the attendees of the graduation ceremony on behalf of the students. The salutatorian welcomes the guests and sets the tone for the rest of the ceremony. |
| Valedictorians typically sit on the stage during the graduation ceremony, and they usually have differences in their graduation robes to separate them from the rest of the graduating students. | Salutatorians may also get separate robes, but they don’t always sit on the stage with the administrative staff. |
Here are some great salutatorian speech examples that will help you write awesome salutatorian speeches.
Becoming the salutatorian of your class is a big deal. It shows that you worked hard to get to that spot, and it is something to celebrate.
In this article, you’ve learned how to write awesome salutatorian speeches, complete with steps on using good salutatorian speech jokes. Follow these instructions, and your salutatorian speech will be a memorable one! Download Orai from the app store today, and practice with your AI speech coach anytime!
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