How to write a better commencement speech
I still feel like 2024 has only just begun, but I know that everyone in academia is already looking to the end of the year, which means that commencement speech season is nearly upon us. Some of the most famous speeches are commencement speeches. The best ones resonate with audiences because they’re rooted in storytelling. Steve Jobs’ speech to Stamford’s graduating class of 2005 is a personal favourite. The thing I love about it is its simplicity. It’s three stories with three messages. That’s it.
But this post is not about speech structure. It’s some prompts to help speechwriters elicit better stories from their principals. Here are a few questions to ask next time you’re struggling to get a story out of your principal.
What was your biggest failure
This is always a great one to ask your principal because our failures are usually far more interesting than our successes. Once they’ve shared the failure with you, it’s time to unpack what they did next; what did they learn from the experience? How did they turn things around? That’s how you’ll figure out the message of the story, the golden nugget you want the audience to take away.
What are you most proud of?
People are usually most proud of the things they had to really strive for. If they say “getting my MBA”, dig into that. What made the MBA so hard? What did they have to sacrifice to achieve it? How did they feel standing on the stage receiving their certificate? It might be something professional, but it could be a personal story too. Maybe they’re proud of moving to another country, having a family against the odds, or finding love. The important thing is to dig into specific moments that paint a picture for the audience.
What was your worst day at work?
A terrible day at work can often be a turning point in someone’s life. There’s usually a single moment when they decide they’re not going to put up with a terrible boss, or an overwhelming workload, or a long commute any longer. The decision might be the spark that ignites a new career or business. Ask your principal this question and then dig into what they learned from it and what changes they made as a result.
Pro tip: Ask these questions when you have one-on-one time with your principal. They’re unlikely to share their most challenging moments with twenty other people listening in.
