Commemorative Speech

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Written By Jim Peterson

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

Commemorative speech topics tutorial including seven examples on what you could deliver as observation, memory, monument in words or even celebrate in an salut:

Focus on the values of life and past, present, and future of society. For example hope, trust, kindness, courage, loyalty, wisdom, disappointment, camaraderie, dignity, success, and tradition are good public speaking speech topics.

It is a ceremonial address of honor and celebration of the values of a person, group, an institution, a place, event, idea or subject. It’s more than a tribute verbal testimonial that celebrates achievements or essential accomplishments.

commemorative speechBy commemorating you go an important step further. The optimum variant does not inform, but rather they inspire, observe or pay tribute in order:

  • To give the audience hope for the future.
  • To uplift the listeners’ feelings and emotions.
  • To heighten their admiration for the person, group, institution, event or idea being praised.
  • To express feelings, arouse sentiments.

A special form is the eulogy including commemorative speech topics to praise and honor a person who died.

Use this list below to tickle your imagination. It will help you effectively to sort out, organize and plan in advance spare thoughts. Answer all the questions that are appropriate to you.

And apply the answers to your subject, the occasion and the feelings of the public. In fact it is an praising example.

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  1. Start with a significant aspect of your subject to commemorate. No trivialities, but an activity that represents a value that can stir our emotions and inspire us.

    This commemorative idea is meant to grab the attention and achieve feelings of recognition right at the start of your commemorating speech. Some ideas for a tribute:

    • a person – Describe how the person you honored always takes care of the pets in your neighbourhood
    • a place – Describe the natural world wonder you commemorate, and how it inspires thousands of visitors to protect nature in their local community.
    • an event – Describe how the Superbowl unites many fans, what happens at the big day, what it means to them.
    • a group – Describe that the baseball team being honored became champion because of their co-operation.

    So, what significant aspect of your subject represents or symbolizes an important value in our own lives? Maybe it will help if you ask yourself the basic who, when, what where, why and how questions about your subject to figure it out. That is also a fine way to develop the other suggested commemorative speech topics below.

  2. Explain why you are the speaker and want to pay a tribute. Mention the reasons and the character of the occasion in your commemoration speech.
    • Why does your subject deserve to be honored?
    • Why this kind of tribute?
    • Why at this moment, why at this occasion?
  3. Refer to the particular contributions, achievements or merits. Give concrete examples. E.g. What has been accomplished, in what way?
  4. Build in commemorative speech topics describing why the efforts, impressions, achievements are such a success.
    • Who or what will benefit?
    • Why is this way of thinking or acting valuable to us?
  5. Link your examples to the morality, taste, beliefs, opinions and sentiments of your audience. These speech topics are the heart of your commemoration address.
    • What specific values can we distract and which ones make the difference
    • How can we also apply the values?
    • Why do we need to apply them too?

    Describe the values in such a way that all attendees can empathize and re-experience these feelings. If the commemorated subject is a person, then ask yourself for example: what can we learn of the subjects’ way of approaching things in his personal or professional life?

    Celebrate the person’s special manner. If the subject for instance is a war monument, then ask yourself, what values does this monument stand for? What are we remembering at this place and why?

  6. Now, make a summarizing transition:
    • Link the previous commemorative speech topics of the important values to the common feelings and thoughts that you and the audience share.
    • Illustrate them with a short story, anecdote, facts or a testimony of a symbolic personal experience with the subject.

    If it’s a place you celebrate – for example the Grand Canyon – then tell that you feel very little when you visit it. But also that you have feelings of joy and great respect for the beauty of Mother Nature.

  7. Conclude with a memorable summary of the commemorative speech topics you have been talking about. Help the audience members to remember your main message.

Especially emphasize the values that are being celebrated in you talk. Use a attention getting oneliner that captures the whole idea.

Finally, I list here the three most important tips about this type of speechwriting and on delivering. They are about the language and the style of the presentation:

  1. Use expressive and elegant language.
  2. Formulate in an eloquent serious style.
  3. Avoid exaggerating expressions in your commemorative idea.

Multifunctional Checklist

I. GENERATE FEELINGS OF RECOGNITION BY TELLING ABOUT:

a. Iconographic or key activities, feature or aspects?

• person:
• group:
• event:
• place:

b. Values and merits?

• person:
• group:
• event:
• place:

c. Highlights?

• person:
• group:
• event:
• place:

d. Achievements and accomplishments?

• person:
• group:
• event:
• place:

e. Particular contributions?

• person:
• group:
• event:
• place:

f. The character or features?

• person:
• group:
• event:
• place:

II. NOW FILL IN EXAMPLES IN THIS COMMEMORATIVE SPEECH TOPIC CHECKLIST:

a. Short story?
b. Anecdotes?
c. Facts?
d. Testimonies?
e. Related personal experiences?

III. MAKE A TIE TO THE AUDIENCE IN YOUR COMMEMORATION SPEECH TOPIC

a. Can you tie the examples noted above to the common feelings and thoughts of your audience?
b. Why should we honor her or him?
c. In what way are the points mentioned above in I. valuable to us?
d. What can we learn from the person’s behavior or the features?
e. In what way could we benefit or what are advantages?

IV. WHAT SHOULD WE DO TO APPLY?

a. In case of a person: How can we act like the honored person does/did?
b. How can we improve our efforts?
c. Is there a way of approaching things that we could alter?

How To Use This Commemorative Speech Checklist?

  1. Fill in empty spaces where you think it’s suitable for the occasion, the contents of your inspiring tribute commemorative speech topic.
  2. Fill in rough clues, note them in short keyword sentences. Not more for this moment.
  3. Sort out the things you’ve written in the speech outline.
  4. Write your commemorative address. Keep focused on:
  5. First, establish recognition, mention situations and moments everyone recognize;
  6. Second, examples, proof, evidence. Reason(s) why we honor and celebrate, and learn from her/him/it;
  7. Third, tie to the audience;
  8. Fourth, things your listeners should do. The action step at the end.

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