How to write a commemorative speech that sounds influential

Do read if you love to write a commemorative speech, especially to celebrate and honor the life of your loved one or an important person. But wait here? Did you know the commemorative speech is emotional and requires wits, humor, and sharing fascinating stories?

Don’t worry if you lack these qualities; we are here to provide you with the step-by-step process to write an influential speech. Not just that, you will also get to know different commemorative speech types, examples, and, finally, some useful topics to start your speech like a pro.

Table of Contents

What is a Commemorative Speech?

A commemorative speech is a tribute you present to someone close to you at a funeral, graduation, retirement or award-taking ceremony. It might be your parents, sister or brother, mentor, teacher, etc.

A memorial speech offers a glimpse of achievements and honors the personality addressed in the speech. Whether you give it at a funeral, an award ceremony, or a celebration event, it ignites the audience’s emotional response.

Purpose of Commemorative Speech

Give the audience hope for the future in case of an idea.
Raise the emotions and feelings of the audience.
Inspire people about an institution, event, idea, or personality.
Share feelings and evoke sentiments.

How To Write a Commemorative Speech: Easy Tactics

To write a memorial speech, you must take calculated steps to write the best and most memorable speech.

Start by Making a Commemorative Speech Outline.

Outlining a commemorative speech needs to focus on three things. Firstly, describe the purpose, which means who are what you are honoring. Are you trying to pay tribute to your friend, writing for a death ceremony, or praising your teacher?

Once you clearly understand the context of the speech, the next step is to list specific examples, stories, quotations, and achievements related to a person you will praise. Lastly, create a simple speech structure that includes the introduction, body, and a conclusion paragraph.

Now, Start Writing the Speech.

Start writing the commemorative speeches with an introduction paragraph that should be two minutes long. Add an emotional essay hook to open the speech, such as a personal memory, an impactful quote, or a lighthearted joke that directly hits the chords of the audience.

Now, briefly introduce the subject of the speech by mentioning their special attributes, qualities, and achievements. Finally, add a statement that shows why this subject matters a lot for you to discuss. That’s how the audience will feel the importance of speech.

Write The Body Section.

In the speech’s body, describe the honoree’s quality and achievements in detail, like what they achieved in life, their struggles, how they treated you, and how they are loyal to their work. Also, describe their generosity, patience, and good deeds so the reader can create a positive image of the person being discussed in the speech.

You can even push the audience to put them in your place and think like you. For example, you use the words sentence, “Imagine yourself in my place and see how lucky I am to have that person in my life.” Lastly, there are some transition words for argumentative essays, which you can also use in the body section of the commemorative speech.

End With a Conclusion.

An inspirational commemorative speech is often more than a description of the past or present; it can have a lasting impact on the future as well. By keeping this in mind, finish your speech by telling how the subject has influenced your life and how it will continue to do so.

As an example, when Ronald Reagan delivered his famous eulogy in 1986, he not only praised Christa MacAuliffe and the deceased astronauts but gave the people of the United States hope for the future of the space program.

Finally, add a sentence that highlights how their values and actions will be remembered in good words.

Magical Tips to Follow While Proofreading Your Commemorative Speech

After writing your speech, many errors and improvements will be left over. Below are some magical tips that you can follow to make your speech more engaging while proofreading.

Share an Engaging Tale or Recount a Personal Experience.

You should first notice if your written persuasive speech engages your audience. If not, you can do that by sharing a personal story or experience you shared with that person. This might be a hunting, fishing trip, or travel from the east coast to the west coast or entire North America.

Incorporate a Powerful Quotation or a Figurative Expression.

The second trick is to see if your written commemorative speech generously uses quotations, metaphors or any other types of sentences in its content. By doing so, you will provoke certain emotional responses from your audience throughout the speech’s narration.

Share an Interesting Fact the Audience Doesn’t Know.

One technique you should use in presenting a memorial speech to entertain your audience is to present them with a fact they don’t know. Presenting them with interesting facts will enlighten their minds with a different picture.

Present Humor Through Satire

The next tip is to add a satirical and sarcastic tone or use contractions in writing a speech if you are doing it for a friend’s graduation, marriage, or retirement ceremony. This will keep your listeners happy until the end. Since you are presenting a memorial speech, it should encompass humor and satire to entertain people.

Well-known Types of Commemorative Speeches

Are you searching for the best types of commemorative speeches? Here, we explore extensive types alongside their purposes.

Types of Commemorative Speaking	Purpose
Toasts	To congratulate someone for achievement.
Roasts	Honor someone in a position of power or influence by allowing them to show they can take a joke.
Speeches of dedication	This speech celebrates the occasion, highlights its significance, and praises those who participated.
Speeches of introduction	The purpose of this speech is to capture the audience’s attention and introduce another author at the event.
Speeches of farewell	A speech given to say goodbye to someone who is leaving a position or group
Eulogies	Eulogies are given during funerals and memorial services.
Commencement address	This memorial speech is given at a graduation ceremony to recognize the achievements of the graduating class and motivate them for the future.
After dinner speech	The purpose of this speech is to entertain the audience and end the evening event on a positive note.
Award Speech	The purpose is to publicly honor and celebrate an individual or group for their achievements
Acceptance speech	An acceptance speech specifically refers to thanking someone for an award or honor received.
Tribute speeches	This type of speech aims to honor and celebrate a person, event, or idea by expressing admiration and highlighting their positive qualities

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Popular Commemorative Speech Examples For Inspiration

Here are some popular examples of commemorative speeches:

Ronald Reagan’s Challenger Disaster Speech:

In 1986, President Reagan delivered this speech to honor the seven astronauts who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. Reagan’s speech offered comfort to the families of the victims and gave the American people hope for the future of space exploration.

Barack Obama’s Eulogy for Beau Biden:

Former President Barack Obama pays tribute to Beau Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden, who passed away due to brain cancer. Obama emphasizes Beau’s integrity, compassion, and dedication to public service while highlighting the Biden family’s strength and resilience in tragedy.

Here is a commemorative speech sample in which a guy wrote for his best friend’s eulogy.

It pains me deeply that I cannot be there with you today to celebrate my friend Friend, but I am honored that his mother has asked me to share some of my memories with you. If I had to describe Friend in 3 words, I wouldn’t. It’s not enough. No person can truly fit into 3 words, least of all a person as special as Friend. But I’ll try.

The first word would be (curiosity or exploration- it can be a nod to the acid and weed without actually saying that.) It reminds me of (the story about looking for the lake).

The second word would be Acceptance. He accepted the world as it was with a gentle spirit and a kind smile. (How did you meet and feel accepted and welcomed by him?)

And the last word I would choose is (life, laughter, joy, party, spirit, something on those lines.) (Speak here about how much he added to your life, and how much he would add to any room he entered, that sort of thing.)

Going forward, I know that I will be thinking of Friend a lot. When I am (blank), or (blank), or (blank), I will think about all the times we had together, all the things we laughed about, and all the ways that he made my life better. And I know that it will be painful to think about because it’s something I don’t have anymore. But my memories with Friend are happy ones, because Friend was (good, funny, kind, etc). And someday I know I will be able to smile and laugh when I think about those good times, the same way that Friend and I would laugh- because no one who made me laugh as hard as Friend did would want us to be sad forever.

How Do You Choose a Commemorative Speech Topic for Yourself?

There are some steps to choose commemorative speech ideas, and you may choose what best suits your audience.

Choose a Topic with Deeper Characteristics

The topic is the first thing your speech will be based on; it must have all the characteristics of the person you are presenting. Some important characteristics your speech topic should possess are engagement, inspiration, positivity, and relevancy. A topic based on these qualities will captivate your audience from the start.

Understand Your Audience’s Needs

The more you understand your audience’s needs, values, and interests, the more audience-centric your speech will be. The ideas for a commemorative speech should be enticing for the audience that cares for their needs and captivate them throughout the session.

Choose a Topic That Suits The Occasion

The most important step in presenting and writing a commemorative speech is choosing a topic that is tailor-made for the occasion. If you are a student tasked with writing a commemorative speaking on Pearl Harbor and its victims, your topic should be sad. Presenting a speech irrelevant to the occasion will make your audience lose interest and cast doubts on your capabilities. However, you can also get help from a graduate with good writing skills in this matter.

Start Commemorative Speech Writing Today With Expert Help!

Writing a commemorative speech was mind-boggling, even for seasoned and top students, but not now after this helpful guide. This written piece of content has all the information you need to craft the best memorable speech. However, if you think there’s still something missing, contact essay writing services now. They can even write an influential speech if you struggle to write one.