Oftentimes, we stick to speeches that appear to be inspiring for all of us. We may encounter speeches such as an award acceptance speech, donation speech, celebration speech and more. However, each one of them have a different set of purpose. A commemorative speech is one of them. This type of speech celebrates the past and present accomplishments of an individual or group of individuals to give audience some hope for the future.
A commemorative speech gives tribute to a person, place, event or even an idea. They are also called ceremonial speeches which focuses on values like wisdom, loyalty, kindness and courage. This is a form of public speaking where you are required to write something from the heart and enables you to reminisce something of whatever you have experienced from the past.
The ultimate purpose of a commemorative speech is to give an inspiration to the audience regarding a person, a place, event or an idea. This aims to express your feelings and sentiments. It is not just about having a list of achievement that a person has or something about personal background. It is more than that.
A eulogy is a funeral speech that is made to pay tribute to somebody who died. It contains a message about their life and why the person mean so much to you.
Example:
Many of you may know that Sarah and I have owned and operated a bakery together for several years. You might not know that we were baking together long before that. Our parents enrolled us in a summer program that taught kids how to cook and bake, and we bonded over our love for creating offbeat flavors.
While most kids our age had lemonade stands, we were setting up mini bake sales to buy more ingredients to bake more stuff. Sarah wasn’t just a talented baker, though. She was a great person. When you’re working long hours with someone, it’s easy to get frustrated with each other. But Sarah was endlessly patient and kind with everyone, inside the kitchen and out.”
You may also want to check for other Short Eulogy Examples here.
A nomination speech is a type of commemorative speech that proposes a name for a candidate who will run for a certain position.
Example:
“I am pleased to nominate Jane Doe for the Employee of the Year Award. I have known and worked with Jane for ten years and have always found her dependable, efficient, and unfailingly punctual. In fact, I have never worked with a person who gives as much attention to detail as she does. Also, her willingness to take on difficult projects like the Doe proposals and see them to successful completion has repeatedly impressed me over the years.
Her skills do not end with her office work. She also projects a warm, cheerful attitude to our clients. I have seen her resolve conflicts and handle other difficult situations with remarkable patience and admirable tact. In the community she goes out of her way to help people in need by organizing charity drives each December and singing with the city choir. She loves people, works hard, and always tries to lift the spirits of those around her. I believe these characteristics represent all that is good in our company, and I am pleased to nominate her for the honor of Employee of the Year.”
The speech of goodwill persuades your audience to consider you without any assumptions or judgments. They can be both persuasive and informative.
Example:
“…You live in a defended island of freedom, but your life is part of the main. So let me ask you, as I close, to lift your eyes beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom merely of this city of Berlin, or your country of Germany, to the advance of freedom everywhere, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind.”
– President John F. Kennedy, 1963
Wedding toasts are just words or a short message dedicated for a newlywed couple. This is a combination of emotion and humor. After the short message, all guests will take a sip of drink.
Example:
“My wish is that your marriage will be a thing of beauty and a joy forever, always as beautiful as you are today, [Bride]. And may the loveliness of your marriage increase with each year. Here’s to the bride and groom.”
“Here’s to a sweetheart, a bottle, and a friend. The first beautiful, the second full, the last ever faithful.”
“Here’s to the groom, a man who kept his head even while he lost his heart.”
This type of speech aims to express gratitude for the winning honors and to show appreciation to your sponsors, other presenters, nominator, etc. who helped achieve such honor.
Example:
“Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my honor and privilege to accept the award of [title of the Award].
I sincerely thank the sponsors [names of sponsors] for initiating the award, nominators [name of nominators] for nominating me, members of the selection committee for selecting me, and the organizers [name of the organizers] for hosting this [name of the award] function.
It is certainly a very proud and humbling experience for me, for my co-workers and team members [name of team or of corporation if applicable].
I especially want to thank my mentor [name of the mentor], who always helped and guided me with his/her knowledge, experience, expertise, and kept me motivated to achieve my goals.
I also extend my sincere appreciation and gratitude to my co-workers, team members, family members and other multiple business associates, without their help, this honor would not have been possible.
This award would always have a place of honor in our company/corporation.
Thank you, again.”
You may start by telling them stories and adding a personal touch. You may even insert your own personal thoughts to make it more presentable.
You should end your speech with a memorable summary with the topic you have chosen.
You may have a tribute to a loved one, celebrating a religious value, topics that are devoted to human rights, etc.
Each of the speeches mentioned serve different purpose. You cannot use an acceptance speech when you are in a graduation ceremony. You cannot even use a eulogy when you are at a wedding. Just like in a commemorative speech, you have to stick into that single topic you chose for your speech to make it clearer to the audience.
