In the past, so-called graduation speeches were only known at elite American universities. Each year, celebrities such as Jimmy Kimmel, Denzel Washington and Bill Gates address graduates with witty and funny speeches. But large graduation ceremonies with humorous speeches are becoming more and more popular in this country. Berlin speechwriter Matthias Müller-Krey explains on the Gentleman blog what you can learn from speaking professionals in the USA and what you should pay attention to when giving your final speeches.

Helpful Tips and Clever Punchlines

In 2015, actress Natalie Portman unwittingly gave a behind-the-scenes look at graduation speeches at American universities. She had been invited by her alma mater, Harvard, to give a speech to the graduates. Portman then wrote in a later leaked email: “But I’m gonna need some fun niggas.” Ideas ?

German speakers can only be surprised to see with what naturalness several speechwriters are called upon across the Atlantic for a final speech. Because in German-speaking countries, the vast majority of final speakers still have to rack their brains. But it’s worth taking a look at speeches in the United States, as they are usually written by teams of top-notch Washington speechwriters and Hollywood gag writers. There you can not only find some useful tips, but even pick up a punch line or two.

1. Tip: Make sure you start with humor

There’s nothing graduates fear more on graduation day than a speaker who spends 20 minutes giving sage advice about their future. That is why you should leave no doubt from the first moment that your speech will not only enrich the audience, but also entertain them. A good example of this was provided by television host Conan O’Brien in his 2011 commencement speech at Dartmouth University:

“Being invited to give a keynote speech was a truly great honor for me. So I decided to prepare my words with the same dedication that many of you have shown when writing important articles. Last night I started late.

Of course, it’s great to have speechwriters who put such beautiful sentences in your mouth. But if you don’t have a team of professional writers around you, you still don’t have to despair. To find fun ideas to start your speech, all you need to do is imagine your audience’s situation. You’ll find that proud parents will likely be much more interested in your speech than new graduates. Such amusing observations can easily be transformed into humorous formulations. Entrepreneur Sumner Redstone put it this way in his 2011 speech at DeVry University:

“So I was asked to give the graduates some words of wisdom that their parents will remember for many years to come. »

Tip 2: Share your life experiences – but with a wink

People invited to give speeches at a graduation ceremony usually have ideas and experiences that are interesting and valuable to the graduates. Smart advice for life after graduation should definitely be included in the speech. So that these tips don’t seem too dry or even too academic, they definitely need to be packed light and loose. A good example of this mix of seriousness and humor was provided by television presenter Ellen DeGeneres’ speech at Tulane University in New Orleans in 2009:

“Never follow the beaten path. Try to find your own path in your life. Unless you’re lost in the wilderness, be sure to follow the beaten path.

The easiest way to come up with humorous remarks is to think about what goes through the graduates’ minds during the speech. Many people will already be thinking about the party that follows. Denzel Washington addressed this fact in his 2011 University of Pennsylvania graduation speech:

“Everyone falls on their face sometimes. This may not happen to you for ten years of work. Maybe it will happen on the dance floor tonight. The important thing is: get up immediately.

Tip 3: Get to the point and finish quickly

The longer you speak, the greater the risk that your speech will lose momentum and momentum during the presentation. William Shakespeare put it this way: “Conciseness is the soul of wit.” In German: “Conciseness is the soul of wit.“The general rule for humorous graduation speeches is: five to seven minutes of speaking time is ideal. Ten minutes is the limit of pain.

And of course, the end of your speech is a good opportunity to make one final witty remark. Comedian Mindy Kaling put it this way in her 2014 Harvard commencement speech:

Finally, I would like to say thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to speak here. Thank you to the university, thank you to the faculty, thank you to the website abendredenschreibschnellundleicht.de and of course thank you all for your attention. THANKS!

Conclusion of the closing speech

If you want to write an entertaining and funny graduation speech, you need to pepper serious advice with humorous comments. The speech begins with a fun introduction that makes you want to know more and lasts a maximum of ten minutes. If you complete your remarks with a funny remark, graduates will remember your speech for a long time.

The author of this article

Matthias Müller-Krey is a freelance ghostwriter in Berlin. He writes speeches, articles and books for leaders in business, science and politics. He also runs an advice website with tips for wedding speeches and speeches for special birthdays. Tip: You can find even more tips and suggestions for funny wording for graduation speeches in his e-book “Writing Funny and Catchy Graduation Speeches.”