A ceremonial speech is an emotional speech that marks a major event or rite of passage. Public speaking classes often include a ceremonial speaking assignment, and ask students to use their imagination and give a ceremonial speech for a real of fictitious situation.
Do you need a topic for a ceremonial speech assignment? Here are some fun ceremonial speech topic ideas.
1) Wedding speeches. Speeches for make-believe weddings can be fun! Imagine that someone close to you is getting married-- a friend, a sister, a parent, or even you-- and write a fictitious speech. Here are some wedding speech ideas:
- A wedding toast from the maid of honor
- A wedding toast from the best man
- A wedding toast from the father of the bride, or another parent. (Pretend that the wedding is for your future child.)
- A wedding toast for a parent who is getting married.
- Wedding vows to your fictitious spouse. (For a creative touch, "marry" someone famous.)
- A toast at a wedding shower.
- A toast at a bachelor or bachelorette party
- A toast at a wedding rehearsal dinner
- A toast at a wedding anniversary party for your parents or grandparents
2) Graduation speeches. Graduation speeches, or commencement speeches, can be fun for students. For some help, here's an article about how to write a graduation speech, and here are some graduation songs and graduation quotes you might incorporate into your speech. Here are some graduation speech topic ideas.
- A high school graduation speech
- A college graduation speech
- A future graduation speech. (Pick a random year, like 2078, and be creative.)
- A kindergarten or elementary school graduation speech. (Pretend to be a teacher or principal.)
- A commencement address from a famous person, living or dead. (Use your imagination!)
3) Eulogies. Eulogies are speeches at funerals or memorial services to honor someone who has passed away. Eulogies are sad, but they also can be a beautiful commemoration of someone's life. You can eulogize someone who is actually dead, or give a fictitious eulogy for someone who is living. If you choose a eulogy topic, be careful not to pick something so emotional that it will be difficult for you to deliver the speech to the class. Here are some eulogy topic ideas.
- A eulogy for a family member.
- A eulogy for friend.
- A eulogy for a pet. (For a creative touch, pretend that you are another pet giving the eulogy.)
- A eulogy for a future spouse.
- A eulogy for a teacher.
- A eulogy for a famous person (choose one who is actually dead or one still living).
- A eulogy for a fictitious television, movie, or book character.
- A eulogy for a war hero or other heroic person who has given their life to save others.
- A eulogy for yourself. (Pretend you are one of your friends or loved ones.)
4) Acceptance speeches. This is a great way to fantasize and use your imagination. Accept an award or honor for whatever you want! Alternately, pretend you are someone else accepting an award, famous or not famous. Here are some suggestions.
- An Academy Award acceptance speech
- A Nobel Prize acceptance speech. (Pretend that you have cured AIDS or brought peace to the Middle East, or some other imaginative accomplishment.)
- An election acceptance speech. (A concession speech would work as well.)
- A sports acceptance speech, such as a Most Valuable Player award
- A Teacher of the Year award acceptance speech
Good luck, students! If you have some suggestions for ceremonial speech topics, stop by the discussion. Here are some other articles about public speaking that might be helpful to you:
Naomi Rockler-Gladen - Instructional designer and freelance writer, Naomi Rockler-Gladen writes some of Suite101's most read work.
