Things You'll Need
Photo album
Pen
Paper
Index cards
A reunion speech provides the opportunity to revive old memories, pay tribute to friends and family members, and celebrate your time together with those people who are meaningful to you. On the one hand, giving a speech can be intimidating if you are uncomfortable speaking in front of people. On the other hand, speaking in front of people can be enjoyable, especially if you have the tendency to be long-winded. A reunion speech should be short and sweet. The key to giving a speech that everyone can enjoy is preparation and practice .
Step 1
Look at old photographs of your friends, classmates and family members. Photographs may help trigger memories about events and experiences that you have forgotten. Yearbooks and photo albums are a good place to start. Social networking sites are another helpful resource since many people are now posting old photos online. Jot down ....
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Step 2
Gather ideas for the speech from friends, classmates and family members. You can touch base in person, on the telephone or through email. Ask them to share events and experiences that were significant and meaningful to them.
Step 3
Write a rough draft of the speech. Think of one or two personal anecdotes to include in the speech that will make it entertaining and that will stimulate the audience to remember significant and fun-filled events that they shared together. Pay tribute to friends, classmates and family members who have passed away. The speech should be between 5 to 10 minutes. If there is a coordinator for the reunion, ask for a precise time line for the speech.
Step 4
Write a final version of the speech on index cards. Use a narrative style that fits your personality and the spontaneous flow of discourse. Avoid words and phrases that are not a part of your everyday speaking style. Use the index cards to outline the major points that you want to include in the speech. Number the cards sequentially in the order of your presentation. You should deliver the speech in a natural spoken style, rather than read the speech verbatim from your index cards.
Step 5
Practice the speech several times until it feels comfortable and you find yourself relying less on the index cards.
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