Best topic for speech to present in farewell program

How To Give A Memorable Farewell Speech

It’s your last day on the job. Your colleagues have gathered in a conference room, gotten you a few nice going away gifts, and purchased a cake in your honor.

Suddenly, your co-workers begin chanting: Speech! Speech! Speech!

Your adrenaline surges, your heart begins pounding. Oh no! A goodbye speech! If you’re like most people, you’ll mutter something like this:

“Okay, well, I wasn’t expecting to say anything, but, well, I guess what I’d like to say is that it’s been an amazing eight years here. You’re all an amazing team, you’re like a second family, and we’ve really been through some ups and downs together … okay, a lot of downs together. But I will really miss you, although this isn’t really goodbye, because I’m going to stay in touch with all of you…whether you like it or not!”

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If your goal is to leave a final, strong impression on your bosses and co-workers, that’s not a great way to do it.

I’ve been guilty of giving that bland farewell speech as well. In 1999, for example, when I left ABC News’ Nightline, at the time one of the most prominent evening news programs, the staff gathered in a conference room to send me off. Ted Koppel, the host of the program was there, as were the executive producer, all of the senior producers, on-air correspondents, and others. Frankly, I was overwhelmed that so many important people thought enough of me to have gathered in my honor. I made it through a few sentences, got emotional, and abruptly ended my farewell speech.

Tips for Your Best Farewell Speech

There’s no specific formula for how to give a great goodbye speech to colleagues at work, but here are some tips on how to deliver your best farewell speech.

Tell a story or two. Stick to anecdotes that are humorous and self-effacing, as well as heartfelt. Don’t be afraid to offer some details of your personal biography – particularly an episode that captures a universal human experience or condition.

Reveal gratitude or offer thanks. Share with your colleagues how they helped you to do your job better, allowed you to grow as a person, and/or helped you to understand something about yourself.

Keep it short and sweet. Strip your stories and remarks to their most essential details. It will help you to pack a lot of content – and offer a meaningful message – in a short amount of time.

Make it original. When you focus on personal anecdotes and revelations, you deliver a farewell speech that is unique to you and far from trite.

Take some example of Goodbye Speech to Colleagues

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)