Speech

litzo27

I have to give a speech tomorrow night at a commencement/alumni reunion of a particular program within my former college. Although I speak a lot as part of my work (teaching and research) I've never given such a "keynote" speech. It's supposed to be around 7-10 minutes and I have most of it written down. I can't decide whether I should print out a copy and read or just memorize as best as I can.

Also any other advice anyone has about such speeches is welcomed.

azuremama

I would definitely try not to read if you can.  When I have to give a speech, I usually print out bullet points in large type, and then practice enough that the bullet points help me remember what I need to say.  I would take a copy of the speech just in case, though!

litzo27

Thanks ladies. I think I got the speech mostly memorized. I'll practice out-loud while driving to NYC today. And worst come to worst I'll wing it and be like this guy:

 https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/02/richard-jones-commencement-umuc-_n_870301.html