Speaker Auditions
Student speakers are an important part of Commencement as they represent their graduating class, the faculty members who have nurtured their academic growth, and the staff who have provided them with support and guidance. For Spring 2013, we will be selecting one salutatory undergraduate speaker and one salutatory graduate speaker. Candidates for a bachelor’s degree who have been awarded honors at graduation are eligible to compete in the undergraduate speaker category. All master’s degree candidates are eligible to audition in the graduate speaker category. Eligible candidates will be vetted amongst faculty and administration before a speaker is chosen. Once chosen, the student speakers will be required to attend coaching sessions with a faculty member.
Students will be auditioning in front of a selection committee. Please bring 7 copies of your speech to the audition. The auditions may be videotaped to assist the selection committee in making its decision. Your speech should last no longer than 5 minutes. As a general guideline, 1 typed page (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt) equals 2 minutes.
To participate, please email teresa.fujino@chaminade.edu or call (808) 739-4669 to register. The deadline to register is Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Auditions will be held on Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. in the Marianist Conference Center in the Clarence T.C. Ching Hall, first floor.
Below are some tips to help prepare and deliver your speech:
About the graduation speech:
- The speech should be intelligent, creative and original
- The speech should be appropriate for graduation. The speech should be respectful of all attendees and be congratulatory in nature
- Find one big idea to focus on in your speech – you should have something relevant and significant to say to the student body and attendees
- There should be a well organized and clear message
- While your idea might be about yourself, be sure to make it relevant to your audience—other graduates and their families. You can speak about yourself, but remember this is not about you, it is about the whole class
- Find more than one example that illustrates the sub points you want to make
- Avoid the use of clichés
About the introduction:
- Make it relevant to the occasion
- Get the audience involved
- Get the audience to think positively about the subject
- Stimulate the audience
- State the purpose of the speech and the points you will discuss
- You can
- Ask a question
- State an unusual fact
- Refer to a historical event or occasion
- Refer to an illustration, example or short story
- Present a quotation
- Identify common relationships, interests or opinions
- Tell a joke (only if you do it very well)
About the body:
- Be sure to have an example for each of your points
- Be sure that each point is relevant to your main idea
- Try to include everyone in your speech
About the conclusion:
- Emphasize the main point of the speech
- Climax the speech
- The summary should be relevant to the speaking situation, it should involve the audience and it should stimulate and invoke positive thinking in the audience
- Help the audience remember the speech by making a memorable statement. You could:
- State a challenge/call for action
- Compliment the audience
- Emphasize the importance of the subject to the audience
- End with a gimmick
- Return to the theme of the attention getter
- Look to the future
- Use signals to point out the ending such as:
- In conclusion
- Let me restate
- Think again of the points we made
About nervousness:
- Everyone is nervous
- No one will know unless you tell them – verbally or nonverbally
- Be confident
- Know well what you want to say – organize it
- Present in an orderly fashion
