How to Make a Farewell Speech

Writing Your Speech

Write an outline. Once you’ve generated content, it’s time to organize it so that your speech will flow nicely. A great way to do this is to make an outline. An outline is a way to organize content so that it goes in a logical order that a listener or reader can follow. Your outline can be as detailed as you'd like. Your outline should contain spaces for an opening, the body of the speech, and a tight conclusion. An outline doesn’t contain the complete text of the speech. It simply has bullet points and summaries of each section.

Open with a fun icebreaker. Speeches that start with a joke or a great witticism grab the audience’s attention right away. Particularly for a farewell speech, the audience might be expecting something very dry or heavy. Even if the occasion is a bit solemn, try to start with something fun. This will set a good tone and help get people listening for the rest of the speech. An ice breaker might be some kind of inside joke or chant that everyone present would know about and be able to appreciate. If one of the anecdotes you wrote down is particularly funny or snappy, it could make a good opener as well. Sometimes a quote or inspirational message can work well as an opener, though you may want to save this for your closer.

Write the body. The body of your speech is when you get to share your anecdotes and summarize your time there, if appropriate. You can tell stories about specific people and experiences and also about more broad feelings you have about the people and the place. When speaking generally or summarizing, remember to, “show, don’t tell.” This means that it’s usually stronger to be specific and give details or examples, rather than generalizing. An example of “show, don’t tell” is saying, “On my first day of work, I noticed that half of the office stayed an extra half hour after closing time to make sure the reports were done,” instead of, “Everyone here always works extra hard.”

Conclude with a quote or punchline. The way that you close your speech is likely to be something that people remember long after the speech is over. Decide if you want to end on a funny note or a serious one. Even if your speech has been largely solemn, leaving people with a joke can be a great way to close things out. It can be a great tension reliever. You can search for great quotes online by subject. There are quotes for almost every occasion. If you’re particularly clever, you can end with a punchline that ties together with a joke or anecdote you told at the beginning of your speech. For example, if you started the speech with something like, “I’ll never forget my first day here. I thought I was doomed when I walked in the door and saw that I was twenty minute late,” you could close the speech with, “Well, I guess that’s all I have time for. Look at this. Five years later, and still running twenty minutes behind.”

Choosing What to Say

Summarize your experience. Think about the overall experience you’ve had at the place that you’re leaving. It may be a job, a school, a volunteer position, or a place that you’ve lived for a long time. Try to think of what you’ve done while there, and how you would tell the story of your time there from beginning to end. Try writing down a narrative history of your time at this place. It doesn’t have to all be appropriate for a speech. Simply write it down to help yourself remember everything you’ve done, and to help yourself realize what has been the most meaningful to you. Your narrative may start with something like, “I came to work here right out of college and had never lived on my own before. I was so shy that I didn’t make any friends for nine months. Then I got that promotion a year later and formed close bonds within my new department.” It’s okay to write down things that were difficult. You can edit them out later. You might include something like, “I hated when we had to move to the new office.” When you edit your speech, this may turn into a funny anecdote, or maybe you’ll say something like, “Even when we had to move to the new office, I couldn’t help but notice how cheerful my colleagues managed to be in a hard time.”

Include choice anecdotes. Once you’ve written your summary, see if there are any anecdotes that you can remember from your time at this place. An anecdote can be funny or touching, but it should be a short, specific story that helps paint a picture of everyday life while conveying your thoughts or feelings overall. An anecdote might start out something like this: “I’ll always remember my third day of school. Spencer and I had been assigned to sit next to each other on the bus, but on the third day, my grandmother followed me onto the bus and declared she’d need to have a word with Spencer…” Anecdotes can be great ways to express appreciation for a specific person, or to illustrate something you appreciate about the place as a whole. For example, the above anecdote might end with something like, “...and of course, he’s never left my side since then,” or, “...which is how I knew that this school community would finally be a place that I’d feel at home.”

Touch on a serious or heartfelt point. You want to keep your farewell speech fairly upbeat, but it’s also good to take some time to reflect on what you’ve gained through your time at this place and what you’ll miss. People will appreciate you being reflective for a bit and sharing your feelings about the occasion. Think of things you’re grateful for, or moments that helped you become who you are. Make a note of something like, “when John stood up for me freshman year,” or, “when the boss actually brought my proposal to the board and I realized that my voice mattered.” Think about the reasons you’re sad to go. This could be something like, “I know that a group of people who look out for each other like this is a rare thing to find,” or, “I learned so much from each person here, it will be sad to move on without everyone.”

Include well-wishes. Presumably, others are staying even though you’re making your farewell speech. Offer good wishes for those remaining. Try to be sincere, though it’s always okay to throw in a joke or two if it’s not mean spirited. You can offer wishes for the group in general, such as, “Of course, next year, I’m sure you’ll all finally get to nationals without me on the team.” You can also offer individual good wishes, such as, “Janet, I hope you have an easy transition to being vice president; I know you’ll do great. Richard, good luck taking over the entire smoothing department.” You can also state hopes and wishes you have for yourself, such as, “I don’t know what’s next for me, but I certainly hope it involves people as kind as all of you.”

Delivering Your Speech

Recite your speech to yourself. Writing a speech is only one aspect of the entire presentation. You also need to practice the speech out loud. That’s because often, the way that you write things might not actually roll off the tongue easily. Go over any parts that seem confusing or that don’t flow easily. Make any notes or changes that will be helpful when delivering the speech. Time the speech when you recite it. Give the speech to a mirror so that you can see how often you’re able to look up from your paper without stumbling. You can also practice the speech in front of a close friend and ask for feedback.

Keep the speech brief. You might have a lot to say, depending on your tenure at this place and how much it has meant to you. However, this speech is not the time to go into minute detail about it. Remember that people likely need to get back to work, or have other things they’d like to be doing with their time. If you do it right, you can make a powerful speech in a short period of time. A farewell speech should usually be about five minutes long. Ten minutes is acceptable in certain circumstances. More than that should be reserved for extremely special circumstances, such as when a head of state resigns.

Speak with confidence. Many people get nervous when speaking in front of a crowd. There are plenty of tricks to help yourself battle nerves if you need to. Make sure to practice your speech many times; then, prepare yourself for standing in front of a group. Know that you may make a mistake. Be prepared for this. Don't beat yourself up if it happens. Acknowledge it and move on. You can even laugh at yourself to help put the audience at ease. Focus on people who seem to connect to your speech. If they're nodding, smiling, or have their eyes glued to you, focus on them. Their energy will help give you confidence.