Interested in speaking at graduation? Each year, EKU selects one student to speak at each of the commencement ceremonies. There are traditionally two ceremonies in the fall and three ceremonies in the spring. To be selected among your peers to be the commencement speaker is a great honor. Below are some tips that you can follow as you write your speech and submit your application. For the Spring 2024 ceremonies, the application is now closed.

Recommendations

As you prepare your video submission for your commencement speaker application, consider these tips:

Content:

• The goal for any commencement speech is to inspire the audience. What will your audience remember about your speech?
• Create a strong theme, something that holds the speech together and provides a clear message for the audience (avoid cliches or overused themes).
• Share your experiences, but don’t just talk about yourself–make the speech audience- centered with your experiences as evidence for your motivation.
• Demonstrate how EKU has made a difference on your journey.

Delivery:

• Conversational–seek to engage your audience, rather than speaking at them.
• Energy–if you are not excited, your audience will not be excited either.
• Vocal Variety–avoid monotone delivery.
• Eye Contact–engage your audience by looking at the camera as often as possible.

Video Production:

• Be mindful of your recording space. Minimize clutter–or use a virtual background.
• Make sure you are well-illuminated (no backlight).
• Try to be in frame from the waist up.
• Make sure the audio quality is good enough for people to hear you (no fans, tvs in background, etc).