50 Topics for the Commemorative Speech to Impress the Public

Various speeches are an integral part of our social life. It is one of the most efficient ways to influence people and represent yourself. Politicians, directors, celebrities – they all have to perform speeches on different occasions regularly, and the speechwriter’s job is highly demanded in that field. You might not become the President’s speechwriter, but the skills of composing good speeches will be helpful frequently. That’s why teaching rhetoric and assignments to write a speech take an important part in college education.

One of the tasks that you will for sure need to do in the course of life is giving a commemorative speech.

It is a special type of speech that is also called a ceremonial speech. Its goal is to celebrate a person or event, express gratitude, unite the people, inspire them, and give them hope for a bright future.

A commemorative speech is a tricky task. It demands that the speaker possessed wit, expressiveness, and passion. It is the type of speech where you need to conduct your emotions and direct them to the audience. Your goal is not only to show personal admiration for a person or some event. It is to ignite the same feelings in the audience.

Hence, the choice of the commemorative speech topic is fundamental. The success of the speech will depend on how well you understand and feel the connection with the topic.

The Criteria of the Best Commemorative Topic for You

When you consider the topic of this kind of speech, pay attention to the main features that your speech must possess. The topic must allow you to demonstrate all those features.

One must be a great actor to fake sincerity, and most people detect the speaker being hypocritical at once. No need to say that this ruins the impression the speech must produce. The solution is to choose the topic that attracts to you genuinely. If it is a tribute for a person – choose the person you admire. If that is the celebrating of some event – address the date that has a special meaning for you. If you are not obliged to dedicate the speech to outstanding people and events, you may choose a more trivial “object”. The key is that the topic is important for you personally.
Positive impression. The commemorative speech mustn’t leave the audience negative even if it is a eulogy. Too much enthusiasm won’t do you justice either, it always seems unnatural and spoils the general impression. Your topic should refer to the person or event that you can talk about in a positive and inspiring manner.
Emotional control. The commemorative speech is emotional by its nature, but your goal is to perform this speech with growing strength until it reaches the climax. You can’t afford being carried away by own emotions. At the same time, you can’t be boring and stiff. Finding the right balance is a serious challenge, but it is worth making all efforts. Select the topic where you can both be emotional and keep yourself under control.
The worst thing that may happen is to produce a dull official tribute that will only annoy the audience. The commemorative speech lets you have enough means to make it brighter and engaging. You can use humor, be creative, refer to interesting literacy expressive means, and so on. If the topic lets you tell a story that can leave its trace – the topic is right for you.
This characteristic is closely related to your audience. That’s why you need to make a small research about it. Learn who these people are, what are their common features, and why they will gather on that occasion. You also need to know about their cultural background and values. This will help you to define which expressive means appeal to them, and which ones will be unacceptable. As for the emotional “coloring” of your speech, you will need to correlate it with the audience as well. If you plan to give that speech more playfully, consider the jokes they will appreciate. If you want to be more formal and solemn – appeal to the important things and experience they all share. The topic of your choice must be specific to that audience.
In case this is the first commemorative speech that you ever composed, you might refer to the ready examples for understanding the form and the expressive means. But your work must be original and concrete. “Trivial” topics give more opportunity to be original, as you deal with specific people and events that are close to you only. Still, you can make the next tribute to George Washington unique if you express your admiration sincerely and brightly.

The List of Commemorative Speech Topics

It is important to understand that there is no such thing as the right topic that will guarantee your success. You need to evaluate all criteria and own capabilities to meet them. Choose the topic where you can express the feeling sincerely and inspire other people. It won’t matter then if you give that speech about the first victory of your college hockey team and not about the world champions.

Here Tutoriage professionals offer you some suggestions on appropriate topics for commemorative speeches, and you can choose some of them, or use them as the starting point to compose your topic.

Tributes to Outstanding People

Louis Pasteur and how his works helped to beat the most dangerous diseases.
Neil Armstrong and the winning race to the Moon.
Winston Churchill ruled the nation during World War II.
Martin Luther King and his dream came true.
Marie Curie – the Nobel prize winner for nuclear physics researches.
Elizabeth Blackwell – the first female doctor in the USA.
Ernest Hemingway – a famous author.
Hedy Lamarr and the meaning of her inventions for the modern life.
Grace Hopper who helped the computers to enter each house.
Meryl Streep – possibly the best actress of all time.

Tributes to People Around

A tribute to your mother and her role in you becoming the better person.
A tribute to your father and his support of your decisions.
A tribute to your colleague who helped you to master the job.
A tribute to the first teacher who inspired you to become a scientist.
A tribute to the brother or sister and their appreciation of your ideas.
A tribute to the coach of your sports team who led you to the victory.
A tribute to any hard-working person whose efforts crowned them with success.
A tribute to the policemen who risk their lives to protect us all.
A tribute to the vet doctor who is always ready to help the pets.
A tribute to the best gardener on your street.

Celebration of Important Historical Events

The Paris Agreement – proof that all nations can unite to fight global warming together.
The end of World War II.
The invention of antibiotics that saved millions of lives.
The invention of Facebook that gave birth to the social network reality.
The invention of the Internet and its meaning for world progress.
A tribute to the space exploration with the famous milestones of the 21^st
A tribute to the greatest travelers of the past who changed the human ideas of the Earth.
The most important battles of World War II.
Independence Day.
A tribute to the Constitution of the USA.

Celebration of Personal Achievements

The day you enrolled in the college.
Personal development and becoming a better person.
The wedding of your close relative.
The day you met your future husband or wife.
A tribute to the family.
The day of the first victory of your sports team.
Getting success and a researcher.
Becoming a teacher to help the children to find their way.
Your first book published.
Getting the prize your always dreamt of.

Tribute to the Human Qualities

Celebrating the modern ethical principles.
Human bravery that saved lives.
A tribute to hope that lets people do wonders.
A tribute to the hard work and its fruits.
A tribute to the human imagination that changed the world.
A tribute to the pillars of modern society.
A tribute to the moral strength with the example of a historical figure or any living person you know.
A tribute to critical thinking.
A tribute to loyalty with examples of real people.
A tribute to humanity.

A Few Tips on Composing the Commemorative Speech

Now when you’ve chosen the topic, have a look at these recommendations on making that speech.

Gather the information about the occasion to understand the context. The commemorative speech is always about the definite things or people, so, you need to know much about them to select the most vivid details for the speech.
No matter what your subject is, you need to provide a connection with the present and the future. Even if you give tribute to the deceased person, explain the importance of that person’s achievements and influence on the other living people.
Consider the language. You can experiment with the expressive means and be creative in the commemorative speech. However, assure that the audience will get your ideas and experiments. Your language must be clear, avoid jargon, and if you want to include some specific terms – explain their meaning at once.
Make sure that your language is respectful. Humor is fine, but make sure that you won’t offend anyone. Many people will hear your speech for the first time, and they will judge your person basing on the impression of that speech.
Don’t try to promote yourself with this speech. Speak from the heart, make the listeners engaged, and it can help other people to notice you.