I have a couple questions about this, since I was just named Valedictorian of my class and I have no idea what to write my speech about:
What is the difference between Valedictorian and Salutatorian, besides the GPA difference? Is there something specific each one should address in their speech?
How long is a good speech? I was not given a time limit, but I would imagine it should be no more than 10 minutes at the most.
There really is no difference- but I would say that the Valedictorian has more pressure to give a really inspiring speech. I would say 5-10 minutes is pretty solid. And in your speech, try not to talk about yourself and your accomplishments too much (students really don’t appreciate this), and talk more about the body as a whole By all means, you can talk about yourself- just don’t make the whole speech a list of your accomplishments.
I hope this helped and good luck!
Traditionally, salutatorian speech is given at beginning of commencement and valedictorian speech is the last speech given. Thus salutatorian speech was something of a welcome to the ceremony and valedictorian speech was the closing (final words the class shared together before going off into the world). But ultimately, I don’t think there is anything hard and fast in the way of rules. As a general matter, I think shorter is better. I would say not much more (if at all) than 5 minutes. People aren’t there to hear you or salutatorian speak. They are there to see their kids graduate and your classmates are there on an important milestone of their own lives and share it with their friends and families.
My best friend gave our salutatorian speech 30 years ago. I cannot remember a thing he said. Only thing I remember is he had his speech written out. Valedictorian speech was given by another friend. I cannot remember anything he said other than his last words. He was a big Star Trek fan. His speech related our high school experience to Star Trek and gave his speech from memory. Not surprisingly, he closed with “Live long and prosper.”
Good luck and enjoy the experience.
Your speech should be about 5mn and should help people remember key moments in their 4 years - either moments the whole school lived through, or specific moments some students will “get”. It should be good-humored and humorous if you can, but make sure to work on the delivery.
Make sure to highlight students or groups that were not highlighted before (you’ll have to add that in depending on whether you have access to principal’s speech and salutatorian’s speech).
i think i read somewhere that the Saludatorian speech is about the Class and the Val is about the future.