252 CHAPTER 18^ Speaking on Special Occasions
Farewells
Saying good-bye is never easy because departures cause disruptions that affect those left
behind to a greater or lesser degree. This is true whether or not the person was well liked.
For example, consider the emotions that arise when a popular professor takes a position
in another university, a beloved rabbi retires, an unpopular manager joins another com-
pany, or the seniors on the football team graduate. Because all these departures signal
changes in an organization’s social patterns, farewell speeches function to ease the inevi-
table adjustments that both the departing individual and the group must make.
For these occasions, express emotions—especially appreciation, sadness, affection,
and hope for the future. Balance the sadness by speaking about happy times. Telling
humorous stories is a good way to do this.
When you are the person leaving, include some or all of these elements in your farewell:
• Remind group members of what they’ve meant to you personally.
• Identify some lessons you learned from being with them.
• Tell stories that you’ll carry with you as happy memories.
• Express both your sadness at leaving and your hopes for the future.
• Encourage them to continue to uphold the organization’s mission and values.
• Invite people to write or visit you in your new location.
When you bid farewell to a departing person, you speak not only for yourself but
also for your group, so include these elements in your speech:
• Recognize the person’s accomplishments in the group.
• Identify positive personal characteristics that you will remember.
• Use humorous anecdotes.
• Express your personal sadness and the group’s sense of loss.
• Wish the person well in his or her new location.
• When appropriate, present a gift as a remembrance.Announcements
Announcements provide facts about upcoming events or developments of interest.
In clubs and organizations, businesses and faculty meetings, announcements are an
agenda staple because they answer the questions “What’s happening?” or “What’s new?”
Essential to these short speeches are details regarding time, place, cost, and so on, as the
following guidelines shows:
• First, draw your listeners’ attention to the event.
• Provide such details as who, what, when, and where the event takes place.
• Give both the costs and the benefits of attending.
• End with a brief summary of important information.
Here’s a sample announcement:
Have fun and do good at the same time by attending the third annual Oregon
Food Bank Benefit, which will be held Tuesday, August 2, from 5:30 to 9:00 p. m. at
McMenamins Grand Lodge in Forest Grove. Listen to the Big Band sounds of Swing
DC and meet some representatives of the Oregon Food Bank, who will be there to
take donations of cash or canned goods. The restaurant will donate half of all food
and beverage receipts to the food bank. Children are welcome.
So help stop hunger in Oregon a week from Tuesday, from 5:30 to 9:00 p. m. in Forest
Grove. The Internet provides a map and directions to the lodge, or call 503-992-9533
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