Three-hundred-sixty-three days ago, as Dean of the Class of 2025, I spoke the night before graduation to the students and their families. The photo above shows me, at the beginning of my speech, taking a photo for my Instagram #hotchkiss365 account. If you click the photo, you can watch/listen to the whole ceremony, which (in addition to my speech that starts around twenty-seven minutes in) shows some amazingly talented singers and musicians. [NOTE: the photo was supposed to show the video on the School's website of the event, but the link didn't work when I checked it. Instead, I have a transcript of my speech. Not nearly as cool. Sorry. If I ever track down a recording, I'll swap it back in.]
Before I started the deaning job, I tried to weigh the pros and cons of switching from full-time teaching to half-time administrating. One of the items in the CON list was that I'd have to give a lot of public speeches. I don't have glossophobia, but I also don't usually love having to speak in front of lots of people. Because I care deeply about combinations of words and ideas, it takes me a long time to put together speeches that get things just the way I want them. And even after hours of tinkering with the syllables, I always think up better phrasings after it's too late. And as much as I want to craft the perfect diction and syntax in advance, I know that reading a speech word-for-word can sound super dull. Moreover, I worry that I won't be able to come up with anything others want to hear. When I think about all the things that are scary and difficult about talking in front of big groups, I can work myself into a lather.
But it turns out, I enjoy the thrill of giving a speech that's well-received. I find delight in coming up with a message I think is important AND sharing it in words that people don't mind hearing.
Tomorrow, the Dean of the Class of 2026 (Hi, MW!) will give his speech, which I'm excited to hear and know will be terrific. He gets to give his with a mellifluous Jamaican accent, which would seem like cheating if he weren't from Jamaica, but since he is, I'll allow him the headstart. All this to say, you've got this, MW!
As today's post goes live, I'm roughly halfway between giving the speech for the 2025s and next year, when I'll offer remarks to the 2027s for their night-before-graduation festivities. I haven't written that speech yet, but I anticipate that I'll be as nervous, excited, and proud as I was a year ago.
No matter what I write for that speech, I'll know I've done my best at something that's not easy.
Do you ever give speeches to large groups of people? What advice would you like to share? What experiences have you had giving talks? Please share any responses in the comments.