Staff dinners and parties are held at different times of the year. Many are held at Christmas of course. Yet more are held at the time of the trading year. Whenever they are held they give an opportunity to the C.E.O. the owner or manager to give a motivational speech to staff. That is something that is increasingly important these days. Companies are downsizing. People are in fear of losing their jobs. It is up to the speaker to be positive and reassuring. Thanking the staff for their contribution is essential because you need to engender the feel good factor. You must challenge the staff to overtake the opposition and to beat the recession. You should speak too of being open to their ideas and suggestions because even simple solutions can make a difference. The annual dinner is your opportunity to speak to the staff in a personal capacity too. So it’s alright to mention the style being worn or the dancing that will form part of the occasion. It’s a social occasion so your speech should not be too long and a few light hearted comments are perfectly acceptable. Finally such a speech is about involvement. It’s your annual opportunity to get the staff onside. Don’t waste it.

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Most of us are taught to say “Please” and “Thank you.” When it comes to dinners and functions though there are other things that should be said. Someone should welcome the guests for instance. Guest speakers need to be thanked. There might be a toast to the ladies and someone would have to reply to that toast. It’s all about etiquette as well as good manners and every function is different. The armed forces, for instance, may have a loyal toast. So if you are organising a function ensure you know what ought to be said and ensure someone says just the right thing.

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It all depends on what sex you are. If you are a lassie responding to the toast to the lassies obviously you will need to be modest while agreeing with the sentiments of the toast. You can say that you appreciate the kind things the speaker has said and mention your own respect for the laddies. You can say that the lassies are delighted that their menfolk are present on the occasion. If, however, you are a man responding on behalf of the lassies you can heartily endorse what the speaker has said. That is you can agree that the ladies are really marvellous. You can say that they are deeply gratified by the kind things the proposer of the toast has said. You caner speak of how the fact that there are lassies present adds to the enjoyment of Burns night. Much depends of course on what the speaker has proposed in his toast to the lassies. If his toast is short and sincere the reply should be in kind. If, however, he has given a humorous toast the reply can afford to be witty and entertaining too. Either way the reply to the toast to the lassies is just part of an overall great Burns Night out.

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Ladies’Night means different things in different places. It can be a group of women out on the town together or it can be a formal dinner where the ladies are being honoured. Either way it is a social occasion and deserving of a toast to the ladies. What is said depends, of course, on who is speaking. It may be a gentleman who speaks of the many attributes of ladies and what they mean in men’s lives. Alternatively, it could be a speech given by a woman about the joys and perhaps problems of being a woman in today’s society. Such a speech should not be long but it should be thought provoking and light-hearted in places. It should ensure that those present actually think about ladies and how they enrich society. Ladies deserve a night out now and again and a good speech ending with a suitable toast will greatly add to the occasion. The hand that rocks the world is definitely one worth talking about.

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They are gone but they are still with you. The members of your staff retirement association will soon gather for that annual seasonal dinner. It’s a social occasion of course so what you say cannot be boring, dull or lengthy. Yet they will be those present who have worked for the firm for forty years and who still take a keen interest in the goings on of the company or corporation. They want to hear how it is succeeding in these recessionary times and you have to tell them. Remember their pension might not run to reading the Financial Times. It’s appropriate too to welcome them and to urge them to mix and match with old colleagues and friends. This is one gathering of staff that doesn’t have to be motivational but it is a big day in their lives. So tell them that it is they who have built up the company and that they did a marvellous job. Don’t forget, of course, to wish them the compliments of the season.

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In tough times benevolent societies really come into their own. That’s why they have so many functions at this time of the year. They know that members of their own profession or trade need their help and dinners, dances and shows are ways of raising the funds necessary to assist them. They know only too well that but by the grace of God they too could be struck down with illness or disability. So they are sympathetic and understanding and very discreet about the problems people face. Someone will speak at such functions mentioning the necessity for funds without specifying who is in need. Most of us like to help those with whom we have worked or who were associated with our work. We enjoy a good night out and the fact that we are helping others gives it the plus factor. The word benevolent conjures up a picture of a Santa like figure bestowing largesse. Whatever he or she may look like we can be sure that those in need are very grateful for his or her kindness and understanding. As the saying goes “It could happen to anyone.”

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It’s time for all those Christmas parties and holiday functions. Some are formal and some totally informal. One thing many of them have in common though is a toast to the ladies. It’s a time for a speaker to say how wonderful those ladies are. It’s an opportunity to wax eloquent on their charms. The challenge to a speaker is to sound light-hearted, yet totally sincere. It must be remembered that he will be in competition with many of the greatest writers of all times so his words should be uniquely his own. A toast should be only a few minutes in length but it should also say a lot in a short space of time. When the speaker has finished his toast the ladies present should feel highly gratified and greatly complimented. It also helps of course if the speaker has managed to make them laugh as well.

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Every graduation has a guest speaker. In fact lots of ceremonies, especially award ceremonies have such speakers. Somebody always has the job of introducing them and that is a real challenge. Such a speech has to be welcoming to the speaker. It also has to be informative. In other words you should have done your research on the speaker so that you can speak appropriately when introducing him or her. You should know if he or she has campaigned against racism, won an Olympic medal or saved a whole village from drought. Depending on the occasion you should be able to say how fortunate you are to have such a speaker who is a leader by example. You might say that he or she will inspire others by his or her achievements. If you are also the M.C. you should make the guests feel welcome too and included in the atmosphere of the evening. In other words introducing a guest speaker is like bringing in a birthday cake with candles blazing. You are setting the scene for what is to follow.

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Your company’s annual dinner is more than a social occasion. It’s an opportunity to motivate your staff. It’s your chance to tell them how well they have done and what needs to be done in the future. It’s your opportunity to reach out to them and get them on your side. That does not mean that you have to give a long winded speech giving facts and figures. That’s not appropriate at a social function. Some of the most memorable words in the world were short. Think of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” or President Kennedy’s, “Ask not what your country can do for you.” It’s the message that counts. What you are trying to say is, “Company profit means jobs, YOUR jobs.” It’s about telling them that that better production means better salaries. It’s about motivating them to make their company more successful thus giving them better promotional opportunities. It’s using the words “Us” and “Ours.” The company’s annual dinner is about your people and their pride in what they do.

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It’s difficult to reply to the toast to the ladies. After all you cannot prepare your speech in advance because you don’t know what the speaker will actually say. Nonetheless you can assume that his speech will be complimentary in tone. So while you don’t actually say that the speaker said you were charming and gracious you mention the fact that the speaker made out ladies to be charming and gracious and all things wonderful. You mention too what a wonderful privilege it is for you to respond to such a toast. You speak of your delight in the occasion and in the fact that the speaker made the ladies feel so special. You hint that he has done wonderful things for the morale of the ladies present and you say that certainly you are delighted that he recognised their talents and skills and all they do to make the world a better place. You may even, tongue in cheek, admit that the ladies mirror the gentlemen present in that they are complimentary to each other.

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