It’s a pity that award ceremonies are often so boring. That’s mainly because of boring speeches. After all it’s a very special day in the life of the recipient and his or her family. No matter how modest the recipient may be his or her family will expect that the speech honouring him or her will consist of words that can be treasured and remembered. Whether the award is for the student of the year, the nurse of the year or a hall of fame award doesn’t really matter. What matters is the sincerity of the speaker and the fact that he has done his homework on the subject. So if he is presenting an award to the entrepreneur of the year he should be able to speak of how as a student he sold sandwiches to others who had forgotten their lunches. He should be able to speak too of the interests and hobbies of the entrepreneur and wonder if he got his ideas at a debating society or on the golf course. He should be able to speak of how his wife supported all his efforts by acting as unpaid secretary/PA for years. In other words such a speech should encapsulate a whole way of life that led to the award in question. It means doing your research but your recipient and his family will be delighted and your audience will have a bigger picture of what is involved in winning such an award.

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It’s the time when we give usually give awards to the person of the year. It’s a very special occasion for the recipient and his or her family. So what you say when presenting that award should be memorable. Of course there are hundreds of different reasons people receive such an award so you have to do your research and find out exactly why the recipient is being honoured. He or she may have done unstinting work for the homeless or for sick children. He or she may have a cared for an invalid for years or done fundraising for a third world non-profit organisation. Whatever the reason the award is being given know your facts and if possible speak to those who have benefitted from his or her hard work. Then when you are speaking you can honestly pay tribute and tell the real story of just how much the recipient has done for others. It’s probably a once in a lifetime award so make sure your speech reflects that fact and really pays tribute where it is due.

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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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Don’t use platitudes. That’s excellent advice for anyone who is presenting an award. After all the winner or winners has gone to great lengths to win that award. They have put time and effort into achieving the excellence needed to bed a winner. This is especially true if they have won the businessperson of the year award or the business award to a business. In a time of recession it is even harder to keep going, to be innovative and to be motivational or motivated. So they deserve to have their achievement mentioned and praised. The speech should be personal, specifically about what they have achieved and how they have done it. So avoid talking about their hard work and speak instead of how they have managed to think outside the box. Talk instead of how they have changed their method of doing business to meet changing and challenging times. Present the award to the inner or winners but make sure that everyone present knows exactly WHY that award is being presented.

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Sales are critically important in these recessionary times. Every company that sells a product or a service needs to increase their sales. They have to get that message across to their sales staff. Salespeople though are quite likely to be discouraged recently. Who can blame them? After all all they see in the newspapers and on TV is bad news about the economy. All they hear about is job losses and plummeting figures. Sales staff need to be encouraged and one of the best ways of doing this is to have a coveted prize for the salesperson of the year. It may be a bonus or a cruise or shares in the company. Whatever it is though it has to be something staff will work hard to win. The presentation of that salesperson of the year award should be public and what is said in the presentation speech is very important. The winner has to feel convinced that he or she is valued, that he or she has done well in very difficult times. Put simply, your speech has to give them the feel good factor and encourage them to do even better in the future.

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Courage is something we all admire. When an act of courage is shown on TV or in the newspapers we read about it and think “Well done.” How do we put our admiration into words though when we have to present an award for such courage? What do we say that shows how much we admire the recipient and his or her bravery? In many cases children receive such awards simply because they show their courage in some exceptional way. Obviously what we say to them will be different to what we say to courageous adults. The message, however, will be the same. It will say that they stand out from the rest. It will say they gave us all an example of bravery in action… It will speak of our admiration for them and it will tell just what they have done to deserve that award. It will tell of how they put others first. In a world where old fashioned values are often ignored courage remains newsworthy simply because we still all admire those who are brave. We are still in awe of those who do the unthinkable

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A good Master of Ceremonies makes all the difference to any social occasion. In fact you could say that the M.C. is the oil that lubricates the event and makes go smoothly. It doesn’t matter if he is the M.C. for a wedding, an award ceremony or a concert. What is important is how he makes those present feel welcome and in the mood to enjoy or take part in that particular event. His welcome to those attending should, therefore, be warm and if he is welcoming guest speakers he should do so graciously. Naturally a good M.C. will do his homework about the occasion and people in question. He will know their attributes and background before introducing them. If he can add a topical touch to what he says so much the better. He should know what announcements have to be given during the event and so he should announce the cutting of the cake at the wedding for instance. If there is a break in proceedings such as at a concert he will make an announcement about where drinks are served and about the timing of the interval. At the end of the occasion he should thank all who have contributed to the occasion. Above all his farewell words should leave those present with a feeling of satisfaction. In other words a good M.C. ensures everyone goes home with that intangible feel good factor.

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Rory McLlroy is not the only golfer around. He is, of course, a wonderful player but he is just one of the thousands who play this demanding and often frustrating game. They aren’t all professionals of course. They are men and woman who simply love the game and who spend much of their free time on the golf course. All of the world there are cups and competitions and prizes given to the winners. In fact if you get to be the captain of a golf club you need to learn to give speeches as well as play the game. After all you might have to speak at the Captain’s annual dinner or at the Captain’s prize. It could be that you have to say a few words at a golf outing prize-giving. You would need to speak about the game itself and about the wonderful players who took part in competitions. You would need to mention too the staff who keep the greens green and the meals appetising. Those committees deserve a word of praise too. Above all remember that your are speaking to like minded souls who think golf is as Arnold Palmer said, “A way of testing ourselves while enjoying ourselves”.

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The day of the Bimbo is dead. From now on Beauty Queens need a high I.Q. That is if they are to answer the sort of questions they may be asked in competitions such as Miss Universe. They may claim to walk 100 Dalmatians before breakfast and to save the world before lunch but now they are going to have to know what’s really happening in the world as well. They may be asked questions on topical events and asked for their opinion on the moral and ethical questions of today. If this sort of questioning catches on then entrants in beauty queen pageants nationwide will have to do more than get their hair and makeup done. They will also have to read the newspapers, listen to currant event programmes on radio and watch them on T.V. They will have to think about more than what sort of dress or swim suit to wear. They will, in fact, become living proof that beauty is more than skin deep.

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Make their day really special. That is if you are speaking at an awards ceremony. It might be an award for courage, you might be honouring the person of the year. You might be presenting a prize to the teacher of the year or even the student of the year. Those who receive such awards have worked hard for them and it is only fitting that you should acknowledge that fact in your speech. Most achievers will freely admit that they have had lots of support from their families and usually family members are present at such an awards ceremony. So it is fitting that they too should enjoy the occasion. What you say will ensure that they can feel a glow of pride. That is if your speech is personal enough and flattering enough. There are, of course, some people who win lots of awards and for them such an occasion may become commonplace. For most winners though it is a once off or at least a rare event. So what you say will be very important to them. So forget the clichés and say how much you have been impressed by what they have done. It’s easy to say that John worked long and hard for this event. It is much more impressive if you can say how many wet Mondays he has done training or how many holidays he has foregone to achieve what he has achieved. So give the matter some thought and enhance the day for them with your speech.

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