We have just welcomed in the New Year. Hopefully, too, we will welcome many other events in 2011. A C.E.O. or manager may, for instance welcome guests to an opening of a new business. A literary agent might welcome guests to a book launch. A guest of honour may welcome visitors to the opening of a charity/fundraiser or to the opening of a school or hospital. Despite the recession shoppers will undoubtedly be welcome to the opening of a new store. There may be a church welcome or the welcome to the faculty at the beginning of term. Parents may be welcomed to an Open house meeting while students may be addressed welcomingly by a head teacher at the beginning of term. All over the world there will be conferences where the participants are welcomed. Whatever the occasion or wherever it is there is no doubt but that speakers have to lay out the red carpet by expressing their delight in seeing those present. The secret of such speeches is to make the audience feel that the occasion would simply not be worthwhile if they were not present. Like New Year’s Eve itself every event has its own importance and the speeches, like the old song should say “This could be the start of something big.”

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Speaking in church is a different challenge for public speakers. If they are asked to speak at, say, the opening of a Church conference their opening remarks must make those present feel welcome and encourage them to take an active part in the conference. They must be made to feel as though this conference is particularly relevant to them. The speech should be topical and refer to the challenges facing the church at this particular time. It should explain that those present will have ideas about how problems should be tackled. Obviously those who attend are interested in church affairs and so the speaker can assume he or she knows about the subject matter under discussion. Church welcome speeches on the other hand are geared at those who are attending a church function such as a christening or confirmation ceremony some of whom will not be regular churchgoers. Again they should be made to feel welcome but the speaker must also strike a balance between what is common knowledge to those who attend church regularly and explanatory to the people who only attend on special occasions. One thing both occasions have in common though is that religion makes a difference in people’s lives either by discussing and debating at a conference or simply by being welcomed to any Christian ceremony as a guest in God’s house.

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President Obama, or his speechwriter, is preparing what he is going to say about the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. The question is what can he say that will justify the war there? What will he say that will appease the families who have lost loved ones in such a war? Will it include a mention of patriotism or peace? Perhaps even more worrying is what about the soldiers who are suffering from post traumatic distress and other mental illnesses because of the number of times they were on active duty. It seems that the army medical facilities cannot cope with the numbers and they are being sent to private hospitals and clinics outside the army medical system. There are reports of marriages breaking up because of the war. There are reports too of children suffering because of its stresses. What will the President say that will alleviate such suffering? What compensation can anyone offer for the horrors experienced by seeing one’s friend blown up or decapitated? How will he justify that war in a way that will have any credence? Whatever about that there will be plenty of welcome home speeches and toasts at parties for the homecoming troops.

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We expect the clergy to speak in church. There are occasions though when a lay person may have to speak instead. There are all sorts of occasions such as Christenings, communions or confirmations where a parent might be asked to give a Church welcome speech. At certain times of the year such as Easter a lay speaker may also be asked to speak. Obviously such speeches should reflect on the importance of the church in the life of those present. They will usually also contain a biblical quotation relevant to the particular occasion. They should warmly welcome those who have come and make them feel especially involved on the day. Many churches have been built a long time and so there is often a need for a church chapel or place of worship anniversary toast. Such speeches will mention the part the church has played in the local community over the time it has been there. They will speak of it as being a sacred place with a special meaning for those who frequent it. They may mention those who built it or tell some of its history. The clergy are well used to speaking on such occasions but most of us aren’t. It is well worth taking the time and trouble to write a speech that makes an important occasion really special for those who attend.

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Celebrate with a speech. Most of us would claim not to be public speakers but have you ever thought of how many times during a lifetime speeches are used by you are someone else? When a baby is born there is often a christening party or a baptismal party at which a parent or god parent speaks. In the Jewish tradition someone may speak at the Brit Milah. As children grow up their teachers will use welcome back to school speeches every year and of course there are those graduation speeches. Normally parents don’t speak at birthday parties but there are exceptions. They like to wish their daughters well when they reach sweet sixteen and of course there are also coming of age toasts. Then it’s time for those wedding speeches of all kinds and lots of people are roasted at their 50th birthdays. Retirement speeches then become a fact in your life. In between times you may speak as the incoming president of a sporting organisation or give the toast to the ladies at a social function. So you see speeches mark many occasions in our lives and of course funeral eulogies sum up those lives.

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During the vacation schools and cleaned and painted and the head teachers are busily writing the Welcome back to school speeches. These speeches are very important because they set the whole tone for the coming academic year. This is when new students are welcomed and every other student is encouraged to work hard, for his or her own sake. That’s important because trying to get students to study is difficult enough. If you can show them the benefit that they themselves will reap you have more chance of success. Schools are, however, much more than merely a place where students study. They are also a place where they grow and mature and have fun while doing so. They are a place where students learn self discipline and where they make friends for life. So that is the message teachers are trying to get across when they address the students who undoubtedly wish they were still on vacation. It’s a tough challenge but what they say in that speech can change attitudes and make a real difference.

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You never think of school principles as salespeople. Yet once a year they give a warm welcome to parent/teacher (Openhouse) meetings and it is at such meetings that they sell their school. Such teachers will obviously speak of the ethos of the school. They will speak of the advantages of sending students to that particular school. They will speak of the academic excellence there and woo them with the promise of individual attention for their offspring. What they will omit from their speech is any mention of problems the school may have. Instead they will speak encouragingly to those parents of parent/teacher collaboration and promise that bullying will be tackled immediately. They will sell their school as a safe, encouraging place for children where they will make friends and have lots of non academic activities such as sports. They will stress the excellence of their staff and the wonderful facilities available. Such teachers may have no place in the world of commerce but there is no doubt but that they could teach many sales executives a thing or two about pitching their product.

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Welcome speeches cover a whole spectrum. You could be welcoming home a carnival queen or executives to a business conference. You might be running out the red carpet for guests at a social function. You might be the speaking to the faculty on the first day of term or to parents who are checking out your school to see if it would be suitable for their darlings. It’s possible that someone starting a new business or producing a new product will also speak words of welcome to guests on the opening day of the business or at the launch of that product. Whatever the occasion the speech will have to make the guests feel warmly welcomed. They have obviously been invited because of some link with the club, association or business. They are important to the speaker and he/she should convey that fact in his/her speech. You may think the Irish expression “You are a hundred thousand times welcome” is going a little overboard but that’s exactly the feeling you should convey in a welcome speech.

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Being an M.C. means that you have to set the tone for a particular function. It is up to you to welcome guests or delegates and give them that feel good factor. Your job is to create a spirit of anticipation ahead of a social event or conference.
Of course there are dozens of different kinds of functions and what you say depends on what they are. You might be welcoming guests to a function where the business person of the year is receiving an award. It could be that you have been asked to be an M.C. at a book launch. You might be giving a welcome to guests at a social function. No matter what the occasion is what you say is very important.
So give a warm welcome and make whatever is going to happen next sound promising. It is always good to be topical so make some mention of a topical event if you can. You are not a comedian but a light hearted remark or two will add to the occasion. Obviously it is essential that you give outany safety notices that are important or any details of what the audience has to do.
The Irish have a saying that a good start is half the business and so if you do your job as M.C. well the function is already half way to being a success. When it comes to closing the event you should comment on successful the occasion has been, thanks to the participation of the audience or delegates. You thank the participants and the organizers and express the wish that all those present will meet again at another such successful occasion. Finally you should wish all those listening a safe journey home. Finally remember that being a good M.C. is all about creating and maintaining the right atmosphere.

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President Obama’s race to the top fund encourages strategies for educational reform. Changing existing text books and subjects may, of course, help. Having better teachers would obviously improve matters. There is, however, a simple solution to class sizes and teachers’ abilities that would make a huge difference to education. That is for exciting and challenging computer programmes to be made of all compulsory school subjects with ongoing tests at different levels as part of the programme.
For the pupils a laptop would be like having a personal tutor. Children could then each learn at his or her own pace. Right from the beginning a child could learn reading and writing and maths and progress according to his or her ability.  He or she would not have to stand up and be humiliated in class because he or she could not read for instance. They could learn their addition then move onto multiplication and so on up to theorems. Children with problems would be much more quickly and privately indentified for remedial help.
Teachers would, of course, have to be trained to supervise this way of learning. If, as they trained, they completed the tests on the programmes themselves they would see for themselves any quirks or problems and these could be corrected before the programmes were released to the schools. On the plus side they would not need to prepare classes as that would already be part of the programme. All their time and attention could go into supervising and helping the students to master existing programmes, existing tests. Students could work individually for some of the time and perhaps, when necessary, in groups.
As the prepare their welcome back to elementary school or welcome back to high school speeches educationalists might just consider how they could lighten their load yet help make schoolwork more attractive and more satisfying. Added to that of course they would be giving those pupils a head start in the use of computers as a way of modern life.

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