Thank you Speech

How To Write A Thank You Speech

Do you think people enjoying listening to a thank you speech?

Do you?

What do most people dislike about them…?

They sound like a shopping list.  Listening to a long list of names is boring!

But what can you do to stop you boring your audience to death? 

Simple, just follow these suggestions.

Preparation

Now I know you might think being prepared could make you appear over confident. And you are right you may do, but this is a risk you should take. Otherwise, the alternative is to win and look like an idiot who has no idea what to say.

Even if you don't scoop the award, your preparation need not be wasted. It should make you stop and think about who has helped you make it this far. And even though you might not be able to publically express your gratitude, you could find other ways to do so.

Who Should You Thank ?

Of course, time restraints will affect how many people you can physically name, but this should not be the only limit. No one wants to listen to a long list of names. If your thank you speech is happening at an award dinner, your listeners may have a smaller attention span than usual if they have been drinking.

So how do you decide who to include and who to leave out?

One option is to list everyone you can think of that you might want to thank. You will soon get a feel for those who should be a definite and those who might be a maybe.

Use marks to distinguish between them. For example a red squiggle by their name means a definite yes, or a blue cross means you really should include them for appearances but don't really want to.

Once you have your list of names, you could divide them into 3 or more categories:

• The definite yes's
• The should be
• The nice if I could

Taking each category in turn and starting with the definates think of reasons why you want to show your appreciation. You don't have to write whole sentences just a few keywords should help jog your memory.

• When did you know them?
• What did you do together?
• How has this helped you?

Allocate more time to the most important recipients.

Too Many To Thank?

If your list is too long, but you still have more people to thank include them in a general thank you.

For example… and to all my college friends, I would love to thank you individually, but for fear of boring you all to sleep, I won't but I want you to know without you...

Don't Forget To

• Know where the people you are thanking are sitting, so when you say their name you can look at them and acknowledge them with a smile or nod.
• Slow down. If you are rushing through your speech, you are not giving people the respect they are due.
• Include pauses so you as the speaker have time to catch your breath and allow your audience time to digest what you are saying.
• Use pauses to highlighting or emphasizes certain points.
• Follow the standard speech structure of an introduction, body and conclusion.
• The intro can be a simple as 'Wow me employee of the year, who would have thought obviously  all that sucking up has worked! Seriously though, it is a great honor but ….
• Use quotes to say thank you carefully. Presentations full of other people's words (which quotes are) can begin to sound cliché. Even worse they begin to lose their sincerity.
• Check out the speaker's handbook for more helpful hints to help you with your thank you speech.

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