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All Of It with Alison Stewart
Writing Good Commencement Speeches
00:19:36
Professional speechwriter Riley Roberts breaks down his favorite commencement speeches, and asks listeners about their favorites.
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Alison Stewart
This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. All Today we've been hearing conversations that all of It Gets guest host Kusha Navadar had on the show while I was out earlier this year. And with the new year less than a week away, we wanted to end today's show with a conversation about commencement speeches. And as you hear this discussion about picking the right words to inspire an upcoming generation, keep in mind how those insights might apply to the way you're thinking about your hopes for the new year. Kusha asked listeners to call in and share their favorite commencement speeches, but because this is an all of it encore presentation, we won't be able to take your calls today. Now let's commence our discussion around commencements. Here's Koosha.
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Kusha Navadar
This is all of It. I'm Koosha Navadar, in for Alison Stewart. I'm heading back to my hometown of Albany, New York. I'm specifically going to Gilderland High School, my alma mater. It's graduation day for the class of 2024, and I have the privilege of being their commencement speaker. So shout out to the class of 20. You know, we are just at the tail end of speechwriting season for commencements, and it's always an exciting time of year. And as a former speechwriter myself, it's interesting to see which speeches in any given season get attention and how commencement speeches have changed over the years. I also appreciate how vexing it can be to write a decent speech. You don't want to come off too tacky or cliched. You want to convey an engaging story that's personal yet universal. How do you impart nuggets of wisdom to a crowd that frankly probably won't remember what you say but will remember how you make them feel? In some ways, commencement speeches are the art of inspiration, and it can be revealing to step back and see how that art form has shown up in the big moments of our own lives and how it may look going forward. So to help us look at commencement speeches, we are joined by Riley Roberts. Riley is a professional speechwriter who has written for many notable figures that includes former Attorney General Eric Holder, as well as numerous politicians, pop stars, athletes, Fortune 50 CEOs, and he even royalty. He also happens to be my former colleague and a writing partner on my own speech. Hi Riley, welcome to the show.
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Riley Roberts
Hey Koosha, Thrilled to be here. Thank you so much for having me.
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Kusha Navadar
Thank you for joining us. We actually got our first text right there. It Says we did an anti apartheid speak out at my graduation. Cornell 1979. Powerful. Thank you so much for that text. And it actually leads us right into the first question. Riley. Cause, you know, for a lot of people, commencement speeches are kind of their first exposure to the concep of speeches generally. So you know what commencement speeches play. Did commencement speeches play any role in getting you interested in being a full time speechwriter?
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Riley Roberts
So I would say not directly, but the, the beauty of commencement speeches is that we've all experienced one, whether it's good or bad. You know, we've, we've sat through our own commencement ceremony or one for a loved one or a friend, and we've either been inspired or we've been bored to tears. And so that's very accessible, relatable experience. And I, I absolutely believe that a wonderful commencement speech, you know, done well, done, right, can really lift the room, can, can leave a lasting impression. As you said, it's an old cliche and there's often truth to cliches that you're not going to remember what somebody says at your graduation ceremony. But as you said, they may remember how you make them feel. And that's, that's really powerful.
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Kusha Navadar
What do you think are the essential building blocks of making a good commencement speech as compared to like, you know, any other kind of speech you might give?
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Riley Roberts
Sure. So, so there are three things, and, and the first is, is true of a lot of speeches, but I'd say it's especially true of commencement speeches, and that is keep it short. I always, I always tell people, I always advise clients, use what I call the sitcom rule, which is recognize that there is a reason sitcoms are about 22 minutes long if you don't count commerc about the limit of our attention span. And, and that's especially true when you're talking about one person standing stationary at a podium and talking at you. You know, you're going to lose people pretty soon, so keep it short. 22 minutes is way too long even for a commencement speech. You know, the shorter the better, you know, because as, as I said, commencement ceremonies are long. There's a lot of formal stuff to get through the reading of the names, which is why you're really there. And so you never want to be the person who's standing between this and the celebration afterwards.
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Kusha Navadar
Riley, I'm sure that you've written a lot of commencement speeches in your past. When you are writing something for someone else or with someone else, I should say, what kind of conversations do you have with the orator, when writing the speech, like what, what questions do you start from?
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Riley Roberts
Yeah, so I am always most interested in the speaker's connection with the audience. That is the heart of the speech. It's. It's the axis upon which the whole speech turns. And so really unpacking what you and only you uniquely say to this crowd, you know, that's a great way to get away from platitudes. It's a great way to get away from the kind of cliche, prescriptive wisdom that these speeches are kind of infamous for and that, frankly, is boring to people. So being your authentic self and focusing on what can you and only you say to this crowd is just a great test to apply.
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Kusha Navadar
We have a text from David in the Bronx that's asking for some advice, actually, which I think you would be great to offer. It says, David says, how do you recommend first time or inexperienced public speakers should prepare? Practice, calm nerves, et cetera.
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Riley Roberts
That is a great question, David from the Bronx. And you said it. Practice. Write the speech. Don't think that you can get up there and improvise. I've seen even really experienced performers stand up in front of a crowd and just absolutely freeze. And so you need to sit down and write your remarks and just let it pour out of you, your authentic self, and then edit from there. But once you have a speech that you feel good about, sit down and practice it. Look in the mirror, you know, time yourself, get it on its feet. And that's really the best way to get comfortable because, you know, you'll be stumbling if you're not sort of in the groove or if you're thinking about the words you're saying. So you've got to get it to the point where it's muscle, muscle memory. And that's a great way to get comfortable in front of people.
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Kusha Navadar
So we've got another text here. It says, chuck Schumer did my daughter's commencement speech a couple years back. He drowned on for an hour and a half. Can't comment on the quality of the speech here. This is me talking. Kousha talking. But, but we really appreciate you calling that out. Riley. Kind of goes to your point about brevity being the soul of wit. Got another text here that says one of my all time favorites was written by Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmidt and made into a song in the late 90s by Batt Luhrmann called and I think, oh, everybody's free to wear sunscreen. Very familiar with that speech. Thank you so much for calling that Out. We got our first caller that I'd love to bring down. This Eve. Is it Eve from Westchester? Am I saying that right?
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Eve
Yes.
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Kusha Navadar
Hi. Hi.
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Eve
Welcome. Hi. Thank you for taking my call. The reason that I'm calling is that I have dealt with high school age. You say you're going to be talking to your audience is 17 to 18 years old. And what they are accustomed to in our high school, and we know across the board, with even state standards, they're talking about in a 43 period. In a 43 minute period, 22 minutes is absolute max. Cut it down to 15 and then have them do something during that 15 period. 15 minutes. And that's what they're accustomed to.
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Kusha Navadar
So certainly, Eve, thank you so much for that call. We appreciate that idea of get it down to 15 and then have them do something during it. Meet your audience where you are. We've got another text here that says not my college, but David Foster Wallace's. This is Water for Kenyon College 2005 is a beautiful speech and read. And, you know, I'm so happy that they brought up David Foster Wallace because this also happens to be one of your favorite speeches, Riley. I know, that's right.
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Riley Roberts
Right, Absolutely. It's just, you know, phenomenal. It's an iconic speech. He meets his students, you know, exactly where they are. Graduates, I should say. And it's just wonderful and eloquent. And I believe it's exactly 22 minutes long, if I'm not mistaken.
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Kusha Navadar
And I believe we have a clip from it ready to go. So thank you so much for that texter for pulling the punch early there. Here is that clip.
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Laurie
Greetings, thanks and congratulations to Kenyon's graduating class of 2005. There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way who nods at them and says, morning, boys, how's the water? And the two young fish swim on for a bit and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, what the hell is water? This is a standard requirement of US commencement speeches, the deployment of didactic little parableish stories. The story thing turns out to be one of the better, less bull conventions of the genre. But if you're worried that I plan to present myself here as the wise older fish explaining what water is to you younger fish, please don't be. I am not the wise old fish. The point of the fish story is merely that the most obvious important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about. Stated as an English Sentence. Of course, this is just a banal platitude, but the fact is that in the day to day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have a life or death importance. Or so I wish to suggest to you on this dry and lovely morning.
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Kusha Navadar
Riley, what do you like about this intro? What effect does it have on the audience?
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Riley Roberts
So I love that he gets rid of. He totally dispenses with what we in the business call throat clearing, which is all the stuff at the top of any speech where you're thanking the audience and the faculty and everything. Not that that's bad, and there's a place for that in most speeches. But here he use, uses a technique, you know, to grab your attention by getting rid of that you're expecting a few minutes of. It's so wonderful to be here. And he gets right to the story, right to the didactic little parable as, as he calls it. And again, there he's. He's already subverting the conventions of the speech. He does it formally by getting rid of throat clearing. He does it, you know, informally and sort of in, in the course of the text by, you know, tearing down his anecdote almost while he's telling it and, and, you know, unpacking it. And it's just brilliant.
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Kusha Navadar
Let's go to Laurie in Great Neck. Hey, Laurie, welcome to the show.
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Riley Roberts
Hi.
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Eve
Thanks. It's great to hear you. I wanted to talk about someone. Unfortunately, I forget her name, but she was a commencement speaker at Ithaca College at my nephew's graduation. She was a graduate, so that was wonderful. But she also happened, we were told that it was going to be a corporate person from Macy's, and we were all like yawning beforehand, but it turned out she's the woman who was in charge of the Macy's Day parade and the fireworks. And it was really inspiring because she talked about how she worked, you know, nonstop for both events, how satisfying it was. And she was also self effacing. She said things like, I'm sure you're not interested in hearing what I have to say, only my mother is. So she's in the audience and she was just really delightful and I'm just sorry I don't know her name.
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Kusha Navadar
Oh, well, Lori, thanks so much for sharing that it made a difference in your life and that you remember some of the things that she said. It sounds like that self effacing line stuck with you for years. So thanks so much. We've got a text here. Riley, this is for you. It asks what are the points to hit in a commencement speech?
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Riley Roberts
So first and foremost, you have to connect with your audience, relate to them in some way. That's where throat clearing actually can do you some favors. If you're thanking people and you're kind of praising the institution, highlighting your connection to it, that's a really good way to start off a speech on the right foot. And then from there, it's really all about storytelling. And it doesn't have to be a story with a beginning, middle and end, but some kind of a progression from A to B to C that shows wisdom unfolding. It can be a story, you know, with characters at a beginning, middle, and that's ideal, and that's what'll make it stick, and that's what'll make it feel to your audience in the end as though they've gone on a journey with you. So stick to stories and then, you know, at the end. And remember, especially for a commencement speech, and on an inspiring note, give it some altitude. This is a happy, celebratory occasion.
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Kusha Navadar
When you say altitude, what do you mean?
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Riley Roberts
I mean you really want to be gathering momentum toward the end of the speech, you know, get out of the stories and you're, you know, elevating. You're getting to the lesson that you're trying to impart. And, you know, you're getting to, you know, what you want the audience to take away. And in the end, you leave it in their hands and you empower them with whatever, you know, insights you've shared to walk out into the world and do X, Y and Z.
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Kusha Navadar
What makes a good or bad personal anecdote? And what are the ethical considerations for embellishing or tailoring those stories?
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Riley Roberts
Ooh, great question. I would say a good anecdote is relatable. It's something that touches the audience's experience. For instance, I was talking with a client recently who was going to include a brief point about either his wife or a story about friends. And, you know, because this is a commencement speech, my advice was for a general audience, I think the wife story might be more impactful and more concise and sharper writing. But, you know, bear in mind their frame of reference. These are not folks who are married. And so speaking to the power of friendship is going to be really important. So, you know, relate to the audience. And the last caller had a really great insight about being self deprecating. Don't show yourself as kind of a shining hero on the horse. Show some grit. Show yourself when, you know, tell a story that shows you struggling and human. And that's A, how you get your audience to root for you and B, that allows them to see themselves in you, even though presumably you're speaking to them. Because you've been successful in one way.
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Kusha Navadar
Or another over the years, more than a decade at this point that you've been doing this. Have you seen commencement speeches evolve in any way? You had just mentioned show some grit, show that you are not, not the, the, the, the hero on the horse, so to speak. Is that a new thing or do you think that's always been the case and it's just more embraced now?
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Riley Roberts
So I think it, it maybe is more embraced now, more prized. You know, people just respond to authenticity. I think especially with AI generated content and, and, and just the flood of everything out there, people have a pretty high bar for their attention. And so if, if you're going to command that attention for a few minutes, then, man, it had better be authentic. I think people are so sick of platitudes and prescriptive wisdom. So, so I do think maybe, you know, the world is, is, is turning and the season for that kind of speech is, is over. But I think that's a really good thing. I think, you know, authentic speeches that, that show the struggle are, are so much better, especially in the world we live in.
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Kusha Navadar
Riley, with comedy and humor always being on the front of people's minds, how do you think about the way that humor should or shouldn't be employed in a speech?
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Riley Roberts
So I think it, it, it has a really important place, especially on an occasion like a commencement. It's a great opportunity to tell inclusive inside jokes. And if you're not sure where to start, you can ask a student. That's what I often do. I'll, I'll sit down with somebody and say, you know, what brings this class together? What are you guys going to look back on fondly or not so much and you get some really interesting stuff that you can use. I would say be very careful about the target of your humor. You know, again, being self deprecating is a great way to go when in doubt. And I wouldn't really punch at anybody but yourself and the institution. You can lovingly make fun of the institution, but out, you know, otherwise I would, I would use humor cautiously.
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Kusha Navadar
Was there ever a speech that you wrote and you thought, hey, this is going to be great, and it just didn't deliver.
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Riley Roberts
Oh man. Where, where do I begin? Where do I begin?
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Kusha Navadar
I say, this is somebody who has definitely done that myself.
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Riley Roberts
Yes.
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Kusha Navadar
I just want to Put that out there.
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Riley Roberts
Yes. Yeah. No, absolutely. Yeah. No, sometimes it's, it's always, whenever it doesn't work, it's because you've misjudged that ingredient I talked about a minute ago, which is how the speaker relates to the audience. If you get that right, then you can get some of the details wrong as far as not necessarily putting every foot exactly correctly. And it'll still be a successful speech.
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Kusha Navadar
Yeah. And as we look to wrap here, if you were going to give a high school commencement speech to a group of high school seniors, what are some things you would share? Maybe 30 seconds or less.
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Riley Roberts
Yeah. I would say that I really hope that you, you experience hard times so that you know the value of, of the good ones. I think, you know, life is, is a mess and it's, you know, it's always, always more difficult than you think it's going to be. But there is so much beauty and joy to be had out there, whatever your path. So I don't know. That's not very eloquent, but I'm a writer, not an improviser, Kuya, you should know that about me.
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Kusha Navadar
That's why we work well together.
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Alison Stewart
That was Kusha Navadar's conversation with speechwriter Riley Roberts. And that is all of it for today. All of it is produced by Andrea Duncan Mao, Kate Hines, Jordan Loff, Simon Close, El Malik Anderson, and Luke Green. Megan Ryan is the head of Live Radio. Our engineers are Julianne Fonda and Jason Isaac. Luscious Jackson does our music. If you missed any of these segments this week, catch up by listening to our podcast, available on your podcast platform of choice. If you like what you hear, please leave us a great rating. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening and I appreciate you, and I will meet you back here next time.
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Eve
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