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Valedictorian speech: examples and how to write yours
Coaches who have competed and won at a high level of speech and debate
Two example openings, and why they work
Example 1 · the honest, funny start:
"When they told me I would be giving this speech, my first thought was that I have spent four years avoiding public speaking, and my reward is the biggest audience of my life. But here is what those four years actually taught me, and it has nothing to do with grades."
Why it works: it is honest and a little self-deprecating, which relaxes the room, and it promises one idea ("what the years really taught me") that the rest of the speech can deliver. It earns attention without a single cliché.
Example 2 · the single-image start:
"There is a hallway in this school where the third locker from the end sticks every single time. For four years we all fought that locker. And somewhere in the fighting, we became a class. Today I want to talk about the small things that quietly made us who we are."
Why it works: it opens on one specific, shared image everyone recognizes, then widens it into the theme (the small things mattered). Specific beats grand every time.
How to write yours, step by step
- Find one theme. Growth, gratitude, resilience, the value of the people beside you. Write it as a single sentence and let everything serve it.
- Choose a real story. A specific moment, place, or person from your actual years together. This is the heart of the speech.
- Thank people, briefly and specifically. "Mr. Alvarez, who stayed after class every Thursday" lands more than a long list of names.
- Look forward in a line or two. Offer one small, true idea to carry out the door, not a lecture about the future.
- Close on a short, warm line. End on the sentence you want the room to remember, and then stop.
Cut every cliché you can find, read the whole thing out loud twice, and time it. For the ending, use how to end a speech, and if you want the fuller occasion guide, see how to write a graduation speech.
Common questions
What should a valedictorian speech include?+
One clear theme, a story or two that shows it, a word of thanks to the people who helped, and a short, forward-looking close. It should sound like you, not like a greeting card. The best ones are specific to your class and honest about what the years were really like.
How long should a valedictorian speech be?+
Usually 3 to 5 minutes, around 450 to 750 words. Check with your school for a limit. Shorter and sincere always beats longer and grand.
How do I make it stand out?+
Pick one honest theme instead of trying to say everything, use a real and specific story, and avoid the clichés everyone expects ("the future is bright", "reach for the stars"). A single true detail about your class is worth more than a page of general wisdom.
Keep reading
Deliver the speech you worked years for.
A valedictorian speech is a moment you only get once. We help students write it and rehearse it so it feels like theirs.