Chapter 6:

Commemorative Speaking

Previous chapters focused on the skills you need to succeed as a citizen and in your professional life. In this chapter, we focus on commemorative speeches. One of the most common speech types, commemorative speeches celebrate special events in a person’s life. Commemorative speeches are so common that Aristotle in On Rhetoric devotes an entire section to what the Greek’s called epideictic speeches. An epideictic speech either praises a person for virtuous actions or blames them for bad deeds. While we see fewer speeches of blame today than in Ancient Greece, the importance of the epideictic or ceremonial speech of praise has changed little over the past 2,400 years. Our modern lives are punctuated with special celebrations and events that provide opportunities for you to “say a few words”. For example, you may have given an acceptance speech to an organization that gave you a scholarship. Or perhaps you gave a toast at your brother’s wedding. In the future, you may be asked to present an award to honor a co-worker or a community leader. In each of these situations, you use your public speaking skills to celebrate an event, a person, or a group.

Key Terms

Epideictic Speech
Toast
Eulogy
Speech of Introduction
Speech of Presentation
Speech of Acceptance
Speech of Commemoration