SAMPLE SPEECH ABOUT OBJECTS OR PEOPLE

(About yourself)

My name is Betty Smith and I turned 90 years old yesterday. I was born and

raised in Washington, D.C. but moved here to Cardiff thirty years ago with my family. I

have dedicated my life to helping others. For 35 years I was a professional nurse at the

county hospital. I began my career as a nurse in the Second World War, and also

assisted soldiers injured in Korea, Vietnam, and here at home. For the last decade, I

have been a school nurse, and now I live with my son, his wife and their two children.

It has been a beautiful life.

I settled on nursing because taking care of the soldiers seemed so natural to me.

I met my husband on the battlefield. My children were born the year we ended the war

and declared peace. What else could I have done? This life of service found me.

One of the most interesting things has been meeting people in all the countries

I’ve visited. In times of distress, you really see how tight each community becomes. If

someone is in the water, they’re plucked out. If someone is injured, they’re bandaged.

There are no questions, just action. I’d love to see that kind of community support all

over the world. Not just during times of war and disaster, but in everyday life. The

villages that support each other are the villages that succeed. In this giant village of

Britain, it’s vital that we remember that our responsibilities lie not just with ourselves,

but also with our neighbors. Our liberation is bound to the liberation of others.

I’d like to think I’ve done my part, been as useful as possible, and given to the

best of my abilities. For now, I’d like to continue mentoring young nurses and enjoying

my time with family and friends.

 SPEECH ABOUT PROCESSES

(About cooking)

[Brackets indicate actions the speaker can perform to help illustrate the

technique they are explaining.]

The holiday season is a great time to do a lot of fun things with your kids. Some

parents create holiday crafts with their children. Others sing songs or play games.

Another fun option is to make holiday treats together as a family. Depending on the age

and skill level of your children, cooking can be too difficult or even too dangerous for

many of them. Today, however, I’d like to show you an option that is quick, simple,

delicious, and completely safe for kids of all ages: two-minute microwave fudge.

The first step is assembling all of your necessary tools and ingredients. For this

easy recipe, you only need the few ingredients you see here on the table in front of

you: powdered sugar, cocoa, milk, salt, vanilla, and butter or margarine. [Have the

necessary ingredients on display.] Nuts can also be added, if you’d like. Make sure to

consider possible allergies of those who will be eating the fudge. The only tools you’ll

need are a microwave-safe bowl, a wooden spoon, and an 8-inch square baking pan.

[Show these items as well.] You’ll also need a microwave and a freezer.

Next, let’s mix our ingredients together. [Add each ingredient to the bowl as you

mention it.] You’ll use an entire one-pound box of powdered sugar. Pour that into the

bowl. You might want to help the kids out here, as this ingredient can get a little

messy. To the sugar, add ⅔ cup of cocoa and ¼ teaspoon salt. Combine those. [Stir.]

Next come the liquid ingredients: ¼ cup of milk and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. [Add these

items and stir.] Once these are all combined, the only ingredient left to add is the

butter. Have your child place the entire stick of butter on top of the other ingredients.

[Do this.] Put the bowl in the microwave and let it heat for two minutes. No peeking!
What comes out is a thick batter that looks like this. [Have a another bowl containing a

pre-made batch of batter to show your audience.] Have the child carefully stir it with a

wooden spoon. The ingredients will be slightly hot at first. If you decide to use nuts,

you would add them at this time. Once the ingredients are all fully combined, spread

the batter in the baking pan. [Do this step with the pre-made batter.] Freeze the fudge

for one hour or until it’s firm. After it hardens, it can be easily cut into squares.

Once it’s done, you will have a rich and delectable treat that you can share with family

and friends or simply keep for yourselves. [Pass around a finished product for your

audience to sample, as well as a recipe card with the ingredients and steps you

demonstrated.] Either way, you’ll be amazed at how simple it was too prepare. Your

kids will enjoy watching the microwave transform the ingredients, and they’ll be so

proud of the part they played in the finished product. Most importantly, you will have

started creating memories in the kitchen together.

 SPEECH ABOUT EVENTS

I feel so honored to be standing here before you. Planning this event has been a

long journey—from the random brainstorming sessions at Starbucks to the official

meetings around town—but I have enjoyed every minute of it! (pause)

When I first thought of the idea to honor five deserving women who have helped

our community, I knew I had to turn to Sheila Ross, former president of the Women’s

Appreciation Guild and experienced planner of events like this one. I can still remember

her reaction when I first told her about my plot: she stared open-mouthed at me and

asked, “Are you sure?” (pause)

I was sure.

Granted, I had no idea what I was in for when I started planning, but I was full

of ideas. They started flowing immediately, and I jotted them on anything I could find.

My filing cabinet is full of restaurant napkins, my children’s graded homework, and old

receipts, all covered with the rantings of a madwoman—or at least that’s what my

husband calls it. I’m sure he’s excited to finally get a good night’s sleep without me

waking him up to turn on the light whenever I get a good idea. (pause)

Of course, I got stuck every once in a while, but I knew I had people to turn to

whenever my mind went blank. Sheila, of course, was always there to lend a supportive

ear, along with the other wonderful past presidents, including Leslie Jones, Anne Morris,

and Monica Lee. These women quickly made their way onto my speed dial, and I

couldn’t have put this event together without their help! (pause) I’d like to take a

moment to acknowledge them, if they would please rise. (pause)

I’d also like to thank, of course, the five women who are being honored tonight:

Dr. Lydia Kim, Ms. Candace Barker, Mrs. Jane Smith, Dr. Olivia Armstrong, and Mrs.
Rachel Kaplan. You will hear from them shortly, and I know you’ll be as impressed as I

was when they tell you their stories.

The journey has been hard, but it was not without its rewards. For instance, I

now know the number to every party rental place in Los Angeles by heart. (pause) But

more importantly, I’ve made some lifelong friends and learned some lifelong lessons. As

overwhelming as this process has been, and as many times as I wanted to quit, I didn’t.

And I will always talk about this event when my children are older and they come

across obstacles they don’t think they can overcome. These amazing women I have

mentioned—and the many others that I have not mentioned—deserve every ounce of

gratitude I can give them. They have taught me that greatness can be achieved by

anyone and through any means.

We deserve to be great, my friends. And our time is now.

 SPEECH ABOUT CONCEPT

(About feminism)

Today we are launching a campaign called HeForShe. I am reaching out to you because

we need your help. We want to end gender inequality, and to do this, we need

everyone involved. This is the first campaign of its kind at the UN. We want to try to

mobilize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for change. And, we don’t

just want to talk about it. We want to try and make sure that it’s tangible.

I was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women six months ago. And, the more

I spoke about feminism, the more I realized that fighting for women’s rights has too

often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it

is that this has to stop.

For the record, feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should

have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of political, economic and social

equality of the sexes.

I started questioning gender-based assumptions a long time ago. When I was 8,

I was confused for being called bossy because I wanted to direct the plays that we

would put on for our parents, but the boys were not. When at 14, I started to be

sexualized by certain elements of the media. When at 15, my girlfriends started

dropping out of sports teams because they didn’t want to appear muscly. When at 18,

my male friends were unable to express their feelings.

I decided that I was a feminist, and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my

recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word. Women

are choosing not to identify as feminists. Apparently, I’m among the ranks of women

whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, and anti-men.

Unattractive, even.
 Why has the word become such an uncomfortable one? I am from Britain, and I

think it is right I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I

should be able to make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be

involved on my behalf in the policies and decisions that will affect my life. I think it is

right that socially, I am afforded the same respect as men.

But sadly, I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women

can expect to see these rights. No country in the world can yet say that they achieved

gender equality. These rights, I consider to be human rights but I am one of the lucky

ones. My life is a sheer privilege because my parents didn’t love me less because I was

born a daughter. My school did not limit me because I was a girl. My mentors didn’t

assume I would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day. These

influencers were the gender equality ambassadors that made me who I am today. They

may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists who are changing the world

today. And we need more of those.

And if you still hate the word, it is not the word that is important. It’s the idea

and the ambition behind it, because not all women have received the same rights I

have. In fact, statistically, very few have.

In 1995, Hillary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women’s rights.

Sadly, many of the things that she wanted to change are still true today. But what

stood out for me the most was that less than thirty percent of the audience were male.

How can we effect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to

participate in the conversation?

Men, I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation.

Gender equality is your issue, too. Because to date, I’ve seen my father’s role as a

parent being valued less by society, despite my need of his presence as a child, as

much as my mother’s. I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness, unable to ask
for help for fear it would make them less of a man. In fact, in the UK, suicide is the

biggest killer of men between 20 to 49, eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary

heart disease. I’ve seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what

constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality, either.

We don’t often talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes,

but I can see that they are, and that when they are free, things will change for

women as a natural consequence. If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to

be accepted, women won’t feel compelled to be submissive. Both men and

women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to

be strong. It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum, instead of two

sets of opposing ideals. If we stop defining each other by what we are not, and

start defining ourselves by who we are, we can all be freer, and this is what

HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom.

I want men to take up this mantle so that their daughters, sisters, and

mothers can be free from prejudice, but also so that their sons have permission

to be vulnerable and human too, reclaim those parts of themselves they

abandoned, and in doing so, be a more true and complete version of themselves.

You might be thinking, “Who is this Harry Potter girl, and what is she

doing speaking at the UN?” And, it’s a really good question. I’ve been asking

myself the same thing.

All I know is that I care about this problem, and I want to make it better.

And, having seen what I’ve seen, and given the chance, I feel it is my

responsibility to say something.

Statesman Edmund Burke said, “All that is needed for the forces of evil to

triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.”

 In my nervousness for this speech and in my moments of doubt, I told myself

firmly, “If not me, who? If not now, when?” If you have similar doubts when

opportunities are presented to you, I hope those words will be helpful. Because the

reality is that if we do nothing, it will take seventy-five years, or for me to be nearly 100

before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work. 15.5 million

girls will be married in the next 16 years as children. And at current rates it won’t be

until 2086 before all rural African girls will be able to receive a secondary education.

If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists that I

spoke of earlier, and for this, I applaud you. We are struggling for a uniting word, but

the good news is, we have a uniting movement. It is called HeForShe. I invite you to

step forward, to be seen and to ask yourself, “If not me, who? If not now, when?”

Thank you very, very much