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Harvard Humanitarian Award

Between 1984 and 2017, the Harvard Foundation presented the Humanitarian Award to an individual whose works and deeds have served to improve the quality of our lives and have inspired us to greater heights.  This award is given in the name of the Rev. Professor Peter J. Gomes, Plummer Professor and Minister in Harvard's Memorial Church, and is authorized by the Dean of Harvard College and the President of Harvard University.

Humanitarians of the Year are depicted below, with the most recent honorees listed first.

Jun 28, 2020

Beyoncé BET 2020 Humanitarian Award Acceptance Speech Transcript

At the B.E.T. Awards on June 28, 2020, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter accepted the 2020 Humanitarian Award. She encouraged viewers to take action & vote in her acceptance speech. Read her full acceptance speech transcript here.

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Beyoncé: ( 00:01 ) Thank you so much for this beautiful honor. I want to dedicate this award to all of my brothers out there, all of my sisters out there inspiring me, marching and fighting for change. Your voices are being heard and you’re proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain. Now we have one more thing we need to do to walk in our true power and that is to vote. I’m encouraging you to continue to take action, continue to change and dismantle a racist and unequal system. We have to continue to do this together, continue to fight for each other and lift each other up because there are people banking on us staying at home during local elections and primaries happening in states across the country. We have to vote like our life depends on it, because it does. So please continue to be the change you want to see. Thank you everyone who took the time to speak in that beautiful presentation and thank you BET for this honor, it means so much to me, especially coming from you all. I love you deep, God bless you and good night.

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Presentation of CARE International Humanitarian Award

17 november 2001.

I am honoured to have been presented the CARE International Humanitarian Award. I appreciate in particular the remarks made by the President. It has been an honour to work with CARE over nearly fifteen years, with CARE Australia and CARE International. At the present time, CARE is moving towards a new future. I am confident that you will find forms and structures that will meet the aspirations of all members.

When CARE began a little over fifty years ago, its members perhaps had the hope that they would work themselves out of a job as developing countries became more successful and more prosperous. Unfortunately, as that world has evolved, this has only happened in the rarest of instances. The demands for what we can do in development or in emergency relief are as great or greater than at any time in our history. Even now, as we hold this CARE International Board Meeting, the numbers of refugees grow as one more major regional conflict takes hold.

With the end of the Cold War, regional and ethnic rivalries broke out, whether in Africa, in South Asia or in Europe itself. This has placed new demands on governments; it has placed new demands on humanitarian organisations.

In recent times, CARE has accepted that it should not merely be a passive worker in these circumstances. It has accepted the need for advocacy, to advance humanitarian causes and humanitarian outcomes. There may be some difference of opinion within CARE concerning the extent to which we should take the role of advocacy. I would like to suggest that the need for advocacy is becoming more and more important.

While the need for CARE and humanitarian services is greater than ever before, many governments have reduced support. Attitudes have changed remarkably, and not always for the better, in the last fifty years.

While some countries in Europe have set a remarkable example, including members of CARE itself, other countries have diminished their effort and reduced the percentage of GDP devoted to official development assistance. For many Western countries, including my own, as we have become wealthier our contribution to foreign aid has diminished dramatically.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, leaders in most countries had experienced that war and the Depression that preceded it and some had been of an unfortunate age also to be involved in the First World War. The incentive to build a better world was powerful. There was a determination that the horrors of that War must not be allowed to happen again.

Led by the United States, great liberating forces swept the world and scores of new countries were born, freed of colonial restraints amidst a period of optimism and extraordinary hope for the future. Many Western countries were generous, led and inspired by the United States, with its Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and Japan . Western governments committed themselves to a major contribution to improve life in the developing world.

While there are many examples of successful states, especially through East and South-East Asia, and also in South America, there are, unfortunately, too many examples of new states that failed. There are many reasons for that. While there are too many examples of bad governance, in many cases international support systems also failed.

When the West faced its own economic difficulties in the later sixties and seventies, many nations became tired of the effort to improve life in the Third World . The constituency for the immediate post-war generosity dried up.

For example, Australia's most generous year in support of the Third World was the last year of the Menzies government in 1966. In comparative terms, Australia then provided over .6% of GDP. It is now .25%. This reduction has been common, especially in the English speaking world.

These changes have been accompanied by new market-driven philosophies where the role of government in determining the fate of nations has been much diminished.

Despite claims to the contrary, globalisation has left many people in poor countries behind. Even in wealthy countries such as Australia, there is a group of people who have been unable to participate, who are left behind in this market-driven world.

We also need to recall that markets can sometimes be capricious and irrational. When politicians make mistakes, at least they can be held accountable; the market cannot be.

Many governments have grown harsher in their judgments. There is less commitment to assist the Third World. There is a great need for advocacy to reverse these trends if the problems of poverty and desperation and the politics that flow from that are to be overcome.

There is also another aspect which affects organisations such as CARE. There are thousands of refugees who cannot find a place in a safe country. We have all accepted the obligations of the Refugee Convention which states that a refugee has a right to asylum and safety in another country but, if other countries will not provide that place, the right is of no consequence.

The United States has given a generous and open lead in the resettlement of refugees. No country's borders have been more open; no country has been more willing to accept people who might initially have been regarded as "different". Since the end of the Vietnamese conflict about one and a quarter million Vietnamese have settled in America, over 200,000 in Canada, 120,000 in France and about 200,000 in Australia .

Until some years ago, Australia, after the Second World War, became one of the more generous countries in relation to our population concerning the acceptance of refugees. We have built a multicultural society which has been open to people all around the world but in very recent times we have lost our way with compassion and openness. We have spoken of defending our borders as though three, four or five thousand people coming to Australia in boats offers a substantial threat to our national sovereignty.

In the last fifty years, this country has embraced people from many lands, from different cultures and religions. They have all made good Australians. Why is it that in the last two or three years we have suddenly embraced a different philosophy and a different outcome? It is something that I never believed would happen.

The problem we have to many of you would appear small because Europe is faced with over 400,000 asylum seekers a year and every country in Europe has a much more relaxed regime than our compulsory, mandatory, non-reviewable detention for men, women and children, even unaccompanied children, that can go on for years.

I make these points, not because I want to say how much I disagree with the policies Australia now pursues but to emphasize an obligation which I believe in some degree affects us all, to fight discrimination wherever it occurs. Once discrimination begins, it inevitably spreads. It is this group today, it will be another group tomorrow. Countries that allow this to happen will never know racial peace and harmony. It is all the more important to fight these elements today because there is the additional risk of a major cultural divide in the world between the followers of Islam and the rest of us.

It seems to me that these issues are central to the humanitarian and developmental mission which CARE so willingly embraces. Unless good sense and decency prevails, discrimination will not only make our work much harder, it will also magnify the volume of the work and the numbers of people who will need our help and compassion.

How far CARE will decide to take the role of advocacy I do not know and in these words I have expressed my own feelings. But the world is becoming more difficult, it is becoming more polarised. I happen to believe there is an obligation on all people to speak against racism and discrimination. CARE has the capacity and the experience. It can, if it chooses become a powerful voice and one which it would be hard to deny. I do not believe that this would be becoming political because these matters in my view are above politics and are fundamental to a decent world. We need to rediscover the humanity of which all men and women are capable. Again, thank you very much indeed for the honour you have done me today.

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Public Speaking Tips & Speech Topics

Award Presentation Speech

Jim Peterson has over 20 years experience on speech writing. He wrote over 300 free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at My Speech Class.

Presentation Speech Topics For Award Ceremonies

Presentation speech template including eleven speech topics for presenting an award, prize or gift to a happy recipient leading to a brief photo opportunity in the end. Bear in mind that you have to be short and sweet epitomizing. Each of the public speaking speech topics take two or three sentences maximally. The layout in this tutorial helps an enchanted public speaker to set up a good and aesthetically ceremonial award presentation.

• The first remark you have to make is a commenting to the occasion. Refer why you are here together, refresh their memories a bit by stipulating why this is such a special day. Enforce the power of the delightful purpose of this meeting, and the happy recipient.
• Explain in your presentation speech what the award represents. Be brief, since the audience has read the invitation and publicity material. Describe these underlying elemental public speaking power factors:
• Describe the organization you are representing. Tell why you are privileged to present. Make your speech personal, offer personal thoughts, experiences and feelings.
• Praise the recipient. Present outstanding contributions, achievements or records that are relevant. Adapt them to the goals and meaning of the ceremonial special occasion .

Explain why the contributions are outstanding or unique. What offers did it take the winner? Refer to special qualifications and to similarities with other recipients.

Again: keep it short – 3 minutes for your award speech will do most of the time. Although it even can be somewhat shorter.

• Mention the reasons for choosing her or him as recipient. Link the contributions to the meaning of the honor.
• Make a concluding characterization by telling a compelling story or anecdote in the presentation speech text.
• Ask if the receiver will come forward and declare her or him the winner.
• Link the previous speech topics to what the prize gift stands for. Tip: read the inscription out loud and show the golden medal, the engraved plaque, the recognition trophy cup, or the certificate words.
• At the end of your address congratulate her or him.
• Hand over the award, prize, diploma, certificate or gift card.
• Shake hands with the person or group being honored. Schedule a brief photo opportunity and smile to the camera! After the ceremony you could allow a small interview to invited journalists.

Finally, of course give the winner the opportunity to speak after your award presentation speech address. And start clapping your hands to express your honest approval after she or he has completed the thank you phrases.

Keep smiling all the time.

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Tyler Perry called on others to 'refuse hate' at the Oscars. Read his powerful speech in full.

Tyler Perry gave a memorable speech at a unique Oscars ceremony Sunday night, making an impassioned plea for unity and calling on people to "refuse hate" and lift others up.  

The billionaire filmmaker , 51, accepted the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his for his work feeding and helping others during the pandemic. Past fellow honorees include Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Harry Belafonte, Debbie Reynolds and Geena Davis.

Following the speech, Perry told reporters backstage he felt his late mother's presence "in the moment" and elaborated on his onstage talking points, expressing hope that more people would meet in the middle, because that's where a person is able to put themselves "in someone else's shoes and have empathy for those situations." 

More: It was thrilling to see diversity in this year's Oscar winners. The finale ruined it.

"Just where we are in the country and the world, and everybody is grabbing a corner and a color, and they are all – nobody wants to come to the middle to have a conversation," he said afterward. "Everybody is polarized, and it's in the middle where things change. So I'm hoping that that inspires people to meet us in the middle so that we can get back to some semblance of normal. As this pandemic is over, we can get to a place where we are showing love and kindness to each other again." 

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Read his speech in its entirety below: 

"Thank you. Thank you, that is, that’s incredibly kind. Thank you so much. They only gave me a few minutes so I wanna say a very special thanks to Miss Viola Davis, who is nominated tonight and doing this. Thank you, thank you, I really appreciate it. To the Board of Governors, especially to Whoopi Goldberg, Ava (DuVernay).

"You know when I set out to help someone, it is my intention to do just that. I’m not trying to do anything other than meet somebody at their humanity. Like a case in point, this one time I remember I was, maybe it was about 17 years ago. I rented this building and we were using it for production and I was walking to my car one day and I see this woman coming up out of the corner of my eye and I say, she’s homeless, let me give her some money.

"Judgment. I wish I had time to talk about judgment. Anyway, I reach in my pocket and I’m about to give her the money. She says, 'Excuse me sir. Do you have any shoes?' It stopped me cold because I remember being homeless and having one pair of shoes and they were bent over at the heels. So I was like, 'yeah.' So I took her into the studio. She was hesitant to go in, but we went in. We go to wardrobe and there all these boxes and everything around the walls and fabrics and racks of clothes. So we ended up having to stand in the middle of the floor. So as we’re standing there in wardrobe, we find some shoes, we help her put them on. I stand up, I’m waiting for her to look up and all this time she’s looking down. She finally looks up. She’s got tears in her eyes. She said 'Thank you, Jesus, my feet are off the ground.' 

Oscar winners 2021: Who won at the Oscars last night? Here's full list of every Academy Award

"In that moment I recall her saying to me 'I thought you would hate me for asking.' I’m like, 'how can I hate you when I used to be you?' How can I hate you when I had a mother who grew up in a Jim Crow South in Louisiana, rural Louisiana right across the border from Mississippi, who at 9 or 10 years old was grieving the death of Emmett Till. And she got a little bit older. She was grieving the death of the Civil Rights boys and the little girls who were in the bombing in Alabama. She grieved all this all these years and I remember being a little boy and coming home, and she was at home like, 'what are you doing home? You supposed to be at work.' She was in tears that day. She said there was a bomb threat and she couldn't believe that someone wanted to blow up this place where she worked. Where she took care of all these toddlers. It was the Jewish Community Center.

"My mother taught me to refuse hate. She taught me to refuse blanket judgment, and in this time, and with all of the Internet and social media and algorithms and everything that wants us to think a certain way, the 24-hour news cycle, it is my hope that all of us, we teach our kids and I want to remember, just refuse hate. Don’t hate anybody. I refuse to hate someone because they are Mexican or because they are Black or white or LGBTQ. I refuse to hate someone because they are a police officer. I refuse to hate someone because they are Asian.

"I would hope that we would refuse hate and I want to take this Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and dedicate it to anyone who wants to stand in the middle, no matter what’s around the wall. Stand in the middle ’cause that’s where healing happens. That’s where conversation happens. That’s where change happens. It happens in the middle. So anyone who wants to meet me in the middle, to refuse hate, to refuse blanket judgment, and to help lift someone’s feet off the ground, this one is for you too. God bless you and thank you Academy. I appreciate it. Thank you."

In case you missed it: Anthony Hopkins shocks as best actor, 'Nomadland' wins best picture

More: Chloé Zhao makes history as the first woman of color — and second woman overall — to win the Oscar for best director

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• Beyoncé Knowles

Beyoncé Asks Fans to "Walk in Our True Power" in Moving BET Humanitarian Award Speech

Beyoncé has been making her virtual rounds dropping inspiring speeches , and the 2020 BET Awards were no exception. On Sunday night, the singer, who recently announced the upcoming release of her visual album Black Is King , signed on for the 20th anniversary of the BET Awards to accept the show's Humanitarian Award and deliver a stirring word to her fans.

Michelle Obama kicked off a presentation made in honor of the 38-year-old singer, and then a slew of family, friends, and collaborators shared how the singer has helped her community and others around the world. Tina Knowles-Lawson spoke on how her daughter has always given back because she knew she had "a responsibility because she's been blessed." The presentation highlighted the work Beyoncé does through her nonprofit organization BeyGood, from aiding those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Black community to providing scholarships with the Homecoming Scholarship. "It's about giving and paying it forward," Tyler Perry said of the BeyGood initiative. "That's what Beyoncé is about, and that's why she's deserving so much of this humanitarian award."

When the star appeared to virtually accept her honor, she kept her speech concise, yet powerful. "I want to dedicate this award to all of my brothers out there, all of my sisters out there, inspiring me, marching, and fighting for change. Your voices are being heard, and you're proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain," she said. She urged her fans to continue to "walk in our true power" by voting.

"I'm encouraging you to continue to take action, continue to change and dismantle a racist and unequal system," she added. "We have to continue to do this together, continue to fight for each other, and lift each other up because there are people banking on us staying at home during local elections and primaries." Before signing off, she asked her fans to vote as if their lives depended on it — because they do. See more pictures of her speech ahead.

Award Speech

You may have already seen on television or have seen it right before your eyes that when someone would give and receive an award, they would say more than just a word of thanks in front of an audience. The speech they deliver is called as an award acceptance and award presentation speech. When it is your time to receive an award, you might have a difficulty in writing your award acceptance speech and the same thing goes when you would be awarding someone. This article gives you ten award acceptance and ten awards presentation speech examples that can help you in creating your own speech for one of your most memorable moment of your life.

Award Acceptance Speech Sample

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Award Acceptance Speech

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Mandela Award Recipient Speech

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Wilder Award Acceptance Speech

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Steps on Writing for Your Award Presentation Speech

Before the recipient of an award could receive his or her award, someone would be presenting the award first. If you are assigned to deliver an award presentation speech and that you do not know where to begin, make use of this simple steps to guide you in writing and preparing for your award presentation speech to help you get started.

1. The Introduction

In the introduction part of your speech , you can present both of the award and the recipient of the award. For the award, you can make a brief statement of the category and for the recipient of the award, you can introduce him or her in a mysterious fashion like you would be describing the person first, what he or she does that could or could not be related with the award he or she is going to receive. Make sure that you would keep the introduction part of your speech brief and simple but it would already build up the framework of your entire award presentation speech.

2. The Body of the Speech

It is in the body of the speech that you would be further describing the award and what were the requirements for achieving the ward. This is also the part where you would e introducing more in-depth information about the recipient of the award and this is finally the part where you would be mentioning the recipient of the award. You can also include mentioning the list of the other awards that the recipient has received. There are some that we call a veteran in receiving awards that he or she has a lot of awards received in his or her lifetime that mentioning their long list of awards might take up the entire awards ceremony. That is why you have to make sure that you are only choosing the significant awards that he or she has received and it is suggested that the ones worth mentioning are the awards that are similar or close to what the awardee will be receiving in the current awarding ceremony.

3. The Conclusion of the Speech

The main purpose of the conclusion of your award presentation speech should only be one thing and that is to induce a sound of applause from your audience to welcome the recipient of the award on stage.

Award Acceptance Speeches

Education award acceptance speech.

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Service Award Acceptance Speech

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Career Award Acceptance Speech

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Award Presentation Speeches

Sample award presentation speech.

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Ceremony Award Presentation Speech

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Awards Ceremony Presentation Speech

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Enginerring Heritage Award Presentation Speech

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Prize Presentation Speech

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What to Keep in Mind When Writing for Your Award Acceptance Speech

1. list down the people you have to give thanks.

The first step in writing your award acceptance speech is to simply list down. List down the people that have to be recognized for helping you in your path to achieving the award. This might sound like it is an obligation to mention people in order to thank them but when you feel so much gratitude in your heart for winning an award, you might want to thank even the cook that made the food you bought during the times when you were still at the process of aiming the award.

2. Reminisce your struggles and mini-victories before achieving the award

It is good to reminisce all your struggles and hardships while you were still aiming for the award. You can get sentimental and you might even cry in front of the audience but be reminiscing all the things you’ve done in order to achieve one of your goals can be fulfilling. It can also inspire people to continue paving the path towards achieving their goals when they are starting to lose hope.

3.  Read other award acceptance speeches for inspiration

If you have a hard time thinking how to start your award acceptance speech, you can always get inspiration from previous award acceptance speeches that are similar to the kind of award that you will be receiving. This article provides you ten award acceptance speeches you can get inspiration from and you can also search for more on the internet.

High School Science Award Presentation Speech

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Principal’s Presentation of Award Speech to Graduates

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Presentation of Award Speech to Parent and Learners

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Tips for Delivering Your Award Acceptance Speech

To be recognized for your all your hardships is the best feeling in the world but not all people are actually aiming to deliver an award acceptance speech. Here are some tips that can help you in achieving that perfect award acceptance speech delivery that your audience might think that you need another award for it.

1. Just keep it short and simple. Award acceptance speeches are not necessarily long. You just have to be straight to the point in thanking the people you need to be thinking and if there are a lot, just give them a general term like family, friends, and colleagues.

2. Just keep on practicing especially if you already knew that you would be receiving an award. It reduces stress, anxiety, and any nervous feelings.

3. Keep in mind the purpose of an award acceptance speech an that is to give appreciation for having received the award

4. You can inspire and preach in your award acceptance speech but do not go overboard that you award acceptance speech would not anymore sound like an award acceptance speech.

5. Know beforehand that time limit given for every awardee so that you would know how long your speech should be and that you would not be able to have an overtime and steal other people’s time in delivering a speech.

6. Share how the award can change your life and whether you would keep on achieving similar awards in the future.

7. Like with any speeches, always add spices to your ending. You can end it with a bang, end with a quote to live by your audience, and you can also end it with another situation that would make the audience ponder. You can end it in whatever way you want as long as you do the most important thing–make your audience remember who you are and what you are capable of.

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Oprah winfrey humanitarian, part 2.

In the second of a two-part special feature, Tavis Smiley interviews talk show host Oprah Winfrey about the speech she gave accepting the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award during this year's Emmy Awards.

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Tyler Perry gives powerful speech about refusing 'to hate' at 2021 Oscars

Tyler Perry gave an impassioned speech Sunday night at the 2021 Oscars after taking home an award for his humanitarian work.

Perry received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which goes to individuals in the motion picture industry in recognition of their humanitarian efforts.

In the past year, Variety reported , he developed Camp Quarantine, which got production up and running by July at the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. Earlier this month, Perry partnered with a local hospital and covered the costs of turning his studios into a vaccination site.

Pop Culture Here's how Regina King opened the 2021 Oscars

“This man exemplifies the best you can ask from any human, and that is to care about your fellow human beings,” Whoopi Goldberg said in a prerecorded video segment that aired Sunday.

In his speech, Perry told an inspiring story about a woman who had approached him for help some 17 years ago outside a building he was renting for production. He explained that he believed she was about to ask him for money.

“I reach into my pocket and I’m about to give her the money and she says, ‘Excuse me, sir, do you have any shoes?’” he recalled. “It stopped me cold because I remember being homeless and having one pair of shoes and they were bent over at the heels.”

Perry has spoken often about being a homeless playwright living out of his car and self-funding low-budget projects in his early days.

He explained that he took her into the wardrobe department and helped outfit her with a pair of shoes.

“We ended up having to stand in the middle of the floor,” he said, adding, “She finally looks up, she’s got tears in her eyes.

“She said, ‘Thank you, Jesus, my feet are off the ground.’”

Perry added that he remembered the woman telling him she thought he would hate her for asking.

“I’m like, how could I hate you when I used to be you?” he asked.

Pop Culture Chloé Zhao is first woman of color to win best director award at Oscars

Perry explained his late mother had grown up in the Jim Crow South and experienced a bomb threat working at a Jewish community center — and despite it all, taught him to “refuse hate.”

"She taught me to refuse blanket judgment,” Perry said, adding, “I refuse to hate someone because they are Mexican or because they are Black or white or LGBTQ. I refuse to hate someone because they are a police officer. I refuse to hate someone because they are Asian.”

He dedicated his award to anyone willing to “stand in the middle" with him.

“Because that’s where healing happens, that’s where conversation happens, that’s where change happens, it happens in the middle,” he said. “So anyone who wants to meet me in the middle to refuse hate, to refuse blanket judgment and to help lift someone’s feet off the ground, this one is for you too.”

Sam Kubota is a senior digital editor and journalist for TODAY Digital based in Los Angeles. She joined NBC News in 2019.

• Speech Crafting →

How to Give an Award Acceptance Speech to Thank, Inspire and Impress

Let’s say you got nominated for an award and now you have to give an acceptance speech. It’s pretty important to give a good speech, no matter what you’re being awarded for. Looking good doesn’t hurt either!

So, how do you give a good acceptance speech for your award? First off, you should ask yourself what message you would like to convey to your audience.

Generally, an acceptance speech provides the speaker with an opportunity to not only thank the individuals who helped you win the award but also highlight ideas and issues that you care about and even inspire people to do something even bigger.

Which is why it’s important that you don’t mess up.

Writing a good speech, any kind of speech, requires a lot of time and preparation, in order to ensure that you are well prepared and have included any important details that you would prefer to not leave out.

Here are a few practical tips on how you can draw up your award acceptance speech.

What is an Award Acceptance Speech? 

This is a type of speech given by an individual who’s receiving a prize, honor or an award. It is an unwritten tradition to share gratitude to individuals who you’d like or acknowledge or thank by giving a few words.

Your audience may be made up of your family and friends but also individuals in your industry who you respect and admire, so when giving an acceptance speech, ensure you make the best of it. 

As compared to other speeches, an acceptance speech does not include a beginning , body or conclusion and doesn’t need a PowerPoint display. In addition to this, acceptance speeches aren’t allotted a lot of time as you would with a keynote speech, so you will have to make it short.

Acceptance speeches also provide you, the speaker who’s accepting the award, an opportunity to either make a great impression , no impression or a terrible one. So, you have to be careful with how you write up and give your speech.

What are the m ain Goals of an Acceptance Speech?

Your goals with regard to this speech should be to;

• Thank the individuals who helped you in whatever you did or in your career
• Center on one idea that you want to leave your audience with, whether it’s motivating them to work hard or inspiring them to follow their dreams
• Make a great impression

Since you’ll only have a few minutes to give your speech, focusing on one point or one of the most important lessons you’ve learnt in life is a good way to go.

Additionally, your speech should give your audience a favorable impression about you while also letting them know that you’ve thought about what you’ve said and that you’re respectful.

How to Write a Great Acceptance Speech

Most individuals who win an award start by thanking the individuals who helped them when they accept it.

There are many different ways of thanking people, so which one is applied in this context?   Being as specific as possible when thanking individuals is the best way to go.

Therefore, you should start by:

Be Specific

Thank people by telling them exactly what they did that assisted you

You should do this in a way that is meaningful. Saying “Thank you for your support” doesn’t really mean anything.

So instead, you should look at the individuals you mention and while addressing them by their names, thank them while telling them what exactly you are thanking them for.

For instance, you can say, “Lisa, you encouraged me after being rejected by 7 different publishing houses, you were there for me.”

This will make your speech much more interesting to your audience while also appearing sincere.

Pro-Tip: Make eye contact when thanking every individual while mentioning their name, as it will not only convey respect but also sincerity.  

Tell a story

Great award acceptance speeches usually tell stories. While the time allotted to give your speech may be short, 30 seconds is enough time to give a short story.

You can either;

• Recount an actual conversation you had with someone; be it a family member colleague or friend, about a challenge you had, how you conquered it and its relevance to the award you’re accepting.
• Talk about an encounter that happened

Keep in mind though that if you’ll be telling a story , ensure that its relevant to the award, it’s brief and that you tell it in a way that captivates your audience.

Now that we’ve discussed how to prepare for and write your acceptance speech, we can now look into how you will deliver that speech.

How to Prepare for an Award Acceptance Speech?

Nothing is worse than having no speech prepared when you win a major award; fumbling on stage in front of an audience is not a good thing for anyone.

It also shows the individuals who nominated you that you do not respect them, so take some time and prepare.

First and foremost,

Make your speech memorable

Many of the speeches given at award shows are short, so if it isn’t memorable, it can easily be forgotten.

Good thing is you have a lot of resources at your disposal, the biggest being the internet. Thank heavens for technology! Everyone, including yourself, wants to give a great speech . Looking up great acceptance speeches on YouTube will provide you with amazing examples of great speeches.

Most of these examples are short, as acceptance speeches should be. Besides this, they also seen genuine, contain an emotional moment and are funny.

You may not have a funny bone in your body, which is okay as being funny will entirely be dependent on what you’ll be talking about in your speech. So, no pressure.

Rehearse your speech

It may sound ridiculous to practice your acceptance speech, especially considering that it’s brief. However, this is a great way to modify your speech to your liking.

You can do this by recording yourself giving your speech using your camera or phone.

Looking through the recording will help you pick out what you don’t like and what you like about it. This allows you to repeat your speech as many times as you want while implementing the changes you’d like until you feel happy and comfortable with its final form.

Once you are satisfied with your final take, know you already have it in the bag; you’re going to give a great speech!

Pro-Tip: Practicing helps get rid of the jitters and helps you feel more confident in both yourself and your speech.

How To Deliver Your Acceptance Speech

When delivering your acceptance speech, ensure that it’s at least entertaining . It doesn’t have to make the audience laugh so much that their ribs hurt. However, it also shouldn’t be so boring that people doze off or make conversation while you address them.

So, first off,

Don’t Be Boring

If your speech doesn’t have a few jokes in it or isn’t funny, at least try to include some emotion or a dramatic moment. Boring speeches make people want to gorge their eyes out and seal their ears, so they don’t have to look at you and hear you drone on. Don’t subject your audience to unnecessary torture.

Be entertaining. At the very least, say something entertaining, interesting or amusing, even if you’ll be making fun of yourself.

If you are going to show emotion, don’t go overboard

Blubbering through your speech isn’t interesting, so try to keep it together. This is where practicing your speech comes in, it helps you show just the right amount of emotion while still conveying your message to the audience.

Pro-Tip: A little emotion goes a long way, so don’t overdo it.

Using what we have so far discussed, you should be able to not only write a great speech but also present your speech to your audience in a memorable way.

Now, let’s look at a few things to avoid when giving your acceptance speech.

What to avoid in an Award Acceptance Speech

• Do not tell your audience you don’t have a lot of time

This only uses up more time. Instead, use the time you’ve been given to the maximum advantage.

• Do  not tell your audience that you’re nervous

Even though you might be nervous , other people may not recognize that you are. So, there’s no need to waste valuable time.

By the way, deliberately pausing or speaking slowly helps you overcome any jitters you may have. Thank me later once you try this trick of the trade.

• Do  not thank too many people

Given that you’ll only have a few minutes to give your speech (at most), try to thank no more than five individuals.

You can send the people you didn’t thank on stage personal notes; that’s why such notes exist.

• Do  not read your speech from a piece of paper

Not only is this devoid of sincerity, emotion and personality but it also looks scripted . Again, practicing helps you capture your main points in mind.

In conclusion, it all comes down to being genuine when thanking individuals, entertaining and leaving your audience with a good life lesson or something that inspires them. Show your audience that you, indeed, were worthy of getting that award!