CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – APRIL 12, 2021 -1
Your Guide to Giving a Great Farewell Speech
Why you should deliver a farewell speech
Whether you’re leaving your job to pursue other opportunities or you’re retiring, delivering a farewell speech can be an impactful professional moment. A going-away speech gives you a chance to say goodbye to your friends, coworkers, and your boss and express your appreciation for the experiences and relationships you’ve had while working there. Keep reading to learn more about what exactly a farewell speech is, the steps and tips for delivering a great goodbye speech to your colleagues at work, and to find an effective example that you can use for inspiration.
What is a farewell speech?
When leaving a place of work, a department, or even a branch, a farewell speech serves as a polite professional gesture that gives you the opportunity to address your colleagues and your boss and leave your job with grace. There are certain scenarios or settings where a goodbye speech might be considered inappropriate, so it’s imperative that you evaluate your unique situation as well as the work culture before delivering one. These addresses are typically given at goodbye ceremonies or parties or in the office on someone’s last day of work.
For the most part, these types of speeches are given by individuals that:
- Are retiring
- Have worked for the organization for many years
- Made an important contribution or impact during their time working for the organization
How to give a great farewell speech at work
If you’d like to write and deliver an effective going away speech, you can follow these simple steps:
1. Create an outline
To start the process, you can list some of the highlights of your professional experiences at the company in a bulleted format. This provides you with a framework that you can then use to develop your speech. Positive experiences and memories that your colleagues can relate to are especially useful. Some of the more common elements of goodbye speeches are:
- Any well wishes or hopes that you have for your coworkers
- Your reasons for leaving the company and your plans
- Fun anecdotes that detail special memories with your colleagues and the company
- Aspects of the job that you are especially grateful for, including what you learned and the friends you made
- How you feel about leaving the company
- Acknowledgment of the coworkers that influenced you the most and why
- Your favorite parts of your job and working for the organization
- Details about what roles you had in the company and how long you worked there
