How To Prepare a Retirement Speech
Whether you are a co-worker, friend, child, or grandchild, there will be at least one opportunity in your life for you to give a retirement speech. Delivering a sincere speech is crucial, even if you do not like the retiree. Most people can sense generic speeches right away, so you should take the time to write your own.
- Choose the Mood: A retirement speech should not sound like a eulogy at a funeral, but on the other hand, it should not sound like a stand up comedy show either. For a great retirement
speech, it is good to pick a mood. The best speeches should have a good balance of sincerity and humor. Depending on the person and your relation to them, your speech may have more humor or more sincerity. Write a speech that fits the retiree’s character. When writing humor into the speech, be sure to add funny moments that everyone can share. Do not add inside jokes that only you and a couple of people will understand. And leave out all embarrassing blackmails. This is supposed to be a “happy farewell from your job” speech, not all the reasons why they were a bad employee or what they really did on their lunch breaks. When it comes to the sincerity, be truthful. If there is nothing sincere you can say about the person, then try phrases like, “I wish you well in life,” or, “work will not be the same without you.” - Set a Time Frame:Time is not the most essential factor in your speech, but it is an important one. Depending on how well you know the retiree, you should keep the speech to about three to seven minutes. Shorter than three minutes and you might sound insincere. Longer than seven minutes and people may begin to grow tiresome. Be courteous to leave plenty of time for other people to say a speech.
- What to Include in the Speech:You already know to include some humor and sincerity in your speech. There are also a lot of other things you can include in your retirement speech. You can include a poem written by yourself or by someone else. You can also include famous quotes, as long as they relate to the person, event, or your speech in some way or another. Some other things you may want to include are any memories or lessons learned from the retiree. If you write from your heart, you will have a great retirement speech in no time.
Sample Retirement Speech
Well thank you, (Host name), for those kind words. It was indeed 23 years ago that I came a-trembling through the hallowed portals of this head office. Had I known then what a roller coaster ride we were in for I might have trembled even more or turned right round.
But ignorance was bliss in those days! I thought, innocently, that accepting commercial bribes was a natural thing to do. Good enough for a Cabinet minister’s spouse; good enough for me, I thought. But seriously, I was so proud to be given the chance to help make this business into a household name.
I only want to say a few words myself – I’ve done enough speaking for a lifetime! But I do want to tell you how much I have appreciated some of the things that make this company so special – not just the business side, but the fun and laughter we have had – to say nothing of the long nights labouring away at last minute documents and deals. And as for Mrs Morris’s teatime treats – I think that’s what I am going to miss most!
(Host name) was right. I am leaving but I will be watching your progress with interest and I shall indeed be back. I am certain you will all go on to achieve far better things than I did. If my legacy to you was time spent building this firm up, your legacy to me is one of comradeship, faith in lunch time and passion for cup cakes.
I have just one final point to make – that is to thank you for the wonderful present. How could you have guessed that it was just what I wanted!!??
I now raise my glass to you and say farewell.
Thank you.
Dan Marino’s Retirement speech
March 13, 2000
After 17 years I would like to announce my retirement from the Miami Dolphins.
After playing the game of football most of my life, this was an extremelydifficult decision. But I know that I had made the right decision for me and my family. I am very proud of the success that we have had as a team for 17 years, as well as all my individual accomplishments. Not many people have an opportunity to spend 17 years of their life doing what they truly love to do. And as I stand here before you today, I can say that I had been blessed with a career greater than I could have ever imagined.
I am extremely proud of the fact that I was able to play 17 years for the Miami Dolphins. And I am going to miss it. I am going to miss the relationships with the players. I am going to miss the fans. I am going
to miss the great friends that I have made over this time. I am going to miss all the good times that we have had together. But most of all, I am going to miss sunday afternoons.
There are not many situations in life that can compare to the emotions, the competition and the preparation that go into a football game. It is a great game. I have been blessed over the years to have a great family and support from them
and today they are here. My mother and dad are here. I want to thank them for everything over the years, the support that they have given me, and it is special because through my whole career, ever since I have been a little boy, they have been able
to watch every game that I played. There is not many guys that can say that. To my dad, he is the best coach I have ever had. Thank you, both.
To my wife, Claire, we have been through this 16 years together. We have had a lot of ups and downs, but we have accomplished a lot of things. You have always been by my side. You are an incredible mother and you are my best friend. Thanks. We have five fabulous
children, Michael, Danno, Joey is just smiling – this is not easy Joe – Ally and Niki. Guys, I was always hopeful that I would play long enough for them to see me play the game that I love, and they were able to do that. I hope that always have fabulous memories of me
being a Miami Dolphin. Thanks guys.
There are so many people that I would like to thank, starting with the Robbie family. I want to thank the late Joe Robbie and his son, Tim, for giving me the opportunity to play here and a special thanks to the Huizenga family, Wayne and Marti. You have always been very supportive, and it was an honor to have been
a part of your football team, but most importantly, I want to thank you for your friendship.
I am honored that Coach (Don) Shula is here today. Coach, not only have you been a tremendous impact on my carrer, but you have taught me how to be a true proffesional. I am very proud of the fact that we were able to win more games than any other coach/quarterback combination in the history of football.
I thank all the coaches that I have worked with over the years and all of the great players. To the Dolphins staff, the people who are in the building here that you see each and every day. To our tean president, Eddie Jones, thank you. To the guys that work and help the players with what they are doing each and every day:
the equipment staff, Tony Egues, Charlie, Joey, guys that are important to the players. A guy that is not here anymore is Bobby Monica, he is a friend. The trainers, guys that take care of me, getting me in shape, try to make me the player that I am: Ryan Vermillion, Troy Maurer, Brad Roll is here and John Gamble,
thank you. And the Public Relations staff, Harvey Green has been great, 11 years I have worked with Harvey. Fudge Browne in community relations, thank you, Fudge. There is one person that is kind of unique, our video man, Dave Hack. He is the only person that has seen every touchdown pass that I have ever thrown. I thought
that was kind of neat.
I have played with so many different players over the years and thrown touchdown passes to 51 different players, but there were some special players in my career that I would lilke to acknowledge. When I started out here with the Miami Dolphins, I had a great group of recievers – Mark Duper, Mark Clayton, Nat Moore, Jim Jensen, Jimmy Cefalo,
but there will always be a special place in my heart for Duper and Clayton. They caught more touchdown passes than anybody that I have ever played with. As they have always said, they made me look good, they made me a star.
Don Strock, thanks for helping me when I was a young quarterback. Thanks to Dwight Stephenson, who was the most incredible leader on the field. he is a hall of fame player as well as a hall of fame person. Thank you Dwight, and more recently to Richmond Webb, who was on my left side and taken care of me for so many years and to probably the toughest
football player I have played with – O.J McDuffie. Thanks to all of you guys, you have made life easy for me.
Some special friends that are here : Marvin Demoff, we have been through a lot this past month. I want to thank Marvin for coming from Los Angeles. Another person, Ralph Stringer, who has helped me a lot in my community work here. I want to thank him. I want to thank the members of the media for covering me throughout my career and supporting a lot of things
that I do charitablewise. I have some close friends that have done a lot of work with me, and I appreciate that.
Finally, to the Dolphin fans. It has been an honor to play here in front of great and supportive fans. Together we have shared many memories. I feel that I have always had a special relationship with Dolphin fans everywhere. I thank you for being behind me throughout my career. I hope you have enjoyed these 17 years as much as I have.
I want to thank everybody in the organization, all the players I have ever played with, my family and for the media coming out here today. It has been great. Thank you very much.
Lou Gehrig Retirement speech June 21
Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been to ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure I’m lucky. Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I’m lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift – that’s something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in the white coats remember you with trophies – that’s something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter – that’s something. When you have a father and mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body – it’s a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed – that’s the finest I know. So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I’ve got an awful lot to live for. Thank you.