How to Prepare a Welcome Speech A welcome speech marks the start of any special event or occasion requiring a formal opening. It could be a meeting, a lecture, a workshop, or a celebration. The focus of the speech is always the audience and the goal is to make them look forward to whatever is coming next. You are uniting and bringing them together in the common purpose at the heart of the occasion. To strike the right tone in the language you use consider the audience and the event. Is it fun? Is it serious? Think about the common interest everybody shares. This will give you clues to guide your language choice. The essential elements to cover in your welcome speech are: to specifically acknowledge any important guests to generally welcome all the guests, stating the name of the event and host and thank them for coming to give a brief introduction of the host to give a brief introduction of the occasion to give any especial welcomes ie.,to the important guests to introduce the next speaker if appropriate to conclude These form your basic template. Now lets put all the elements above into a simple sample welcome speech that you can adapt for your own use. “Sue-Ellen Thomas, Jim Smith, Jane Brown and all of our guests, welcome. We are delighted to have you here to participate and share in the 5th annual Childrens Day hosted by Parents United. Thank you for coming. That many of you travel long distances serves to remind us all just how important our work is. Parents United is committed to actively raising the quality of life for every child. We want all children, regardless of race, creed or circumstance to achieve their full potential. Our task is to make it possible. Our mission is to provide practical, step by step assistance. This year our theme is literacy. Weve named the day Readers by Right. Thanks to the United Nations Univeral Declaration of Human Rights we are aware of rights in many spheres, including education. That 1948 agreement declared in Article 26 education should be compulsory and free for children. That avowed goal, is as pertinent today as it was 59 years ago. Its a goal I know we all share - the full development of the human personality. As a body Parents United recognises good reading skills established in childhood as the foundation to fulfilling and ongoing education. We are honored to have Sue-Ellen Thomas, Jim Smith and Jane Brown with us today. All three are esteemed specialists in teaching young children to read. Sue- Ellen has worked for many years with educational authorities to establish programs that put in place the necessary pre-reading skills. Her efforts need no introduction. The results speak for themselves. Jim and Jane bring their passion and knowledge of how to reach those in our communities who are frequently overlooked or bypassed. Their work among English-as-a-second-language families has bridged gaps that were deep dark chasms. Prepare yourself to be challenged, excited and inspired. And before I handover to Lesley Watts, our coordinator for Readers by Right, who will outline the days events, I want to say once more on behalf of the Parents United organizing committee, welcome. Its a pleasure to see so many of you here.“ Remember: 1. Before you give your speech ensure youve got the names of all the special guests you need to welcome. 2. Make sure you know how to pronounce them properly 3. Double check that the remarks youre going to make about your guests are factually correct. 4. Use your introduction of them as a teaser for what is going to come. It will help create anticipation in the audience. 5. Unless youve been requested to do otherwise, keep your welcome speech brief, 1 to 2 minutes is generally sufficient. Use the S-S-S formula for success: Short, Simple and Sincere. Your listeners will appreciate it. Sample Tour Guide Speech A tour guide speech on a shuttle bus from the airport to the resort. Welcoming tourists: Hello everyone. My name is Luca. On behalf of Suntan Tours Id like to welcome you all to Los Cabos. The bus ride to your hotel will take about fifteen minutes. Right now Id like to take a minute to familiarize you with the area and discuss some brief safety precautions. Firstly, I ask that you remain seated until we reach our destination and that you not eat or drink while on the bus.Secondly, please realize that it is against the law to get drunk in public. Enjoy your vacation, but do drink responsibly and do not drink and drive. Describing the location: I promise you are going to enjoy your stay here in San Jose, Los Cabos. This is a beautiful, quiet city where you can relax, sit by the beach, enjoy great meals and feel very safe. You can walk into town and enjoy the fountains or take a moonlit walk along the water. Please do not swim here. This is not a safe place to swim because there is a strong undertow. Cabos San Lucas is the place to go if you want t