Welcome speeches by their very nature are meant to be short, sharp and functional. That doesn’t mean they cannot be memorable, but you must always bear in mind that you are there to welcome people to the church, maybe people who haven’t been to a church for a while so it also needs to be friendly as well as informative. Try to think about who will be in the audience and what you remember from attending previous Black History Programs whether at this church of other churches.
If you are not the organiser of the Black History Program, then find out who is and ask them about what the day will entail. Pepper your speech with the highlights of the forthcoming program. Don’t worry you will not be stealing the thunder from the other people involved in the day, instead you will be building anticipation for the future events. Make sure to thank everyone involved in the organisation and deliverance of the program to double make sure that this happens. Also enquire of the organiser whether any notices will be needed to be delivered during this welcome speech, such as fire procedural information.
Remember that a speech is at its most engaging when it is delivered from the heart and in your own words.
OK so if you are looking for a structure for your welcome speech, I’d start with welcoming everyone present, making sure you speak to the whole room. Next set out the activities you have planned for the day, followed by an explanation of the activities and an explanation of why you’re doing a Black History Program and why it is important. The more personal this segment is, the more striking it will be for your audience but you must temper this with the fact that this is a welcome speech and must be kept reasonably short and snappy. You may want to add a short prayer here, but that will have to be your carefully considered call as some of your audience may not be regular church goers and are in attendance for the Black History program only and this turn of events may throw them slightly.
Remember to include a final thank you to everyone for attending and sitting through your speech.
Practise your speech at least twice before delivering it. This will give you more confidence and will allow you to iron out any potential tongue twisters before the day. Also make sure you have several copies of the speech on your person.
If you are not the organiser of the Black History Program, then find out who is and ask them about what the day will entail. Pepper your speech with the highlights of the forthcoming program. Don’t worry you will not be stealing the thunder from the other people involved in the day, instead you will be building anticipation for the future events. Make sure to thank everyone involved in the organisation and deliverance of the program to double make sure that this happens. Also enquire of the organiser whether any notices will be needed to be delivered during this welcome speech, such as fire procedural information.
Remember that a speech is at its most engaging when it is delivered from the heart and in your own words.
OK so if you are looking for a structure for your welcome speech, I’d start with welcoming everyone present, making sure you speak to the whole room. Next set out the activities you have planned for the day, followed by an explanation of the activities and an explanation of why you’re doing a Black History Program and why it is important. The more personal this segment is, the more striking it will be for your audience but you must temper this with the fact that this is a welcome speech and must be kept reasonably short and snappy. You may want to add a short prayer here, but that will have to be your carefully considered call as some of your audience may not be regular church goers and are in attendance for the Black History program only and this turn of events may throw them slightly.
Remember to include a final thank you to everyone for attending and sitting through your speech.
Practise your speech at least twice before delivering it. This will give you more confidence and will allow you to iron out any potential tongue twisters before the day. Also make sure you have several copies of the speech on your person.
