This document provides guidance for writing and delivering a tribute speech about a famous person who inspires the speaker. It defines a tribute speech as honoring someone who exemplified extraordinary character and service to humanity. It recommends choosing a famous person known for achievements that benefited humanity, and focusing on illustrating their inspiring character through stories and anecdotes. The document outlines the typical structure of an introduction, body, and conclusion for the speech, and provides examples of transitional phrases to introduce the honoree in the conclusion. It includes lists of potential famous individuals from different fields to consider honoring in the speech.

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Tribute Speech Package
Public Speaking
Revised 2016

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Tribute Speech
A tribute speech gives credit, respect, admiration,
gratitude and inspiration to someone who is famous
and in his/her lifetime exemplifies an extraordinary
character and service to humanity.

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Tribute Speech
Your final speechis to deliver a Tribute Speechon a famous person who inspires
you to become a better person!
For this assignment, famousis defined as a person who is widely known and is
honored for his/her achievements for the greater good of humanity. When writing
this speech, your goal is to focus on the character of the person.
When selecting a personto honor, please considerthe following:
1. The character of the person
2. Personal stories help to build on his/her character/achievements
3. His/her achievements and contributions to humanity
WhatIs Character?
What Abraham Lincoln Said About Character…
 Our character is much more than just our reputation, what we try to display for others
to see. It is who we are even when no one is watching. Having a Good Character
means doing the right thing just because it is right to do what is right.
 Character is defined as personal qualities, especially the qualities of being brave and
determined when doing something difficult
 Tribute speeches should offer the audience the opportunity to reflect and appreciate
the person.
 The speech should also stimulate and strengthen the audience.

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Format /Writing the Tribute Speech
(with suspenseful details to build upon)
The goal is not to give away major details that your audience would know about
the famous person until the concluding paragraph.
In writing this speech, it is similar to your informative speech in that you have an
introduction with the following:
Introduction
 Greeting
 Attention Getter(s) (entertain, sing, poetry, quotes, questions, story)
 Your Name
 Thesis/Main point of why you are honoring him/her
 Example of main point: Hello and good afternoon, my name is Cyle Thomas, and I am
here to share the deep respect and admiration I have for a man who showed exceptional
courage throughout his life.
 Special Note: You will not introduce the name of the honoree until the concluding
paragraph
Body of the Speech
In the body of the speech, the main point is to show illustrations of your honoree’s
courageous character.
 Stories that build upon his courageous character
You will creativelyintroduce your honoree in the concluding paragraph with
a toastand the following:

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Toast leading into the introduction of the honoree
“Catchy” phrases for your concluding paragraph
 Here‘s to you..(name of honoree) ……………...
 I salute you……………………………………...
 To my greatest inspiration ………………………
 I honor you……………………………………....
 I celebrate you…………………………………...
 Here’s a toast to you…………………………….
 After you introduce the first and last name of your honoree, share with your
audience members additional details about him/her that are common to the
listener
 Restate the main point/thesis
 In the concluding paragraph, please explain to your audience how his/her positive
character aids in helping you to become a better person. Please give specific
details.
Additional Requirements For Your Tribute Speech:
 Draft (includes outline and speech) Due: please check your monthly calendar for
the date.
 Two pages or less (introduction, body & conclusion)
 Outline
 Professional Dress
 Black Portfolio

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Draft & Outline Of A Tribute Speech
Outline for Tribute Speech by Cyle Thomas
Introduction:
Opening quote:

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A great man once said, “There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every
loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.”
Attention Getters:
Who here was afraid to get up here and speak in front of other people? I know I was, but we all
did. That takes courage. Courage is not just something for heroes and great people. Courage is
when we know full well that something will be hard, that it will be difficult, and still find the
strength to undertake it because it’s the right thing to do.
Greeting:
Hello and good afternoon, my name’s Cyle Thomas
Thesis:
Today I’d like to share with you all the respect and admiration I have for a great man and the
exceptional courage he showed in overcoming his adversity.
Body 1: Story 1: Courage
It is rarely easy to stand up and speak for what is right. It can be even more difficult when one
has to take that stand against his own government. However, the man I came here to honor did
just that; in fact, he made so many such stands that it is hard to find just one that best exemplifies
his courage. However, there is one story that I think holds significant meaning in light of the
many cases of police brutality as of late. . . . Johnson Hinton story
Body 2: Anecdote: Courage
However, admitting when we are wrong takes courage as well. Talk about his change of heart
regarding “white devils” and black supremacy.
Body 3: Courage
It takes courage to speak, try and connect this to self and class, without undermining how much
more courage he must have had.
Conclusion: Toast:
Reveal: El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz also known as Malcolm X.
Reveal contributions achievements, say how he had courage to speak helped me to, something
like, if he could do that, then my speech should be easy, or maybe courage to change.
Draft/Tribute Speech by Cyle Thomas

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A great man once said that, “There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every
heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your
performance next time.” These are easy words to say, but it takes a lot of faith and courage to
live them. Who here was afraid to get up here and speak? I know I was, but we all did. That takes
courage. Courage is not just something for heroes and great people. Courage is anytime when we
know full well that something will be hard, that it will be difficult, and still find the strength to
undertake it. Courage is when we do not shirk from adversity but stand firm against it, and this is
very much the case for the man I’m here to honor today. Hello and good afternoon, my name is
Cyle Thomas, and I am here to share the deep respect and admiration I have for a man
who showed exceptional courage throughout his life.
The first example of the honoree’s courage was his desire to seek change not only in
the world, but also in himself. This is because to see our own faults requires courage to face
them as well as courage to undertake the task of changing them. When the honoree was a young
man, he was arrested and jailed. He entered the prison system both illiterate and without purpose.
But he would not remain that way; he would in that same prison find the courage to change. He
would go on to teach himself to read, and find a purpose that would determine the course of his
life. This courage to change ourselves is one we as students can all sympathize with. However,
we could also sympathize with the courage this man showed when he exited prison. Because
then it was time for him to speak. Now speaking in front of people, as we’ve all found, can be
very hard. However, it can be even more difficult when one has to speak and say something
people do not want to hear. The honoree knew he would face hatred and resentment when he
spoke, and still he found the strength, the courage to do so. I’d like to share one of his
courageous statements with you now. “I believe that there will be ultimately be a clash between

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the oppressed and those who do the oppressing. I believe that there will be a clash between those
who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the system
of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don't think it will be based on
the color of the skin...” For making such statements, the honoree would receive death threats, but
that did not stop him from speaking. Those same threats did not stop him from calling for
change, or from confronting society with its shortcomings. No amount of adversity which was
heaped upon him was enough to extinguish his courageous nature and stop him from speaking
for change.
That is why I would like to ask everyone to bow their heads and give a moment of silence
for the courageous character of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, also known as Malcolm X. In a time
when others were asking for change, Malcolm X demanded that change, in his words, “By any
means necessary.” He help to create the black power movement and in doing so, again in his
own words, “Inspired many white people to listen to Dr. King, by seeing what the alternative
was.” He was a fire in a time when everyone was running around in the dark. Meaning that you
might not like him, but he made you see where you stood. And though you may not like him, you
must admit that in him was a courage any of us would be lucky to even have fraction of. I know I
would, I mean I get nervous standing up here speaking and I haven’t even called one person a
devil. That courage he showed has inspired me and countless others to not fear our own right to
speak, and I hope that it can do the same for you. Thank you all.

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Below are lists of famous individuals whohave made a substantial impact on
humanity. You do not have topick from this list!
Famous People
Athletes:
Amanda Beard
Andre Agassi
Arnold Palmer
Arthur Ashe
Betheny Hamilton
Dale Earnhardt
Derek Jeter
Gabrielle Douglass
Hank Aaron
Hope Solo
Jack Nicklaus
Jackie Robinson
LeBron James
Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan
Michael Oher
Michael Phelps
Muhammad Ali
Roberto Clemente
Serena Williams
Tiger Woods
Tim Tebow
Walter Payton

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Musicians/Artists:
Beyonce
Bob Marley
Bono
Christina Aquilera
Elvis Presley
John Lennon
Johnny Cash
Justin Timberlake
Katy Perry
Lady Gaga
Michael Jackson
Paul McCartney
Tupac Shakur
Whitney Houston
Entrepreneurs:
Mark Zuckerberg
Martha Stewart
Richard Branson
Steve Jobs
Walt Disney
Political & Historical:
Abraham Lincoln
Al Sharpton
Anne Frank
Bill Clinton
Booker T. Washington

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Charles Lindbergh
Colin Powell
Condoleezza Rice
Deval Patrick
Gabrielle Giffords
George W. Bush
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Hillary Clinton
John F. Kennedy
Kate Middleton
Malcolm X
Martin Luther King Jr.
Mikhail Gorbachev
Neil Armstrong
Nelson Mandela
President Obama
Princess Diana
Sandra Day O’Connor
Sonia Sotomayor
Winston Churchill
Entertainers:
Angelina Jolie
Bob Barker
Ellen DeGeneres
Jim Henson
Julia Child
Marilyn Monroe
Michael J. Fox

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Oprah Winfrey
Pam Grier
Rachel Ray
Stephen Colbert
In the News:
Elizabeth Smart
Chris Kyle
Julian Assange
Chelsey Sullenberger, “Captain Sully”
Writers:
Alice Walker
Edgar Allan Poe
JK Rowling
Maya Angelou
Stephen King
Brainstorming

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Please pick three people that you are interested in writing about in a ranking
order.
Person The main character that s/he exemplifies
First pick:
Second pick:
Third pick: