A Comprehensive Guide To Writing A Winning Welcome Speech Essay
The purpose of a welcome speech is to make the event memorable for the new students. The speech is a way to welcome the new arrivals and make them feel special. It holds a lot of meaning because it makes them feel warm and accepted, and heralds the start with a good atmosphere and feeling. It inculcates in them ownership of the new place which they are about to be a part of.
The new students are excited about the start of their new journey, the opportunities that will be presented here, the new friends they will make, the valuable guidance they will get, the new things they will learn, and much more. Therefore, they have a lot of enthusiasm in them and cannot wait to embark on this new journey. On the other hand, they have apprehensions as well.
So, the welcome party becomes crucial to remove their mixed feelings and insecurities. It helps make them feel comfortable and established, and what better way to remove their apprehensions by throwing a welcome party and giving them a welcome speech that wins their hearts.
What is also important about the welcome speech is that it is a way to promote the institute. It gives the institute a good name and highlights the large faculty of the institute and the brilliance it has achieved in the past years. It motivates every person involved in the institute towards achieving the vision collectively.
From the working staff to the admin, everyone feels proud to play their role in helping the institute come close to their goals. Simultaneously, the speech helps the new students and their parents, feel secure. If the parents are wealthy, they give a donation to the institute. Satisfied parents having high expectations for their children like to give a small contribution to the institute.
Preparation for the welcome party
When it comes to giving a welcome party, it must be well-planned and well-organised. You can start by making different teams and assigning team leaders with different responsibilities. One team should be given the responsibility of preparing the invitations and inviting the newcomers, parents, chief guests, alumni, news reporters, faculty members, etc.
Another team can be responsible for the smooth entry of the guests into the institute, e.g. ensuring that parking spots are available and security has been arranged. You may also want to have a separate team to take care of your social media needs, for instance, photography of the event and posting it on the institute’s social media accounts. The decorum of the auditorium should be impressive so you can allot a team for this job as well.
There are plenty of things that need attention during the preparation of the event. When students themselves are given roles, it gives them a sense of empowerment and pride. You can hold some students responsible for the duties of seating, the decorum of the auditorium, and cleaning the path leading to the hall.
The proper lighting and the sound system of the auditorium also have to be checked beforehand. The timing of the event should be scheduled, and the duration of every event must be planned accordingly.
Along with this, you also have to plan how the faculty will be introduced. When you announce the faculty members, you can include their department, and they should be seated in a way that they are facing the students and the parents when being introduced. These are small things that have to be taken care of to have a successful event and an impactful welcome speech.
Now that we have covered the preparation of the welcome party, let’s focus on how you should prepare for a winning speech.
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The introduction of the speech
Start your speech by greeting everyone warmly and welcoming them to the event. You can say something like “We are very happy to welcome you all”, or “Good evening, everyone. It is a pleasure to welcome you all here.”
Introduce yourself and the institute to the newcomers by laying out its best achievements. The speech should be warm and welcoming, but solemn and serious as well. It should highlight the goals of the institute and assure the newcomers of a bright future for them.
Mention the honorary chief guest
You may have invited a chief guest such as professors or heads of other universities. You must acknowledge their presence and thank them for taking the time and putting the effort to come to your event.
Acknowledge the parents
Your regard for the parents is high, and you should show your respect for them. This will encourage the proud parents and make the students feel happy that they are included.
Give regards to the organisers
No event takes place without a lot of planning, so you must include a thank you to all the organisers. However, be sure that it doesn’t take up a lot of time. You must understand who your audience is. The parents and students are not familiar with the different team organisers so they will just be hearing a lot of names being called out.
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Body of the speech
The focal point of the event is to welcome the new students to their new institute, to inform the parents and students about the expectations of the institute, the code of conduct of the institute, etc. The primary goal is to make the students feel that they have made the right choice by getting themselves admitted to this institute. So you can highlight the great achievements and main accomplishments of the institute.
You might be tired but at no time should you show yourself to be exhausted. You may have given this speech every year, but for these students and parents, it is their first time. So, keeping this in mind, you must show your enthusiasm with your body language and tone.
Give a small presentation
Just a speaker going on and on can be boring and tiring for the audience. If there is a small presentation with some data and graphs, that will ensure a better understanding of how the institute has grown and succeeded in the past.
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Conclusion of your speech
Thank everyone graciously for taking the time to be present punctually and for listening to your speech patiently. Tell them how you hope that with their cooperation, and that each student will earn a reputable name for themselves and the institute by their hard work and dedication.
Hand over a pen and paper for the audience to give you some suggestions. They can mention why they choose this institute and what they wish to achieve from this institute.
Many parents may have queries. However, the welcome speech is not the time to answer such questions. So the parents can be told that they will be offered tea soon and they can meet and get to know the faculty and the head themselves. At the end of your speech, you can call the students up for photographs, and then they can move on to enjoy the welcome party.
