Writing your senior talk can be daunting for many reasons, but planning and praying ahead can relieve some of this pressure.
Psalm 45:1 (NASB): “My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”
So while your audience is the student body and your family, it is also God; and if we are willing, He promises to speak through us. Think of Moses, a stutterer, whom God used in mighty ways!
Prompts-Ideas to Get You Started
Tell your Story of salvation and/or Surrender. People relate to stories so you never know who you might connect with through the telling of your story.
Explicate your favorite Bible passage: What does the verse mean and why is it meaningful to you?
Talk about your passion(s)! God gives us passions so we can glorify Him by serving others through those passions. So tell us what you are passionate about and why. How did you learn you were drawn to your passion (think hobbies or interests) and how does it help you glorify God with your life?
Build on SBA’s mission statement by giving us your interpretation of how this might look in your own life now and after SBA: “...to developing educated young people of character, while preparing them to represent our Lord Jesus Christ in all walks of life.”
Build on the goal of SBA’s vision statement: What does it mean to be a “Godly warrior” in our culture/society today?
Pick one of the core values to be the theme of your talk: discipleship, excellence, integrity.
How have you been involved in discipleship since you have been at SBA and how do you plan to continue to be a disciple of Christ?
How are you striving for excellence in all aspects of your life so that you might glorify God?
What does it mean to be a person of integrity as a Christian in today’s culture/society?
Pick one category from the Expected Student Outcomes. These ultimately comprise SBA’s goal for our graduates.
How have you become an engaged learner? How has this impacted you?
Have you developed as a servant leader? How specifically through your years here?
Have you become a more effective communicator? How so? Has this impacted your witness for Christ?
How have you become a more faithful disciple? This might mean more intentional engagement with your various communities in which God has placed you and/or a shift in mindset that aligns with the Truth of God’s Word.
It’s okay to admit weaknesses! None of us have it all together, so it can make your talk more relatable if you are honest about what is still a “work-in-progress” in your life.
Don’t feel like you have to do what has been done in the past. Be creative as you think through and pray about both what God would have you talk about and how you might express it.
Remember who your audience is: family, peers, underclassmen, and God! You don’t want to call out anyone or speak down to anyone. You want to speak the truth in love at all times. The job of any speaker is to find a way to relate so that your message might have an impact. An easy way to do this is to avoid “You” as much as possible. It can give your speech a “preachy” tone that can be hard to relate to.
The writing center can help! If at any point in the writing process, you feel overwhelmed, stuck, or in need of feedback, swing by or email for an appt. Time. There is no such thing as a perfect paper, so we all need the eye of an audience member from time to time to provide perspective.
Map out your timeline! Remember that you have to have a final copy of your speech to Mrs. Ioannidis 8 days before your senior talk date and you should plan on at least 2-3 weeks for the writing process. This means you should start working on this about a month before your senior talk date, but start praying about it now!
Don’t neglect the prewriting phase. This will look different for each of you, but timed freewriting is one way to just get some thoughts down. Pick one of the above prompts, set the timer for at least 6 minutes, and then don’t stop writing until the time is up. You can type or handwrite but don’t stop! Then read back through what you have and highlight/circle patterns or potential themes. You just might land on the perfect topic for your senior talk. If that doesn’t work, pick a different prompt and try again.
Drafting is supposed to be messy! So don’t try to have it all figured out or edit as you go. You should have a general outline before you start writing to keep you on track, but it is okay to move entire paragraphs around or even delete some later.
Revision and Editing are key! No first draft should be read as the final product. Eliminate any unnecessary details and make sure your message is clear throughout. Read your paper out loud and mark places that you stumble over and rework those spots. Make sure you move through your message in a logical order so your audience can follow. For example, if you are telling your story, don’t address the audience with takeaways in the middle of the story.
Don’t forget to answer the “so what” question, which is where your speech will land in the conclusion. “So what?” Why does your favorite verse, your story, or your interpretation of the mission statement matter to your audience? Find a way to relate your talk directly to your audience.
Add in final notes to yourself for when you are reading the speech on the big day. For example, most people read quickly when in front of a live audience, so use paragraph breaks and “Xs” or “ / “ to remind you to pause from time to time. Your audience can only process so quickly. Practice! Time yourself!
