Dolly Parton's Commencement Speech: Lively, Extemporaneous, Specific, Detailed

For some reason, I just remembered Dolly Parton's 2009 commencement speech at the University of Tennessee. I have shown this to my students several times; most of them like the speech and some do not. I think that she gave a very good ceremonial speech, and here are the reasons why:

1. She spoke extemporaneously. What this means is that she was prepared, and she had reflected carefully on what she was going to say and how she would say it. She did not, however, read the speech. When a speaker reads a speech, the manuscript sticks a barrier between speaker and audience. Also, a good speaker wants to respond to the audience's reactions. A prepared manuscript often prevents that from happening. Also, no matter how well the speech is written, it will never sound like conversation.

2. She was lively. Her voice was varied. She was alternately loud, soft, fast, and slow. Her voice expressed her ideas and thoughts. She was easy to hear. I am horrified by how often good speeches are ruined simply because no one can hear the speaker. Dolly was easy to hear.

3. She told many stories. Very few speakers can give a good speech full of generalities. Well, Abraham Lincoln could do it, but most of us cannot. She told stories about her childhood and her career. Each story made an important point. For example, she told a wonderful story about rehearsing for 9 to 5, when she had memorized the entire script and other actors only knew their own lines. They thought it was funny that she didn't know better. Yet, she didn't miss her lines during the performance, and other people did. This made her point about how important it is to be prepared for whatever one does.

4. She praised the graduates, of course, since praise is the main point of a commencement speech. She also made general points and talked about larger issues. Ceremonial speakers should always do so. She told the graduates to work for their dreams, to be prepared, and to be on time. A ceremonial speaker's main job is to bring out values and to pass those values on to the audience.

5. She also sang for the graduates. Why not?