Valedictorian Speech Raps to the Beat at Pine Rivers State

A valedictorian speech is very much a rite of passage for many high school students. And for many in the audience it can also be a rite of passage. Long, arduous and uncomfortable.

But that’s not the case with a valedictorian speech given by Faagi Teo, the outgoing school captain at Pine Rivers High School.

Rapping Valedictorian Speech

The Brisbane-based school captain opted for a farewell speech with a difference to mark the end of his school years. In stark contrast to many valedictorian speeches that can be a bit on the dry side the head of school chose to put his speech to a Vanilla Ice beat…Ice, Ice, Baby. An outstanding choice.

Choosing a rap song as the basic structure for your valedictorian speech, in fact any speech at all, might seem odd. Somehow at odds with his purpose or message. But that’s not how it came across.

It worked. It worked really well. His audience reacted superbly well to his speech content and its delivery.

He achieved considerable audience participation with his speech as parents, teachers and students clapped along with the lyrics. Getting his audience to sing along with the chorus was also problem-free:

Pine, Pine, Baby

Even the School Principal, Miss Deakin, had a star turn near the close. I suspect that bit of his speech might have been rehearsed. If not, then he’s definitely very brave.

Young Faagi Teo noted afterwards that he hadn’t spent much time on his speech. He only started to write the speech two weeks before graduation and finished with only days to go. He didn’t leave much time for speech rehearsal. But the energy content with last minute work like this has to be high.

So, a well-constructed and fun valedictorian speech. You can always get ready for your own farewell speech with a public speaking skills refresher from Time to Market. This half-day skills session gives you the perfect chance to polish up your speech. Alternatively, you’ll find an online training course is the simplest way to start building your own public speaking skills. Please don’t hesitate to call and discuss.