Arthur Brooks: How to Give a Commencement Speech That Isn’t Awful
Arthur Brooks discusses how to deliver a memorable commencement speech. He highlights that many graduation speeches tend to be forgettable or overly preachy. Brooks offers four rules to help speakers create addresses that resonate with graduates.
- ▪Arthur Brooks delivered the commencement speech at the University of Utah in 2026.
- ▪Many graduation speeches are often bland or instantly forgotten.
- ▪Brooks suggests four rules for giving a memorable commencement address.
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Arthur Brooks: How to Give a Commencement Speech That Isn’t AwfulArthur Brooks gives the 2026 commencement speech at the University of Utah. (Harriet Richardson)Most graduation speeches are either bland, preachy, or instantly forgotten. Here are four rules for giving one graduates might actually remember.By Arthur Brooks05.25.26 — The Pursuit of Happiness with Arthur BrooksFOLLOW COLUMN --:----:--Upgrade to ListenProduced by ElevenLabs using AI narration2Graduation season is upon us. At commencements across America, graduates are sitting patiently in their caps and gowns, their parents perched uncomfortably in the bleachers of a basketball arena.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Free Press (Substack).
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