SpeechesOpening and closing lines for speeches and anchoring
The first line of a speech decides whether people listen, and the last line decides what they remember. Here are 43 lines of our own to start you off: openings, closings and the short links an anchor needs between items. None of them is a quotation from anyone; you may use and change them freely. Tap Copy to take a line.
Choose a line that suits your audience and your own way of speaking. A playful line in the mouth of a serious person sounds borrowed. Say the line aloud twice. If it does not feel like you, change the words until it does.
Opening lines
To begin any school function
- Good morning, respected Principal, respected teachers and my dear friends.
- A very warm welcome to each one of you on this special day.
- It is a joy to see this hall full of familiar faces and proud parents.
To begin with a question
- Let me begin with a question: what is the one thing you would never forget about your school?
- How many of us here have ever said thank you to the person who rings the school bell?
- If you had only two minutes to say something important, what would you say? I have two minutes, so here is mine.
To begin with a picture
- Think of a lamp. It gives light, but only because someone filled it with oil.
- Picture this ground thirty years ago: no building, only a few teachers and a dream.
- Imagine a classroom with no teacher. Now you know why we are here today.
To begin an evening programme
- Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to an evening we have been rehearsing for weeks.
- The lights are on, the curtain is ready and so are our performers. Welcome!
- Thank you for giving us your evening. We promise to make it worth the traffic.
To begin a farewell
- Goodbyes are never easy, so today let us call this a thank-you party instead.
- They say time flies. Looking at this batch, I can tell you it also grows taller.
- We have gathered to do something difficult: to say goodbye to people we would rather keep.
To begin at a family function
- Namaste and a very warm welcome to our family and friends. You have made our day by coming.
- Our home feels bigger today because all of you are in it.
- Before the food steals your attention, may I have two minutes?
Closing lines
To end a speech
- With these words, I thank you all for listening so patiently.
- Let us leave this hall with one small promise, and let us keep it.
- I began with a question. I hope each of us goes home with an answer. Thank you.
To end a national day speech
- Let us be citizens that the flag can be proud of. Jai Hind!
- Freedom was their gift to us. Let responsibility be our gift to the country. Jai Hind!
To end a farewell
- Go well, do well, and come back to tell us about it.
- This is not goodbye. It is only "see you soon", said with wet eyes.
- Wherever you go, a part of this place goes with you, and a part of you stays here.
To end a function as anchor
- On that happy note, we come to the end of our programme. Thank you for being a wonderful audience.
- The stage lights will go off, but we hope the memories stay on. Good night, and travel safely.
- Thank you, one and all. Dinner is waiting, and so, I think, are you.
To end a family function
- Thank you for your love and blessings. Please do not leave without eating!
- May we meet again soon, for another happy reason.
Links for anchors
After a dance
- What energy! The stage is still shaking. Thank you, performers.
- That was colour, rhythm and joy in three minutes. A big hand once more!
After a song
- A voice like that makes a hall fall silent. Thank you for that lovely song.
- Some songs are heard by the ears and some by the heart. That was the second kind.
After a speech
- Thank you for those thoughtful words. They have given us much to think about.
- Short, clear and from the heart. Thank you.
Before a prize distribution
- Hard work has a habit of being noticed. It is time to honour our achievers.
- Now for the moment that many parents have their cameras ready for.
To fill a pause
- While the stage is being set, let us give a round of applause to the teachers working behind the curtain.
- A short pause, friends. Good things take a minute to arrange.
To invite the chief guest to speak
- We have heard from the students. Now it is time to hear from experience. May I invite our Chief Guest to address us.
- The moment we have been waiting for: a few words from our Chief Guest.
How to write your own opening line
- Start from the occasion. What is special about this day or these people? Say that, simply.
- Use a question, a picture or a tiny story. Each makes the listener's mind do something, and an active mind pays attention.
- Keep it under twenty words. A long first sentence loses the room before you have begun.
- Never open with an apology or with "I have been asked to say a few words".
How to write your own closing line
- Return to your opening. If you began with a question, answer it. If you began with a picture, complete it. The speech then feels whole.
- Give the audience one thing to do or to remember.
- End on a strong word. "Jai Hind", "thank you", "congratulations": do not trail off into "so, yes, that is it".
Next: put the lines to work in a ready speech or an anchoring script.