One important thing to remember is that the special occasion is usually about someone else or something else. It’s not about you. You can and should add personal stories about how the recipient of your speech has touched or influenced you personally or others that you know.
Special occasions aren’t venues for airing dirty laundry, whatever your feelings are about the occasion.
The theme of your speech should be directly related to the reason you are giving the speech. While stories of heroism in the football field can be inspirational to a sports audience, it isn’t necessarily transferable to other audiences.
If you are facing delivering a speech for a special occasion I would suggest talking to the organizers of the event to find out if they have any suggestions as to topics. It could be rather embarrassing to find that a previous speaker has delivered a very similar message to what you have planned.
Good luck with your speech and thanks for your question!
As originally answered on Quora.com
