Marlee Matlin gave the 2026 commencement address at the University of Oregon in sign language - with simultaneous translation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On June 15, 2026 the deaf actress Marlee Matlin gave the commencement address at the University of Oregon in sign language - with simultaneous translation. There is a sixteen-minute YouTube video from the University of Oregon on June 30, 2026 titled Marlee Matlin’s 2026 Commencement Address at the University of Oregon.

 

And there is an article by Annie Aguiar at Lookout Eugene Springfield on June 15, 2026 titled Actress Marlee Matlin urged UO grads (including her daughter) to ‘be yourself’ which has a full transcript.

 

At 8:45 she says:

 

“Courage plus dreams equals success. It’s not certainty plus dreams. It’s not perfection plus dreams, it’s courage plus dreams. It is true that dreams are great, but they don’t mean much if you’re too afraid to go after them, and adding some courage is what gets you to take the chance. Courage is applying for the job you’re not sure you’re going to get. Courage is starting over when something isn’t working anymore. Courage is asking for help. Courage is accepting that sometimes you are wrong, and courage is getting back up after you fail, or when life knocks you down.”

 

And at 14:20 she says:

 

“So, as you leave here today, I hope you can remember a few things. One, be yourself when it’s hard. Two, don’t let the world tell your story for you. And three, as I said before make your bed and make sure to pay your taxes.”

 

The PBS American Masters TV series has a documentary about her titled Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore. It includes a minute and a half section you can watch on YouTube titled Marlee Matlin and Henry Winkler reminisce about their long friendship. Another six-minute video at Page Six on June 19, 2025 is titled Marlee Matlin reveals the famous TV star who let her live with his family for two years.  

 

Her portrait was retouched from this 2025 one at Wikimedia Commons.  

 

 

On May 11, 2026 Harrison Ford gave the undergraduate commencement address at Arizona State University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an article by Mary Beth Faller at ASU News on May 11, 2026 titled Harrison Ford tells ASU’s class of 2026: ‘This is your time.’ You can watch his eleven-minute speech in a YouTube video titled Harrison Ford undergraduate commencement address: Arizona State University (ASU).

 

There is another article by Ingrid Vasquez at People on May 13, 2026 titled Harrison Ford encourages ASU graduates to ‘Go change the world’ in passionate commencement speech. Yet another article by Alix Martichoux at The Hill, also on May 13, 2026 is titled Harrison Ford’s rousing commencement speech goes viral: ‘The world my generation left you is a real mess.’  Her description is:

 

“In an inspiring speech to the class of 2026, actor Harrison Ford admitted to the mistakes of his generation, before calling on young people to change the world.

He kicked off his commencement address Monday at Arizona State University by admitting he didn’t always make the best choices when he was young. ‘I was squandering my life in riotous living,’ the 83-year-old said of his college years. He found himself in a drama class looking for an easy A grade, but fell in love with acting.

‘Hiding in character, costume and makeup, I had a freedom, a bravery I had never felt before – and I got an A!’ he joked. ‘I was, I realized, present for possibly the very first time in my life. My passion had led me to community.’

Ford pursued acting, he told the students, while working carpentry jobs to pay the bills and support his family. Even after the success [of] ‘Star Wars,’ when things got easier, something still wasn’t quite right.

 ‘The load lightened. I had freedom, opportunity, but something was still missing.’ He had found passion for acting, but not purpose in life.

 That changed in the 1980s, Ford said, when he discovered the nonprofit Conservation International. As he continued starring in episodes of ‘Star Wars,’ the ‘Indiana Jones’ series, ‘Blade Runner’ and more, he found his true purpose in activism on behalf of the environment.

 ‘Humanity is a part of nature, not above it,’ he continued, making a plea for environmental justice, social justice and protecting indigenous communities. ‘These communities have long understood that the trees, the mountain, water, soil are not commodities, they are relatives to be cherished.’

 ‘We can all play a role by embracing that wisdom in our day-to-day lives, by loving the planet, by honoring nature’s authority, her generosity, the bounty she affords us, the justice of her example,’ he said. ‘Because the world you’re stepping into, the world my generation left you is a real mess.’

‘Find a place for yourself,’ he continued. ‘Whatever talent or ambition you have, find some way to put it to work. Build something that didn’t exist yesterday. Stand up for someone who can’t stand up for themselves. Bring people together that weren’t talking before. That’s leadership. That’s what moves the needle.’

‘Your generation has far more power than you may realize. And if you harness that power, if you find your leadership, your issues, your voice, the world will not be able to ignore you.’

 He ended with a few more inspiring final words: ‘This is your time. Own it. Enjoy every second of it. Because what could be worse than getting to the end of your life and realizing that you haven’t fully lived it. Congratulations. Go change the world.’ ”

 A 2025 portrait of Harrison Ford was adapted from this one at Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

A succinct primer on delivering more effective medical presentations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a succinct 5-page article by Adin Nelson et al. in the Journal of Hospital Medicine for April 15, 2026 pages 946 to 950 (Volume 21, Number 8) titled Developing, designing, and delivering more effective research and didactic presentations: A primer and recommendations. Their advice applies to presentations in general, not just medical ones.

 

The article has sections titled:

 

Introduction

Learning Objectives

Explicit Organization

Slide Design

Accessibility

Public Speaking Skills

Next Steps

 

The second paragraph in their section on Learning Objectives begins by stating that:

 

“Objectives should be outcome‐focused and learner‐centered. Outcome‐focused means describing what will happen after and because of (not during) the presentation. Learner‐centered means describing what will happen to or for learners, rather than describing what the speaker will do.”

 

The third paragraph begins:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Bloom's Taxonomy [Ref. 5] and the SMART framework are two useful tools that can help ensure objectives are learner‐centered, actionable, and achievable. Bloom's Taxonomy is a set of suggested keywords to use in learning objectives. The words are all action verbs (e.g., ‘list’, ‘plan’, or ‘contrast’), so using one of them ensures that the learning objective is outcome‐focused. Additionally, Bloom's Taxonomy divides the verbs into six categories, [as shown above] which are ranked in order of increasing cognitive challenge from Remembering (e.g., Recall, List, etc.) to Creating (e.g., Design, Construct, etc.). SMART is an acronym for five characteristics of effective learning objectives. They should be Specific (not overly‐broad or vague), Measurable (possible to objectively determine whether or not a learner meets them), Achievable (able to be accomplished by the targeted learners), Relevant (appropriate to the learners' needs), and Time‐bound (planned to be accomplished within a predetermined period, not open‐ended).”  

 

The second paragraph in their section on Slide Design states that:

 

“The Assertion‐Evidence framework is a more effective alternative to slide design. It consists of four core tenets: (1) Each slide should contain one key point, and multiple points should be divided across multiple slides. (2) Each slide's key point is expressed in a single declarative sentence - the assertion - in place of the slide title. (3) The remainder of the slide is devoted to visual evidence (ideally a picture or diagram) demonstrating or reinforcing the key point (see Figure 1). (4) Supporting details, background explanations, and additional context go in the oral presentation, not on the slide.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I blogged about it back on February 19, 2014 in a detailed post titled Assertion-Evidence PowerPoint slides are a visual alternative to bullet point lists. An example is shown above from a post on August 20, 2023 titled Reading a fracture surface like a road map – fractography in failure analysis.

 

Their final section on Next Steps says:

 

“Learning to be a more effective presenter can seem intimidating, but as with any new skill, practice makes progress. In this article, we explain core concepts and key first steps for planning goals and objectives, designing slides, and optimizing your public speaking for clear and effective presentations. If adopting all of these recommendations at once feels overwhelming, pick one - maybe using assertion sentences in place of slide titles - and incorporate that into your next presentation. Then solicit feedback and continue to iterate. Making one small change at a time, every hospitalist can improve their teaching skills and become a master educator.”

 

 

Sundar Pichai gave the 2026 commencement speech at Stanford University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sundar Pichai (the CEO of Alphabet and Google) gave the 2026 commencement speech at Stanford University on June 14, 2026. There is a 14-minute YouTube video. That speech was published in Vital Speeches of the Day for August 2026, on pages 176 to 178 with the title Three Filters That Have Helped Me Get More Moments Right Than Wrong. Five headings from it are:

 

Very few moments in life are make or break

Choose optimism

Work on hard things

Do what excites you

Conclusion

 

The chorus from folksinger Kate Wolf’s song Here in California accurately has said:  

 

“Here in California

The fruit hangs heavy on the vine

There’s no gold, I thought I’d warn you

And the hills turn brown in the summertime”

 

Under Choose Optimism  (at 7:50)  Sundar’s seventh and eighth paragraphs instead say that:

 

“If you’re not from here, California is advertised as being really lush and green. But when I looked out the window, it was more...brown. I guess I said this out loud, I’m not sure why. My host, Mrs. Jane Earl, gently corrected me. ‘We prefer to call it golden,’ she said.

And that’s exactly what I mean by choosing optimism. It’s about reframing for the positive: Where I saw brown, she saw golden. This slight change of perspective had a huge ripple effect on how I thought about the world around me.”

A portrait of Sundar came from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Comedian Conan O’Brien gave the 2026 commencement address at Harvard University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Thursday May 28, 2026 comedian Conan O’Brien gave the commencement address at Harvard University. (He has a degree in history and literature from there). You can watch a 25-minute video of his speech either at Harvard University and Conan O’Brien or on C-SPAN.

 

And the text is on pages 187 to 190 in the August 2026 issue of Vital Speeches of the Day titled Your Real Education Starts Now. Four sentences printed in bold there are:

 

“The first is that I endeavor to always remind myself that I have done absolutely nothing alone.

 

…Another thing I learned to do that has saved me repeatedly is to pivot.

 

…I always recognize the enormous role of luck in my life.

 

…let yourself be bad at things.”  

 

He also seriously says that:

 

“I understand that I am preaching modesty and connection at a time when this is not in style. We are living through a period of extreme narcissism. 

Our current leadership in Washington believes that empathy is a weakness, and that our nation stands supreme and alone. Add to that, everyone here today has a phone in their pocket that is algorithmically programmed to celebrate you and you alone by making you the protein-maxing hero of your own special journey. 

Much has been written about how isolated and siloed we’ve become, but for me the antidote is quite simple. By de-emphasizing what makes us special, in your case, a prize degree, we can really find one another, not as an exercise in virtue, but as a path towards greater laughter, love, and real growth. And believe me, I struggle daily with my own pretensions.

I am aware that I am telling you to transcend your glories as I stand on this stage accepting a doctorate I didn’t really earn, well dressed like a 12th century pope. Big surprise, I have a giant ego.”

An image of Conan was modified from one at Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Ending your speech by circling back, also known as using a callback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On April 21, 2022 I blogged about a Free e-book on Advanced Public Speaking from the University of Arkansas. Chapter 9 is titled Closing a Speech: End with Power and Let Them Know It is Time to Clap. Lynn Meade says to End by Circling Back to the Opening:

 

“Another type of ending is to circle back to what you said in the beginning. You can revisit a quote, share the end to an illustration that was begun in the beginning, or you can put away a prop you got out in the beginning.”

 

Similarly, an article in the April 2023 Toastmaster magazine on pages 15 and 16 titled 5 Simple Tips for Better Speechwriting says:

 

“There are two common ways to wrap up your speech. First, you can do a callback, where you refer back to the story, question, or quip you told at the beginning. Or you can summarize the three points you made in your speech (based on your outline).”

 

And there is a post at the Benjamin Ball Associates blog on June 30, 2016 titled How to End a Speech – 9 Great Examples. The first one is to Close Your Speech by Circling Back to the Beginning:

 

“Refer to an anecdote, quote, or case study from the start of your speech. Reiterate the message you want people to remember. If you can, expand on the anecdote or re-conceptualise the quote. Or provide a follow-up result from your case study. This will feel even more satisfying for your audience.”

 

Back on March 22, 2011 I blogged about Speech geometry: lines, circles, forks, and combs.

 

Images of a woman using a telephone and a circular arrow were adapted from OpenClipArt.

 

 

What was Mark Twain’s speechwriting philosophy?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a useful article by Steve Siebold at LinkedIn Pulse on July 24, 2026 titled Mark Twain’s Speechwriting Philosophy? He says that:

 

“Twain was one of the most successful professional speakers of his time. He was also a master wordsmith who believed deeply in the discipline of world-class writing. He is famously quoted as saying:

 

‘The difference between the right word and the almost right word is like the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.’

 

That distinction is the heart of great speechwriting.

 

The almost right word communicates the idea. The right word makes the audience feel it. The almost right word fills the sentence. The right word brings the sentence to life. The almost right word earns polite attention. The right word can produce laughter, silence, tension, emotion, or a standing ovation.

 

…If you want to become a stronger professional speaker, become a more disciplined speechwriter. Stop settling for language that is close enough. Search for the precise word, the sharper sentence, the cleaner transition, and the more powerful ending. Write it. Deliver it. Study the reaction. Rewrite it. Then repeat the process until the vignette sounds effortless.”

 

But that simile wasn’t quite what Twain said. It is a paraphrase, an example of the almost-right words. I blogged about it back on February 3, 2015 in a post titled Missing the boat by botching a quote. What Mark really said was that:

 

“The difference between the almost-right word & the right word is really a large matter - it’s the difference between the lightning-bug & the lightning.”

 

And on July 16, 2024 I blogged about Making fine distinctions: Using the right word versus the almost-right word.

 

An etching of Mark Twain came from the Library of Congress.

 

 

Effective Scientific Presentations Across Formats - A Modern Guide for Science Trainees, Researchers, and Others

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a very detailed 17-page pdf article by Steven C. Grambow and Kevin P. Weinfurt at Advances in Social Science Research on September 19, 2024 (Volume 11, number 9, pages 42 to 55) titled Effective Scientific Presentations Across Formats: A Modern Guide for Science Trainees and Researchers.

 

The abstract says:

 

“This paper presents a comprehensive tutorial on delivering effective scientific presentations in the modern era, addressing a landscape altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The shift to virtual and hybrid formats has fundamentally changed the norms of how scientific findings are shared, creating new challenges and opportunities for presenters.

 

Drawing from over a decade of experience teaching and refining presentation skills, we address a soft-skill gap in clinical and translational science training. The tutorial outlines four key topics: (1) identifying your scientific story, (2) using effective slide design, (3) presenting data, and (4) delivering your presentation. These lessons, developed through extensive seminars and individual coaching at various academic institutions, enable researchers to enhance communication and audience engagement across presentation formats.

 

Our approach, informed by cognitive processing and data visualization principles, has adapted to the new reality of virtual and hybrid presentations. This work contributes practical insights for optimizing presentation skills in this changed communication landscape. By offering actionable recommendations derived from real-world experience, this tutorial provides valuable guidance for science trainees, junior faculty, and established researchers across disciplines. It aims to equip readers with the necessary tools to deliver compelling scientific presentations in any format, advancing effective academic discourse in an era where virtual and hybrid presentations have become the norm.”

 

This article is useful for most presenters, not just scientists. There are four particularly useful figures that are shown by individual images:

 

Figure 1. Comparison of a Slide with More (top) versus Fewer (bottom) Words

 

Figure 2. Directing the Audience’s Attention Through Outlined Shapes or Highlighted Boxes

 

Figure 3. Elements of an Effective Presentation Palette

 

Figure 4. Presenting a Complex Figure in Steps to Support Your Storytelling

 

Back on January 7, 2019 I blogged about A good (but not great) article on how to give a scientific talk. And on February 19, 2014 I blogged about how Assertion-Evidence PowerPoint slides are a visual alternative to bullet point lists.

 

The 2013 image of Edward C. Stone came from Wikimedia Commons.

 

An article with six solid tips for persuasive speechwriting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found a useful article at The Write Touch on October 18, 2025 titled Persuasive Speechwriting: Six Solid Tips that was originally by Adam Frankel, with comments added by Marsha Zinberg. Those tips are to:

 

1] Write like you talk.

2] Tell a story.

3] Structure matters.

4] Be concise.

5] Be authentic.

6] Don’t just speak – say something.

 

The hexagram was adapted from this one at Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

He went from being a government speechwriter to a part-time school bus driver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an article by Steven Miller at ProRhetoric on July 21, 2026 titled From Government Speechwriter to School Bus Driver. He spent 72 weeks searching for another job, and then changed his definition for success:

 

 “So, I am doing something different. Very different. I will soon be a school bus driver for my local school district.

 I am happy about and relieved by this because I know that God has led and directed me to this place. Both the place of the bus driver role, but, more importantly, to a place of contentment about it.

 Going from a full-time executive speechwriter position to a part-time school bus driver is tough financially; no doubt about that. The good thing is that this role give me the time to pursue and do the work that I am now confident is my true calling in life. To help churches and ministries with their organization and leadership communication questions and challenges. Those organizations cannot afford to have full-time communications staff. My current role allows me to help those leaders and organizations with time and cost that is affordable for them and for me.”

 A school bus image came from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

An excellent eighteen-minute 2026 commencement speech by country singer-songwriter Eric Church at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the ProRhetoric web site on May 11, 2026 I saw an article titled Your Life, as Six Strings. It has this quotation from country music singer-songwriter Eric Church:

 

"The difference between a life that sounds like music and a life that sounds like noise ... is whether you're honest enough to hear which string has drifted out of tune, and humble enough to make the adjustment."

 

There is an 18-minute YouTube video from May 14, 2026 titled Eric Church – 2026 Commencement Speech at UNC Chapel Hill (Full Version).

 

First he demonstrates how awful an out-of-tune guitar sounds. Then he discusses all six strings on it: Low E, A, D, G, B, and High E. String one, the low E is your foundation. That low E is your faith. String two, the A, is family. String three, the D, is your partner or best friend. String four, the G, is ambition and resilience. String 5, the B, is community. String six, the high E is the one most easily bent by outside pressure, but ignore that.

 

There is a five-and-a-half-minute lyric YouTube video of his recent song Darkest Hour sung live at the Pinnacle in Nashville on May 24, 2025.

 

The guitar image came from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Ice Breaker speeches for Toastmasters International and four big questions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The very first project in the Pathways educational program at Toastmasters International is the Ice Breaker, Item 8101. For it you prepare and present a four-to-six-minute speech about yourself. How can you decide what to talk about?

 

Recently I was watching a DVD of the 1999 science fiction television series Crusade, written by J. Michael Straczynski. Its introduction has the following four big questions, one of which can be used to narrow your speech:

 

Who are you?

What do you want?

Where are you going?

Who do you serve and who do you trust?

 

They also appear at AZ Quotes under the technomage character name, Galen.

 

There is an article by Kate McClure in Toastmaster magazine for August 2023 (on pages 24 and 25) titled 6 Secrets for Surviving Your First Ice Breaker. Back on March 16, 2011 I blogged about The joy of listening to Ice Breaker speeches. In that post I listed six big questions from the earlier TV series Babylon 5.  

 

An image of the icebreaker Shirase II came from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Overly enthusiastic use of ‘absolutely’ can sound like you’re saying the opposite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Absolutely’ is an intensifier. Back on February 23, 2014 I blogged about One-track minds: exactly, absolutely, always. And on June 14, 2024 I posted about how Hedges, qualifiers, and intensifiers are essentially weasel words which can be removed.

 

There is a Savage Chickens cartoon by Doug Savage on July 6, 2026 titled Absolutely, and shown above slightly colorized. It cautions that enthusiastic use of that word can seem like you mean the opposite – when Hell freezes over.  

 

 

Strong Voices is a children’s book that collects fifteen excellent American speeches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is important to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence. From the Twin Falls Public Library I got a 2020 128-page children’s book with introductions by Tonya Bolden titled Strong Voices: Fifteen American Speeches Worth Knowing. The full text for each speech in this anthology is preceded by a brief biography of the speaker. Those speeches are:

 

Patrick Henry ‘Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death.’ One version of his text.

 

George Washington ‘Farewell Address.’ Excerpts and text.

 

Red Jacket ‘We Never Quarrel About Religion.’ Text.

 

Sojourner Truth “I Am a Woman’s Rights.’ Text.

 

Abraham Lincoln ‘Gettysburg Address.’ Texts.

 

Theodore Roosevelt ‘Citizenship in a Republic.’ Text.

 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt ‘The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself.’ Text.

 

Lou Gehrig ‘Farewell to Baseball.’ Text and video.

 

Langston Hughes ‘On the Blacklist All Our Lives.’ Audio.

 

John Fitzgerald Kennedy ‘We Choose to Go to the Moon.’ Text.

 

Martin Luther King Jr. ‘I Have a Dream.’ Excerpts.

 

Fannie Lou Hamer ‘I Question America.’ Transcript.

 

Cesar Chavez ‘Address to the Commonwealth Club of California, 1984.’ Text and audio.

 

Hillary Rodham Clinton ‘Women’s Rights Are Human Rights.’ Abridged text.

 

The Duke Cigarettes lithograph of Patrick Henry came from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

A collection from 1942 of The World’s Great Speeches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes we just run out of speech ideas, or suffer from writer’s block. At that point, we might want to get inspired by looking through a large collection of speeches. At the Internet Archive there is a pdf of a 748-page book titled The World’s Great Speeches, edited by Lewis Copeland. Contents are:

 

Part I: GREAT SPEECHES OF EARLIER TIMES

I.     Greece and Rome 

II.    The European Continent

III.   Great Britain and Ireland 

IV.   The United States 

V.    Canada 

VI.   South America, South Africa, India, and China 

 

Part II: GREAT SPEECHES OF OUR TIMES

VII.  American Industry and Government 

VIII. International Affairs 

IX.   The Second World War 

X.    National Defense

 

Part III: INFORMAL SPEECHES

XI.   Informal Speeches

 

Part IV: THE UNITED STATES AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR

XII.  The United States and the Second World War 12

 

TOPICAL INDEX

 

INDEX BY NATIONS

 

INDEX OF SPEAKERS

 

I created a cover using an image of fireworks modified from one at OpenClipArt.