Are you going to host an event soon? You might be nervous about a lot of things including the welcome speech. The welcome speech is one of the most important parts of an anchoring script because it helps you set the tone for the rest of the event. Therefore, you have to be doubly sure that you get it right. So, read the article below to learn how to start a welcome speech in English. Besides, we have a sample in the end as well.
How to Start a Welcome Speech in English
A welcome speech is a speech given by a host at the beginning of an event, gathering, celebration, meeting, or program. The purpose of a welcome is speech is to greet everyone in the audience including the chief guest, delegates, and participants. A good welcome speech is always full of optimistic and encouraging words and feedback.
If we put it in simple words, a welcome speech is to start an event or a program and to welcome the audience. Thus, follow the steps below to learn how to write a welcome speech in English.
Comparing Script for Annual Function
Step 1: Locate Your Guests
Before you do anything, you need to locate your audience. So, when you are behind the podium, take a look around in the audience and check who is sitting where. Especially, you need to know where are the chief guests and the delegates are sitting because you will need to address them during your event.
This is a very simple but unavoidable step. Because knowing who is in the audience and where they are sitting may help you be more confident and aware.
Step 2: Introduction
Next, you have to set the tone for the welcome speech. So, think about how you can set the tone for the welcome speech. This usually depends upon factors such as the theme of the event, demographics, audience, and others. So, once you have the right mood, you can start the first part of your welcome speech, the introduction part. It usually consists of the following elements.
- Greeting: Greetings are similar to saltuations in a letter. For incetance, you can begin with “Good morning, laides and genetlemen”.
- A thank you to the contributors: When an event is hosted, it is always sponsered by an orgarniation or people. So, in the introduction part of your welcome speech, it is also important to thank te contirbutors for their contribution.
- A What statement: In the introduction part of your event, you also need to remind your audeince what is the purpose of your event. Besides, you can also mention how previliged you are for hosting the event.
Step 3: Acknowledgments
A thank you statement is not enough actually. The sponsors of your events deserve to be appreciated because they are the people who helped you turn this into reality. However, just reading the names of the sponsors out of a piece of paper may become boring for your audience. Therefore, we suggest you cut down the list and mention the highlights.
Here are some examples to help you with this section:
- “A special thank to …”
- “We could not have done this without …”
- “Here is a short tale of how it all came together …”
Step 4: The goal of the event
In this section, explain what your event is all about. However, you should avoid talking about the potential benefits of attending the event. Because people who are attending your event already why they should be there and what they can get from your event. Besides, you do not need to thoroughly tell the goal of every session. So, focus on one primary two objectives that may indeed help you define the objective of your event.
Step 5: Wrap-up and What’s next
The final step is to wrap up the welcome speech and tell your audience what they can expect. You can also wrap up the welcome speech by telling a joke or by adding a little touch of fun.
Next, let your audience know what they should expect coming to the event. Besides, you can also ask someone else to brief your audience about the event’s coming sections. You can do so in the following way.
“Thank you for your attention. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to invite _____ (name of the speaker) who will brief you more about …”
Otherwise, you can briefly mention what is next and wrap up the welcome speech.
Comparing Script for Welcome Party
Welcome Speech Sample for Chief Guest
A warm welcome to everyone to this beautiful evening, ladies and gentlemen. Today we have gathered here to celebrate the 13th annual function of ______ (name of the school). And we are pleased to have our chief guest _____ (name of the chief guest). It is an honor for me ______ (name of the chief guest) to welcome to our today’s event.
He is a well-known businessman and an accomplished writer. Several of his books are widely read across the country. His books have motivated us to not only dream big but also guide us on how to turn them into reality. This is not just that. He is also a social worker and spends his spare time solving social issues. He has been working hard day and night to put children to school and diminish child labor from our society. We can’t thank you enough, Mr. ______ (name of the chief guest).
Thus, it is a pleasure for all of us to have such an honorable personality among us today. We are excited to hear from you, sir, about your journey and success. Once again thank you, sir, for giving us your precious time and I warmly welcome you to the function on the behalf of our director, teachers, and everyone in the _____ (name of the school).
Welcome Speech Sample for College Function
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Honorable chief guest, Mr. director, respected teachers, and my dear school fellows, I welcome you to our 25th annual college function. It has been a long and beautiful journey since 1996 and _____ (name of the college) has earned it a prestigious place in our society. Besides, ______ (name of the college) has been successful in providing young college students with quality education in the best way possible. Today we are proud to be part of ______ (name of the college).
Moving ahead, we have ____ (name of the chief guest). I warmly welcome ____ (name of the chief guest) to our today’s event on behalf of everyone in the school. He is a well-known social worker working hard day and night to beat child labor. We are honored to have you, sir.
Today I want to congratulate all the parents who have invested in their children as well as in our school. Moving forwards, I would like to call ______ (name of the speaker) who will brief you about today’s function.
Thank you all!