Giving a good retirement speech is no different to giving a good speech in other situations. So if you're a natural public speaker, chances are you're not going to have a problem. But for some people, public speaking is their worst nightmare. If you're one of them, you have to cope up with the added pressure of ending your career on a fitting note. In this article we'll give you some tips to help you cope with the nerves and make a great retirement speech.

Fight Your Fear

First of all there's really nothing to worry about - people are a more forgiving audience at a retirement party than in any other occasion. However for some people, public speaking is unavoidably frightening. We've all heard the saying about picturing people in their underwear, and indeed there's a grain of truth in that - you're speaking to a room of ordinary people, not a den of monsters. But there are plenty of more concrete techniques you can use to get calm.

First among the list is being prepared - write your speech well in advance to help you get to know it by heart. Memorizing the whole speech helps, or you can write down an outline or a series of cue cards to remind you of what's the next thing to say. The outline or cue cards can be taken with you during your speech.

On the day of the event take a few deep breaths to relax. The speech-giving society Toastmasters recommends that you address your audience first, to buy some time and to relax. Toastmasters make another important point - the audience is hoping you will succeed, not that you will fail. With this in mind turn that nervous energy into enthusiasm and give the best retirement speech you can.

The Content of Your Retirement Speech

It is really difficult to sum up a career of perhaps 40 years in five minutes or less. But by writing down all of the things you might like to cover, you'll have an outline that you can follow. For instance, what are the big achievements that you'd like to draw attention to? Is there anyone in the company who deserves special mention for the help they gave you, or just for their close friendship?

Once you've got this list of ideas together, think about how you'd like to structure your speech, and the tone you'd like to use. Humor is a great tool and you should have plenty of material from throughout your career. But don't be too trivial on this important occasion - you've earned the right to a bit of serious consideration and reflection.

It's always good to begin your speech by addressing the reason that everyone has gathered. Speak directly to people, even name them directly - thank whoever was chiefly responsible for organizing the party, or anyone who made a special effort to come. This will help engage people personally in the speech from the outset.

Next, try a general passage about how long you've worked at your current company for. Perhaps you could also talk about where you began your career. An example would be: "It's hard to believe its 20 years since I first walked through the front doors of Monster Media. So much has changed in that time - back when I started we still had typesetters working to get the magazine pages laid out..."

After this is a good opportunity to tell a few of your favorite humorous anecdotes - so if you want to take a dig at the boss, now's the time to do it. However you should be sensitive not to offend anyone in your audience unless you're set on burning your bridges.

If all goes well, you should get a few hearty laughs, before moving on to a more reflective finale that gives people an insight into how you feel about your career. This doesn't have to be clichéd - express what you really feel, although try to avoid being too negative. End on a positive note and you should have everyone eating out of your hand.

There are free example speeches available online that you can use for a pattern. You can even purchase pre-written speeches. But if you want it to come from the heart, you're going to have to write it yourself. It's not really difficult as you think - at least give it a try and express yourself.