What do you say in a retirement speech for a coworker?

Who you are to them, one specific story from the work, what they leave behind, and what’s next for them. Then a toast. Three to five minutes covers all of it.

How do you end a retirement speech?

With a toast or a thank you and their name, and then stop. If it’s your own, thank the room once more and sit down. Resist the one more story after the ending.

How do I thank people without reading a long list?

Name the few who mattered most, then thank everyone else as a group, like the whole team or everyone on the third floor. Put the names on a card of their own so you don’t lose them.

What to say in a retirement speech

A retirement speech is a thank you with a story in it. Whether it’s your own or you’re sending off someone you worked with, the ones that land are short, specific, and done before anyone checks the time.

How long should a retirement speech be?

Three to five minutes if you’re speaking about a coworker. That’s roughly 400 to 650 words at a normal speaking pace.

If it’s your own retirement you’ve earned a little more room, but five minutes is still a good ceiling. Nobody leaves a party wishing the speeches had run longer.

The five parts, for a coworker

The shape most good send-offs take. Each part is a card you write over in your own words.

01
Who I am, and how we worked together
One line. The people from other departments want to know why you’re the one up there.
02
One story from the work
A moment that shows how they worked, like the night they stayed to fix it or the thing they taught you. Specific beats a list of accomplishments.
03
What they leave behind
The habit, the process, the people they trained. Whatever will still be here next month.
04
What’s next for them
If you know their plans, name them. If you don’t, ask before the party, not during it.
05
Raise the glass
Ask the room to raise a glass or give them a hand, say their name, and hand it back.

If it’s your own retirement speech

Same shape, turned around. Thank people by name, but not everyone: a list of forty names is where these speeches lose the room. Name the few who mattered most and thank the rest as a group.

Tell one story about the work you’d want people to remember. Say what you’re going to do next. Then thank the room and sit down.

Put the names on their own card, spelled the way they’re said. It’s the part you’ll most want to get right, and the first part nerves take.

How to start a retirement speech

Start with the person, not a joke about getting old. Say how long you’ve known them and one thing everybody in the room already knows about them.

That gets a nod, and a nod is all you need to get going.

Questions

What do you say in a retirement speech for a coworker?: Who you are to them, one specific story from the work, what they leave behind, and what’s next for them. Then a toast. Three to five minutes covers all of it.
How do you end a retirement speech?: With a toast or a thank you and their name, and then stop. If it’s your own, thank the room once more and sit down. Resist the one more story after the ending.
How do I thank people without reading a long list?: Name the few who mattered most, then thank everyone else as a group, like the whole team or everyone on the third floor. Put the names on a card of their own so you don’t lose them.

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