Writing a Tribute to a Special Person
Consider the person and the audience to find the right tone for your commemorative speech. Then, listen to your heart and try these tips on how to write a tribute for someone special.
Reflect
Think about the person you’re tributing. What are the best things about this person? What do you want everyone to know? Embrace the emotion and open your mind to the story you want to tell. Help your audience feel that emotion.
Watch old videos or look through photo books for inspiration as you reflect. Talk to others about a particular memory of this person.
Plan your Outline
Writing a tribute speech from the heart takes you to beautiful places filled with emotion and memories of a lifetime. Organize your thoughts using a tribute speech outline to reach a flow that gets your message across clearly and effectively.
Choose from this checklist and adapt the structure and style based on the person and why you’re tributing them.
Introduction
How do you know them
What they mean to you
1st Main Focus - Paint a picture of the person.
Their strengths and talents
Their passions and hobbies
Their volunteerism and/or religious affiliation
Their career successes
Why It Matters
Why are these points significant? (Look at cause and effect!)
2nd Main Focus
Share how this person impacted you.
What they taught you
Why It Matters
How they changed your life (or others’)
Conclusion
Share a positive, meaningful thought.
Plans to honor their mentorship, life, or memory
Drive home the most essential ideas you really want people to know about this special person. Why are they so special? Why does it matter to the audience?
Examples:
How something changes one’s life – a great attitude, determination, etc.
When success is contagious
How a caring heart overcomes all obstacles
Another personal story
Write a sentence or two for each key idea you wish to share. Then, fill in the outline with all the most important details about the loved one. For example, who they were, their accomplishments, and their impact on others. When possible, connect the dots with a cause-and-effect approach, illustrating why this person is worthy of this heartfelt tribute.
Tie your conclusion back to a powerful idea you introduced earlier in the speech. Follow the tone of your tribute from start to finish and incorporate the most poignant or powerful details near the ending. Give your audience something to take with them: comfort, support, motivation, or a new perspective.
Practice your tribute speech in private or with someone who can offer feedback. Then, once you’re ready to deliver, give yourself the freedom to go off-script and ad hoc some moments if inspiration hits. Be passionate. Make eye contact. Talk to your audience, not at them.
Tips for Writing Tributes for a Specific Person
Here are some suggestions for writing tributes to specific people in your life.
Tribute to your Dad or Mom
Share the words of your heart, telling what they mean to you. Then, consider writing a tribute about your mother or father with a heartfelt introduction, such as:
My mother/father always used to say…
Of all the things my mom/dad taught me…
My favorite memory of my mom/dad…
Consider your mom’s or dad’s personality and choose a tone that matches. Add some lighthearted humor as appropriate. Share anecdotes and memories that make you smile.
Tribute to Grandparents
Sharing a tribute to grandparents opens the door to many fond memories and a special bond. Near or far, grandparents are one of life’s most precious gifts.
Consider creating a heartfelt grandparents’ tribute message:
An essay in college on a special person who shaped your life
A family recipe on a family or food blog (example)
A freelance article for a magazine focusing on the generations
A powerful eulogy to celebrate their life
Focus on significant themes like how your grandmother or grandfather helped you to become who you are or what obstacles they overcame in their own lives. Embrace family ties and show how their role in the family created many positive ripples through the generations.
Tribute to a Friend
Some great reasons to write a tribute to a friend may include:
Milestone birthday greetings
Pre-wedding heart-to-heart
Retirement party, graduation party, or other life milestones
A memorial service send-off speech
Consider sharing how you became friends, what the friendship means to you, and what you love most about them. Share anecdotes of a positive turning point in your friendship or how that friend changed your life for the better.
Sibling Tributes
Celebrate your brother or sister from the heart during special moments in their lives:
Celebrating national siblings’ day
Wedding toast – best man speech or maid of honor toast
Big birthdays, graduations, etc.
Show the true dimensions of your relationship and celebrate the positive impact on you.
What to say in a tribute to someone who has died?
Keep your loved one’s spirit alive by sharing memories and words of praise. Knowing what to say about the dearly departed becomes easier when you immerse yourself in their shared photographs and writings while reflecting on your relationship.
In a memorial tribute, share what you loved best about this person and your favorite memories. Then, discover how to write a eulogy that would make any loved one proud.
Final Thoughts
Create a photo book with the written tribute proudly displayed in the book’s intro for an impressive commemoration. Collect favorite photos from others who know this person and compile a stunning documentary of their life, passions, and/or their life’s work.
Whatever the reason behind your tribute, write from the heart to whomever it's for. Your words become poetry to those around you as you celebrate and honor your loved one or friend.
