How to Write a High School President Speech

Co-authored by Lynn Kirkham and Danielle Blinka, MA, MPA

Last Updated: October 2, 2024 Fact Checked

Campaigning for school president is an exciting opportunity to build your leadership skills and bring change to your school. If you want to win the presidency, you’ll need to give a persuasive campaign speech to get people to vote for you. To make your speech effective, plan out what you want to say before you start writing. Then, you can structure your speech to keep it clear and concise. Finally, use a tone that fits your audience so your speech will be engaging.

Sample Speeches

High School President Speech Basics

Annotated High School President Speech

Things to Avoid in a High School President Speech

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Planning Your Speech

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1
Decide on 2 or 3 issues you want to address as president. Choose issues that are important with the student body at your school so that your classmates will be excited about them. Even if you plan to do more than just 2 or 3 things, you don’t want your speech to be too long or to have too much information. Just talk about the most important issues you plan to address as president.^{[1]
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- For example, let’s say your school has rules in place that require students to get approval before they can hang posters on the school walls, even if the posters are related to school activities. If you know other students are constantly complaining about this rule, you might campaign on changing it.
- As another example, your school may have an ineffective process for lining up at lunchtime, which causes students to spend most of their lunch period purchasing food. To address this issue, you might suggest a new way of lining up or an alternative process for handing out food.
- For another option, let's say your school has tried to do programs to help students, such as anti-bullying programs or extended library hours, but limited funding made the programs ineffective. You might run on a platform of doing fundraising activities and promoting volunteerism to help support these valuable programs.
Tip: Make sure the issues you focus on are things you can actually change. For instance, getting better pizza in the cafeteria might be an issue that people care about, but it might be impossible for you to actually achieve.
2
List all of the ways you’re involved in your school. You want to show your classmates that you’re active in your school’s culture. This shows them that you’re passionate about your school and enjoy spending time with your fellow classmates. Write down the following:^{[2]
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- Student government positions you’ve held
- Clubs or teams you've participated in
- School events you've attended
- School events you've helped plan
- Volunteer positions you've taken
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3
Think of ways you’ve proven your leadership or decision making abilities. Include things you’ve done for your school and how you’ve participated in your community. You can use this experience to convince your classmates that you have the skills and abilities necessary to be student body president.^{[3]
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- For example, you might include prior work with your school’s student government or a leadership role you held in a club.
- Similarly, you could include the time you planned set designs for a community theater production or your stint as a summer camp counselor.
4
Choose clear transitions to guide the audience through your speech. The audience isn’t going to be taking notes during your speech, so you want to make sure it’s easy for them to identify the overall structure and current focus throughout. Simple identifiers--what you might call "verbal signposts"--like “First,” “Then,” and “After that” can do quite a bit to help listeners follow along.^{[4]
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- For example, you might use words like "first," "second," "next," "then," "additionally," "similarly," "alternatively," and "furthermore."
- Repetitive phrasing can serve as a useful signpost during the speech. You might, for instance, say “The first time we came together to change things for the better” before describing an accomplishment, then introduce the second with “The second time we came together….”
5
Remember to KISS—Keep It Short and Simple. People frequently complain about speeches being too long or too confusing, and hardly ever that they are too short or too easy to follow. When you can make a point with one sentence instead of two, or even one word instead of two, do it. The first draft of a speech is about adding material; after that, it’s mostly about removing material to hone your message.^{[5]
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- For example, make sure your speech doesn't go over the time limit. Time your speech to make sure it's about 3-7 minutes long, depending on what your school allows.
- Whenever possible, give yourself enough time to write several drafts of a speech. Each time you revise a draft, look for ways to trim the language, phrasing, and focus down to the essentials.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Structuring Your Speech

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1
Introduce yourself simply and quickly. Tell your audience who you are, what class you are in, and why you are running for high school president. Use your “why” to set a theme for your speech. Keep your introduction simple and direct.
- Say, “Hello, everyone. My name is Jacob Easton. I’m a junior, and I want to be class president because we need a fresh vision for making Acme High a more welcoming and inclusive school.” In this example, your “why” statement starts a theme of inclusivity.
2
Explain the 2-3 major issues you’ll address as class president. Describe what you plan to do and how it will help everyone in your school. Focus on ways you and your classmates can work together to achieve these goals. Additionally, link the issues to the overall theme of your speech (and your campaign).^{[6]
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- For instance, if you’re using the “inclusivity” theme, you might pledge to start an anti-bullying program and a peer mentoring club.
- You might say, "Together, we can make our school a better place for all students. If elected, I will work with all of you to create an anti-bullying club so that no student is afraid to come to school. Additionally, we will form a peer mentoring club to encourage students to guide others and act as a support system."
3
Tell your classmates why you believe you’re qualified to be president. Briefly discuss your past leadership positions, as well as ways you’ve shown you can be decisive. Incorporate things you’ve done for your school and community to support your argument. Similarly, explain ways you’ve shown you can be open to input.^{[7]
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- If you’ve held other leadership positions, identify them and mention for each how you achieved something related to your overarching theme.
- If you haven’t held official leadership positions, identify life experiences in which you had to be both decisive and collaborative.
- You might say, “As president of the debate club, I’ve expanded club membership, worked with local lawyers to build a mentorship program, and acquired donations from local office supply stores so students have the materials they need for tournaments. If you elect me to be your president, I’ll bring the same type of leadership to the student government.”
4
Explain how you're different from your opponents without attacking them. “Going negative” is rarely a winning strategy, especially in school elections. You don’t want to alienate the friends of your opponents or to seem mean. Explain your differences from your opponents by highlighting what you will do, not what they have done or not done. Use facts and avoid distorting the truth with negative speech.^{[8]
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- For instance: “While our current class leadership has done good work in reviving school spirit, I will dedicate myself to making sure all students feel the embrace of that spirit and have opportunities to shape it.”
5
Close by asking your classmates to vote for you. Summarize what you will do for your classmates, then thank them for their time. Finally, remind them of your name and ask for their vote.
- Say, “Together, we can make our school inclusive for all. Thank you for your time this afternoon. I’m Jacob Easton, and I want your vote.”
- You might also decide to go with a catchy slogan, like, “Next Tuesday, ‘Get Awake and Vote for Jake!’”

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using the Right Tone

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1
Show confidence through assertive body language. Stand up straight, with your shoulders rolled back. However, lean forward slightly while you're talking to show you’re engaged with your audience.^{[9]
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Expert Source

Lynn Kirkham
Public Speaking Coach

Expert Interview. 20 November 2019.} Additionally, keep your chin tilted up and make eye contact with members of your audience. As you speak, use hand gestures or keep your arms at your sides, being careful not to cross them, which would make you seem closed off.^{[10]
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- You can smile or keep your facial expression neutral.
- Practice your body language in front of a mirror before you give your speech.
2
Use a conversational tone to seem relatable to your peers.^{[11]
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Expert Source

Lynn Kirkham
Public Speaking Coach

Expert Interview. 20 November 2019.} Keeping your speech conversational will make your peers feel like you’re speaking directly to them. You can do this by altering your sentence structure to make your speech sound more casual. Don’t worry as much about grammar. Instead, focus on how you’d speak if you were just talking to your friends.^{[12]
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- For instance, you might say, “We all want to support our classmates with motivational posters. However, current rules make it hard to have school spirit. Let's change that."
- Read the speech out loud as your write it. This will help ensure that each sentence fits the way you speak. If the sentence doesn’t sound right or feel natural coming from your mouth, revise it.
- Because you’re focused on clarity and brevity, you might use sentence fragments or repeat words or phrases in ways you wouldn’t normally if you were writing an essay.
3
Opt for a formal or serious tone if your school is very traditional. If your school encourages serious speeches during school elections, it might be best to stick to tradition. Otherwise, your classmates might not view you as a good candidate for leadership. Not only that, but you might also struggle to work with other student government officials and your school’s administration if you’re not perceived as taking things seriously.
- To make your speech more formal, use grammatically correct sentences and stronger words, while avoiding casual phrasing. For example, don't use contractions or sentence fragments, which create a more conversational tone. Instead, speak in full sentences.
- To help you find a more serious tone, imagine that you're giving your speech to your teachers rather than your classmates.
- If you plan to give a formal speech, you might watch videos of famous speeches on YouTube to get an idea of what people expect.
4
Add humor to make your speech more engaging. Jokes and funny stories will make people want to listen to you. Plus, using humor shows that you don’t take yourself too seriously, which can make other students relate to you better. To make your speech more humorous, open your speech with a joke. Then, sprinkle funny anecdotes or musings throughout your speech.^{[13]
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- When choosing the right jokes and stories for your speech, steer clear of anything that might be perceived as offensive.
- Always keep your audience in mind. An "inside joke" that your friends understand might not be funny to the student body as a whole.
- If possible, connect the humor to the overall theme of your speech. For instance, let’s say your speech is about changing the rules for hanging posters on school walls. You might tell a humorous story about the time your school hung up “Go team” posters for a football game that had already happened two weeks prior because it took so long for the posters to get approved.
5
Create a tone of cooperation by using words like “we” instead of “I.” This will make your audience feel like they have a stake in your campaign. Furthermore, it shows them that you don’t see yourself as the one with all of the answers but as one of the group as a whole, so your successes belong to everyone. Having this attitude can get more people on your side.^{[14]
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- For example, you’d say, “If we work together, we make it easier to get through the lunch line so we all have more time to eat,” rather than, “If I’m elected, I’ll do everything in my power to fix the lunch lines so students have more time to eat.”
Tip: In a campaign speech, write about what “we” can accomplish “together,” not about what “I” will do.

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Question

What should I do when I give my class president speech?

Lynn Kirkham
Public Speaking Coach
Lynn Kirkham is a Professional Public Speaker and Founder of Yes You Can Speak, a San Francisco Bay Area-based public speaking educational business empowering thousands of professionals to take command of whatever stage they've been given - from job interviews, boardroom talks to TEDx and large conference platforms. Lynn was chosen as the official TEDx Berkeley speaker coach for the last four years and has worked with executives at Google, Facebook, Intuit, Genentech, Intel, VMware, and others.

Lynn Kirkham

Public Speaking Coach

Expert Answer

Pay attention to your body language while you're presenting. Convey emotions with your face and use your hand movements to emphasize your points.

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What if my friend is also running for student council and I'm afraid the election might ruin our friendship. What should I do?

Gabrielle Levick

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The simple answer is pretty cliche. Think about how you would feel if they won. Are you okay with that? Try telling them how you feel. And any friend that isn't proud of your accomplishments isn't a real friend. If the friendship is strong, you should be able to each run a clean campaign and be happy for the other if they win.

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How to win when you are in the first year of high school?

CMOsborne

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If you are running against more experienced candidates, you should focus on how you'll bring fresh ideas to the position. Use your youth to your advantage, but don't portray yourself as inexperienced; instead, highlight elements of your background that show you're ready for the job.

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Tips

Practice the speech several times before you deliver it. Practice in front of a mirror so you can observe your own mannerisms and appearance, and practice in front of friends, family, or mentors to get helpful feedback.^{[15]
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Lynn Kirkham
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Expert Interview. 20 November 2019.}

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Use your other campaign materials as supports for the ideas you'll express in your speech. For example, you may have campaign signs, buttons, and flyers to promote your candidacy. Incorporate the same issues you talk about in your speech onto your campaign materials. Similarly, if you use a slogan on your signs, say that slogan during your speech.

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Dress appropriately on the day that you give your speech. Depending on the culture at your school, this might mean a nice casual outfit, like a dress or pants with a collared shirt or blouse, or a formal outfit, such as a suit, slacks, or a skirt.

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