The season of the commencement address is upon us, and having listened to one yesterday, I have a few thoughts to share with you.

That sounds vaguely like the beginning of a commencement address, doesn't it? Instead, I'd like to offer an even dozen suggestions on how to engage graduates instead of putting them into a coma. For as we all know, for every Steve Jobs at Stanford in 2005 (""Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life"), or Winston Churchill at Harrow in 1941 ("Never give in, never give in, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense"), there are probably fifty or a hundred speeches that never come close to soaring.

To get the mix right of content, practice, and influence in your own presentations, download myfree Insights article, "Great Speaking? — It's About Performance Over Content."

The Recipe

As a current example of a great commencement address. I'd like to use Adm. William H. McRaven's speech to the graduating class of the University of Texas-Austin from a week ago.

To begin with, you need a theme of course, and Adm. McRaven used SEAL boot camp as excellent overall training for life. Here are the 12 other ingredients I'm recommending, with some examples from Admiral McRaven's address:

• Surprise Everyone. All present are expecting encrusted pearls of wisdom. Instead, rock their boat. Adm. McRaven's opening point was clear and direct in accomplishing that feat: Change the lives of just 10 people in your own life, so those people can do the same, and so on. In just 6 generations, you'll have improved the lives of 8 billion people—the population of the entire world. Sound impossible? "I saw it happen every day in Iraq and Afghanistan."
• Make It Short (for Impact). Graduation ceremonies are long, so you shouldn't be. Nothing dissipates good will and leaks energy out of your speech more than long-windedness. Steve Jobs spoke for 15 minutes at Stanford, Adm. McRaven for 19 minutes at U. Texas. Churchill's entire address consisted of 740 words, and took him a little over four minutes to deliver.
• Tie It to the School. What is there about this institution, and these young people, that makes you want to say this to them? Commencement speeches too often have no discernible link to the school. U. Texas-Austin's slogan is "What starts here changes the world." And so Adm. McRaven spoke of changing the lives of 10 people, and those 10, 10 . . . until you do change the world.
• Tell Stories. Giving advice is often tedious, and delivering an oration is worse. Instead, tell stories that come from your own experience. Most of all, avoid stories related to the school that no one who attended the place in the last 50 years would understand.
• Have Fun with It. The best speakers clearly enjoy themselves. Here's President Ronald Reagan speaking to the Notre Dame class of 1981: "I thought the first degree I was given was honorary." If your humor can be self-deprecating, so much the better.
• Use Metaphors. Our language is wonderfully, gloriously rich in similes, comparisons, and metaphors. Adm. McRaven's address uses them at every turn, from making your bed as an example of your "first completed task" of the day, to avoiding becoming a sugar cookie (you'll have to listen to the speech to see what that one means).
• Don't Make It Sound Like a Lesson. Yes, you're there to deliver a lesson. Just don't make it sound like one. Here's help: look again at items 1, 4, 5, and 6 above. (I hope that doesn't sound like I'm teaching you anything! . . . And hey, did you notice I didn't put together this list as 1., 2., 3., all the long way up to 12.?)
• As [Long Dead Person] Said, "He Who Quotes Too Much Lacks His Own Thoughts."Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (or simply Bartlett's to people who know it better than they should) is a wonderful book. Remember to lock yours in your desk and instruct your lawyer to hold on to the key until after you've finished writing your speech.
• Don't Send Them Off to Set the World on Fire while Boring Them to Death. How did this tradition ever start? Maybe someone was asked to give a commencement address and never considered whether they could pull it off. Ask yourself if you can!
• Be You. If your desire is to give a great commencement address, you won't. Remember, graduation speeches are universally known as weapons of mass destruction. The only way you'll disarm one of them is by NOT trying to be wise, clever, or funny.
• Speak Briskly. The average American speaks at around 140-160 words per minute. So try not to amble along any slower than that. In our speech example, Adm. McRaven came in at about 148 words per minute. Keep this is mind especially in your conclusion, where you will be reiterating some points, so you don't get bogged down.
• Stick Your Ending. As in any speech, your opening and closing are the most important parts. (To learn how to hook your audience in your opening and end strongly, see my e-Book How to Start a Speech.) The whole point is to get the graduates to remember what you said and start applying your advice! This is how Adm. McRaven primed those UT-Austin grads for their journey: "You're moments away from starting to change the world for the better." Nice.

Here are links to the three commencement addresses I've referred to above: Winston Churchill,Steve Jobs, and Adm. William McRaven.