18th or 21st birthday speech
Cue cards for a parent, sibling or friend giving an 18th or 21st birthday speech: growing-up stories, who they are now, hopes for the future and a toast.
Speech7 cardsAbout 2 min to speakBeginnerAnyone
Award acceptance speech
Short award acceptance speech cue cards: thank the organisers, credit your team and supporters, say what the award means and close graciously.
Free to use, edit, print and study. No account needed: your set stays on this device.
The cards
- 1
Thank the organisers
“Thank you to [organisation / judges / committee] for this [award / honour].”
Congratulate the other nominees: “I’m in very good company with [names or the group].”
- 2
Credit the team
“This really belongs to [team / colleagues / volunteers / classmates]. In particular, [names and one thing each did].”
- 3
Thank your supporters
“Thank you to [mentor / coach / teacher / family], who [what they did].”
Keep the list short; name the people who truly made the difference.
- 4
What it means
One sentence on why the work matters: “[What the work did for people / what you hope it leads to].”
- 5
A short story
Optional, if you have time: one moment from the work that shows why it mattered: [a client’s reaction, a student’s progress, a breakthrough].
Thirty seconds at most.
- 6
Look forward
“This encourages me to [keep doing the work / support the next group / share what we learnt].”
Name one next step if you have one: [next step].
- 7
Close
“Thank you again. I’ll [keep going / share this with the team / put it somewhere my family can see it].”
Step back, smile, and let the applause end the moment.
How to use this template
Whether it is a school prize, a sports club trophy, an employee award, a community honour or an industry award, you may be asked to say a few words with very little warning. These cue cards give you a short, gracious acceptance speech of one to two minutes. They thank the organisers and other nominees, credit the people who did the work with you, thank your supporters, say in one line why the work matters and close cleanly. If you are a nominee, fill in the cards before the event even if you do not expect to win; walking up with a plan makes you feel calm and helps you remember the people who matter. Keep it short: an awards night has many winners, and the audience appreciates speakers who keep to time. Fill in the people you want to credit first, then write the one sentence about what the work means.
Tips
- Prepare even if you think you will not win; a folded card in your pocket costs nothing.
- Name a few people specifically rather than reading a long list; offer to thank everyone else in person.
- Walk to the microphone, adjust it if needed, and pause for a breath before your first line.
- Hold the award in one hand and your card in the other, or set the award down on the lectern.
- Avoid false modesty such as saying you do not deserve it; a simple thank-you is more gracious.
- Keep to the time limit; if the host says thirty seconds, use only the first and last cards.
- Ask the organisers in advance whether winners are expected to speak, and how long they have.
- Before the ceremony, practise walking to the stage, saying your first line and leaving; it makes the real moment feel familiar.
- Smile and look out at the audience for a moment before you leave the stage; photographers often need that extra second.
Make it fit
- If you are accepting on behalf of someone who cannot attend, say who you are, read their message and thank the organisers for them.
- For a team award, let one person speak, or have each person say one short thank-you.
- For a posthumous award, accept on behalf of the family, say one sentence about the person and thank the organisers.
- For an online ceremony, have a short version ready, keep your camera at eye level and look at the lens when you thank people.
- If the audience speaks several languages, open with thanks in the local language before switching to English.
- For a school or student award, thank teachers and family and keep the speech to three or four sentences.
Updated October 28, 2026