What is a Concession Speech?
President Trump five second statement as follows:
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!”
Read the suggested guidelines below for a concession speech. Other than the President speaking humble words, did you hear any of these concession speech traits in POTUS’s statement above? No.
Traits of a concession speech:
Be brief and show humility, be generous and pledge support.
-
Be brief
You’re not the main act. People want to hear from you but there’s not much that needs to be said — the campaign is over and this is your opponent’s moment. Let them have it. Limit your thank yous to three people. If you must thank more people acknowledge them as a group e.g. “my campaign team led by x”.
Concession speeches should be no more than five minutes long.
-
Show humility, be generous and pledge support
You lost because more people voted for the other candidate. Acknowledge your opponent’s victory and the will of the people. Highlight your similarities. Explicitly state that your opponent has your support to do what’s in the interests of people and the electorate (neighbourhood/district/borough/city/state/country). Remember this key point: elections are not about the candidates, they are about the people who voted.
Concession speeches indicate the end of a campaign. For candidates it can mean the last impression you leave on people. It may be the end of public life, returning to the regular job or the last time people see you before you have another crack. In these scenarios it’s important to win people’s respect and leave a good impression. The concession speech is the last opportunity to do this.
How to write a victory or concession speech:
https://www.jrmyprtr.com/how-to-write-a-victory-and-a-concession-speech/