Prepare a five-minute speech in which you roast a friend, family member, coach, or teacher. A roast can be a great way to spice up a retirement party, birthday party, a graduation party, or even a farewell dinner, so any of these occasions would be an appropriate frame for your speech. Remember, writing a roast speech is a delicate balancing act of poking sarcasm and heartfelt affection –the goal is to poke fun without hurting feelings. The person you choose as your subject should be someone for which you harbor a genuine affection or respect, as well as someone who can take a joke. Roasting the wrong person could be quite awkward, and even hurtful.
To get started, pick a subject who you like and who knows how to take a joke. Then, brainstorm funny things about your guest of honor. Try to recall quirks, strange habits, and amusing stories. Remember to keep it light; don’t use any material that is too serious (for instance, a drinking problem would not be something you’d want to poke fun at). Also, make sure your jokes make sense to others in attendance. Five minutes of inside jokes won’t be funny to anyone except for you and the guest of honor, but your purpose entertain your audience, as well as pay your respects. Finally, make sure you end on a good note. Your closing remarks should be heartfelt and respectful, and should convey how much you actually admire the guest of honor.
You will present this speech December 15th. Don’t put it off; roast-writing is much harder than it sounds. Keep it tasteful; watching some famous roasts for inspiration is a great idea, but remember, this is not Comedy Central, and if your roast resembles, in any way, the roasts of Pamela Anderson or Flava Flame, I will lose my job, and you will fail this course. Good luck!
Jon Flanagan
Fall 2007
Hosting a Roast
Having spent several class periods watching comedy roasts you will now get a chance to host your own! The Roasts, which will begin November 9th, may be about any fictional or real character you wish. *If it is about a person you know you MUST obtain written permission first*. Here is what will be expected of your roast.
I. An introduction that clearly states who the person is and AT LEAST includes one joke.
II. A body that covers some of this person’s accomplishments and includes AT LEAST three jokes.
III. A conclusion that praises the accomplishments of the person and includes AT LEAST one joke.
IV. Speech length should be between 4 to 5 minutes.
V. One 3×5 notecard may be used.
VI. All jokes MUST be appropriate for a classroom setting. If you are even the slightest bit unsure of a joke check with me at least a week before your speech.
VII. As always, if you miss your day for the assigned speech you may make it up on a designated day for the price of one lunch hour.
This is one of the lightest and most entertaining speeches you will get to give this year. Have fun with it!