I'm sure everyone has seen some interesting speeches. I have several that will remain with me forever, simply because of the WAY in which they were presented. I will discuss here just one of them.

Three years ago, one of my friends was promoted to Technical Sergeant. That was a tough rank for him to reach, but he managed to do so after a lot of work. One of the things he had to do was to track down a medal that had been submitted, but never awarded. That gave him enough points in the military promotion system to qualify for the rank.

He wore his full blue uniform, with the nice jacket and all the ribbons, to the presentation. My first impression was that he looked very professional. He felt that it was an important occasion, so he brought his wife and parents. The promotion ceremony itself was the normal military presentation, with everyone standing at attention and the orders being read. There were three promotions that day, and his was the second one. I cannot tell you who else was promoted, because when he was given his turn to speak it was completely different from what everyone had been expecting.

Wyatt is a strong Christian and he told everyone that he attributed his success to God and the help of his wife and the encouragement of his parents. Then he said that words alone could not tell us how he felt, so he sang a gospel song.

Everyone was completely floored by his performance. Three years later, people still talked about his promotion ceremony. It was totally unexpected and although controversial, it demonstrated to everyone his great joy at receiving that promotion. Wyatt did not mean to cause a controversy, he merely wanted to express his joy in receiving a long overdue promotion. It was definitely the most memorable "speech" I have ever seen.

There is one thing that sticks out after all this time that Wyatt should have done. He should have asked to have his promotion last, in order to give the other two individuals who were promoted time to give their presentations with no distractions. The person who followed barely said anything, he was so completely shocked by Wyatt's song. This was a disservice to him.

So, the next time you are asked to speak after receiving an award or promotion, you might want to think about singing a song. It will definitely get your audience's attention, and they will remember you much longer.