How to write a farewell speech for a colleague
The farewell speech has a low bar — most are a round of 'good luck' and a supermarket cake — which is exactly why a prepared one lands so hard. Five sections: the gap they leave, how they actually worked, what outlasts them, the thing you'd never put in an email, and a toast by name.
Three to four minutes, at the end of a workday, often with people half-standing. Brevity is not optional.
00:01The structure
5 sections, in this order.
-
01
Opening
Who’s leaving, how long they were here, and the size of the gap
Who's leaving, how long they were here, and the size of the gap — in plain numbers. 'Eight years, three teams, and the only person who understood the deploy script' tells the room what is actually walking out the door.
-
02
Story
The moment that shows how they actually worked
The moment that shows how they actually worked — not the biggest project, the truest one. The 2 a.m. fix, the meeting they defused, the week they covered for someone without being asked. Pick the story their teammates would pick.
-
03
Point
What they changed here that will outlast them
Name what they changed that will outlast them — a process, a standard, a habit the team now has without noticing. 'We do postmortems without blame because she refused to do them any other way' is a legacy in one sentence.
-
04
Moment
Turn to them — the thing you’d never put in an email
Turn to them and say the thing you'd never put in an email — direct, specific, one or two sentences. Work runs on understatement all year; the farewell is the one day the true sentence is allowed.
-
05
Toast
Wish them well by name
Wish them well by name, glasses or coffee cups up. Toward what's next, not just away from here.
00:02The rules
The rules of the room.
Structure carries the speech; these keep it out of trouble.
- Three to four minutes. Office attention spans are calibrated to stand-ups.
- This is not a eulogy — they're going to a better job, not a better place. Keep the register light and the affection concrete.
- Ask two colleagues for their story before writing. The speech that quotes the team beats the one drafted alone.
- Inside jokes: one, explained by its punchline, not its history. The new hires are also in the room.
- Say the thank-you plainly, once. Work farewells fail by irony — the wry speech that never quite says it.
00:03Questions
Asked before every farewell to a colleague.
- What do you say when a colleague leaves?
- The size of the gap they leave, one story that shows how they really worked, what they changed that will stay, and a direct thank-you. That's four sentences minimum and four minutes maximum.
- How long should a farewell speech be?
- Three to four minutes — around 400 to 500 words. It usually happens at the end of a workday with people standing; a tight speech honours them and the room's legs.
- Should a farewell speech be funny?
- Lightly — this is a warm occasion, not a solemn one. Tease the famous quirk, quote the legendary Slack message. But land one sincere sentence before the toast; wall-to-wall jokes read as avoidance.
- What if I'm the one leaving and giving the speech?
- Reverse the shape: thank the room specifically, tell one story about what this place taught you, name what you'll take with you, and keep it under three minutes. Leave the emotional heavy lifting to whoever speaks about you.
00:04In the app
From outline to on time.
Every section gets a time, and the total tells you whether you will fit your slot. You write your lines directly inside each block, so the words and the shape never drift apart.
When it is time to deliver, the same outline becomes full-screen cue cards with a stage clock, or a teleprompter that follows the pace you planned.
00:05Related
Other shapes for the same room.
Warm, personal and ending with the toast — 3–5 min
One big idea — told through story, data and a clear takeaway
A tribute that honors a life through specific, vivid stories
Affectionate, a little roast — lands on a heartfelt toast
The traditional order, with room for the one story only you can tell
Warm and a little funny — who they are, what they mean to us
00:06Get it
Open this outline in SpeechDraft.
The farewell to a colleague template is one of 28 in the app. Building and writing are free — the first two speeches, with no limit on the words — and Pro is one purchase of $9.99 if you keep going. No subscription, and it works with the wifi off.
Download on the App Store iPhone, iPad and Mac. One purchase covers all three.