I'm getting an award at our company dinner, and I have to say something when I go up.

How long to speak, by the kind of award

Acceptance speeches are short because the evening usually has more winners than time. A rule of thumb, not a rule:

- Recognition at a team meeting, or employee of the month: about 30 seconds, two or three sentences. - A company award at a dinner, such as employee of the year, top sales or a safety award: 1 to 2 minutes, about 130 to 260 words. - An industry, professional or community award read out with a list of winners: 1 to 2 minutes, or the limit the organizers give you, whichever is shorter. - A lifetime achievement or honorary award, or an invitation to give remarks: 3 to 5 minutes, about 390 to 650 words, which is closer to a short talk built around one story.

If ten winners come up after you, finish early. Ending under your time costs you nothing.

At 2 minutes HidenGPT aims for about 260 words. One split that works: about 30 words thanking the people who give the award, about 40 for the moment, about 130 for the people you name (three or four of them, with a reason each), and about 60 to say what the award means to you and close with thank you. That makes 260.

A one-minute example

Here is a short version built from the example notes. It runs about 110 words, a little under a minute at 130 words a minute; the laugh and the pause fill the rest.

“Thank you to the awards committee, and to Denise, who put my name in without telling me. That is very Denise.

I run the night shift in Columbus, so most of you have never seen me in daylight. [pause]

Last December, the week of the storm, half our crew couldn't get in. We shipped 11,000 orders anyway. Joe and Ama ran the dock while I was on the phone with carriers, and nobody went home early.

So my name is on this, but it belongs to the night crew.

And to Carlos, who has eaten dinner alone four nights a week for six years. Tonight, at least, we're eating together.

Thank you.”

What it does: it thanks the givers in one sentence, gets one small laugh at the speaker's own expense, tells one moment with a number in it, names three people for a reason and ends on thank you instead of a summary. There is no list of departments, no “I don't deserve this” and no apology for being nervous.

Who to thank, and what to cut

The thank-you list is where acceptance speeches lose the room: fifteen names, no reasons, and the tables at the back start talking. Keep it to the organization giving the award, the person who nominated you if you know who it was, two or three people whose work is in the award, and one person at home if you like.

Before: “I'd like to thank Denise, Joe, Ama, Luis, Kim, the whole night crew, the day crew, maintenance, HR, my family and everyone who voted.”

After: “Joe and Ama ran the dock while I was on the phone with carriers.”

The second line names fewer people and says more about each of them. Everyone you leave out of the speech can get a note, a word in person or a post the next day.

Also cut:

- “I don't deserve this.” It tells the committee they got it wrong. “I'm proud of this” or “this belongs to a lot of people” is gracious without arguing. - An apology for being nervous or for not having prepared. - Inside jokes, digs at other nominees and anything political. - Reading from your phone. A card is easier to hold, and it won't lock halfway through. - Stock lines such as “words cannot express”, “I'm truly humbled” and “this award is a testament to”. The red pen catches the last kind; the first two are yours to spot.

What the Speech format does for an acceptance

With Occasion set to Award acceptance, the draft is told to thank people by name but briefly, to keep the personal moment to about a sentence, and not to read out a long list. The general plan for speeches ends on a wish or a toast, which suits a wedding better than an award, so write “no toast, end with thank you” in your notes when that is what you want.

Minutes starts at 1, which is about 130 words, and the draft is checked against the target: you'll see a warning if it lands more than 30 percent off. For a 30-second thank-you, ask for one minute and cut it in half. The starting tone is Heartfelt + witty. Formal fits a professional body's awards night, and Heartfelt fits a community or volunteer award. Turn on Stage cues under More details if you want [pause] marked where you expect a laugh.

It uses the names, reasons and moment you give it and is told not to invent events or people. List a name with no reason and you get a thin line or a placeholder, not a made-up story. A light red pen pass then cuts stock phrasing before you see the draft.