Updated: 23 October 2026

Write a farewell or retirement speech

This prompt writes a short farewell speech, for yourself or a colleague. You give the years together, memories or achievements and the mood, funny, emotional or a mix.

text-farewell-speech — chatgpt — 56 words

Write a short farewell speech.

Who is leaving: [ME / A COLLEAGUE, NAME AND ROLE]
Years together: [NUMBER]
Memories or achievements: [LIST]
Mood: [FUNNY / EMOTIONAL / MIX]

About 2 minutes. Start with a warm line, tell one story, thank people by name and finish with a wish for what comes next. Include one gentle joke.

Edit in the builder Copy & open ChatGPT ↗Copy & open Gemini ↗Copy & open Claude ↗

Personal stories always land better than a list of achievements.

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What you will get

A two-minute speech with a warm opening line, one story, thank-yous by name and a closing wish, plus a single gentle joke. It reads as ready to say aloud, in the mood you chose.

Common mistake

It sounds like a template, with lines such as “it has been an honour”.

Fix: Give two real moments with a name and one odd detail each, such as the day the lift broke before the big demo. Specific details are what make a farewell sound true.

Also watch for

The joke is about age, health or something private. Add “the joke must be about the shared work or about me, never about the person’s age, health or family”. Check it will land with everyone in the room.
It runs past two minutes when you read it aloud. Speech pace is about 130 to 150 words a minute, so ask for “no more than 280 words” and time it once out loud. Cut the longest story first.

Try a variation: your own farewell

If you are the one leaving, write “this is MY farewell. Thank the team, name one thing I learned from each of three people, and end with an invitation to stay in touch”. A leaving speech works best when it is about them, not you.

Still not right? Reply with this

Cut this to 280 words, keep the story about the lift and the thank-you to the team, and make the joke about me instead of the person leaving.

FAQ

About this prompt

How long should a farewell speech be?

Two to three minutes is a good limit, which is roughly 260 to 400 spoken words. Longer than that and people start checking their phones. This prompt asks for about two minutes and one story, so read the draft aloud once to check the time.