Giving a great retirement speech

So, you've been asked to give a retirement speech, and you have about as confident with retirement speeches as you do climbing Mt. Everest. The three secrets to success in giving a good retirement speech are: (1) know your material. Practice until you do it in your sleep. (2) Know your audience. Chances are, you'll be in a room filled with people you've known for some time. Select or write your material accordingly. Finally, know your room. You can improve your chances of giving a good speech by arriving early and getting familiar with the microphone, the room's layout, the height of the lecturn (if any), and so on.