All-Hands Speech Template

When to use this

A speech, not a slide deck. The structure forces an executive to know what they're saying before they get on stage. Slides, if any, support — never replace — this script.

# All-Hands Speech — [Quarter / Event] — [Speaker]

**Speaker:** [Name]   **Duration:** ~15 minutes + Q&A

## Open (90 seconds)
> Start with something specific and recent — a customer story, a named win, a moment from the last quarter. Not "thanks for being here today."

## Beat 1 — Where we are (3 minutes)
- Honest read of the quarter / period
- Two facts that everyone in the room can verify
- One thing that surprised us

## Beat 2 — What we learned (4 minutes)
- The story behind the facts
- A specific decision we made because of it
- What this changes about how we work

## Beat 3 — Where we're going (5 minutes)
- The priority for the next period
- What everyone will see by [date]
- What we're NOT doing, and why
- The hard tradeoff we're choosing

## Close (90 seconds)
> Return to the opening — same customer, same person, same moment. Add a thank-you that's specific (named, not generic).

## Q&A handoff
> "I want to leave plenty of time for questions. [Host] is going to manage the queue. No question is off the table."

## Practical
- Stand at [position]
- Clicker / mic check at [time]
- Backup AV person: [Name]
- If the live stream fails: [contingency]