2024 Commencement Speech by Jerry Seinfeld
Every year I put forth my favorite commencement speech of the year. Bezos at Princeton, 2010. (If you click on the link to watch it, skip to 6 minutes, after the longest introduction in the history of the world.) Was it really only fourteen years ago? Before he became Darth Vader? But the story he tells of his grandfather is with me still, and it will serve you well too.
Another favorite is Oprah at Harvard, 2013, which was the year after I attended fabulous daughter Sarah’s - about whom I not allowed to write - Law School Graduation. If I’d known it was going to be Oprah the next year, I would have asked Sarah to stay an extra year. The joy that Oprah had in being there, and more importantly the story she told of failure, is a game changer for me.
I watch those two, and some others, every year for inspiration. I highly recommend it.
This year, I’m putting an unusual choice out there. Yes, it’s Jerry Seinfeld’s oratory at Duke, where tens of students walked out as he got up to speak, I assume because of his political support of Israel.
I have never been a Seinfeld fan. I’m not not a Seinfeld fan, but I tend to think it was Larry David who nailed the TV series template, and I think JS has been riding off it ever since. I have met him a number of times in the Hamptons. He’s funny, but in that way that says he’s trying to be, and I prefer the guy who isn’t trying so hard. You will see him trying in his speech. He’s clearly nervous, faster than his normal cadence, and mis-speaking a bit, but that’s okay.
I watched it again, which is when I realized he’s on to something. More than one thing. It’s worth watching, because like all observers of life, who see things we often miss, he has a point of view you might not have considered.
He’s contradictory. Don’t do work you don’t care about. Who cares what you do for work? Stuff like that, but there are tidbits in it that will give you true moments of pause. Real nuggets of truth.
His most important message, which I think is keeping our sense of humor at a time when it seems almost unkind to laugh at anything, is worth the time.
I read that the speech was ‘clocked’ at the fourth-grade level. What does that mean? That elementary school kids will understand it. And, I think you should play it for them and ask them what they think of it. One of the late night talk shows should tape them saying what the message is—it would be a great segment.
I may load up another commencement address for your consideration because I’m not sure this will be in my hall of fame addresses, but as I’m working it out, do yourself a favor and watch it. Oh, and it’s only 1,000 seconds.