2 minute speech on covid 19 for students in english

Coronavirus

A collection of TED Talks (and more) on the topic of Coronavirus.

Talks about Coronavirus

3 ways to end a virus

Why is it so hard to cure the common cold?

We can make COVID-19 the last pandemic

3 ways to prepare society for the next pandemic

Africans should lead on health care solutions for Africa

How to end the pandemic -- and prepare for the next

How the COVID-19 vaccines were created so quickly

How COVID-19 reshaped US cities

The tiny balls of fat that could revolutionize medicine

Meet the scientist couple driving an mRNA vaccine revolution

How NASA invented a ventilator for COVID-19 ... in 37 days

How COVID-19 transformed the future of medicine

To accomplish great things, you need to "let the paint dry"

The global cooperation that accelerated the COVID-19 vaccines

The routines, rituals and boundaries we need in stressful times

Step 1: The Puls‪e‬

Exclusive articles about coronavirus, overwhelmed by covid information 6 tips to help you know what and who to trust, dear guy: “supporting others during this crisis is exhausting me”, disasters and crises bring out the best in us.

COVID-19 Lockdown: My Experience

When the lockdown started, I was ecstatic. My final year of school had finished early, exams were cancelled, the sun was shining. I was happy, and confident I would be OK. After all, how hard could staying at home possibly be? After a while, the reality of the situation started to sink in.

The novelty of being at home wore off and I started to struggle. I suffered from regular panic attacks, frozen on the floor in my room, unable to move or speak. I had nightmares most nights, and struggled to sleep. It was as if I was stuck, trapped in my house and in my own head. I didn't know how to cope.

However, over time, I found ways to deal with the pressure. I realised that lockdown gave me more time to the things I loved, hobbies that had been previously swamped by schoolwork. I started baking, drawing and writing again, and felt free for the first time in months. I had forgotten how good it felt to be creative. I started spending more time with my family. I hadn't realised how much I had missed them.

Almost a month later, I feel so much better. I understand how difficult this must be, but it's important to remember that none of us is alone. No matter how scared, or trapped, or alone you feel, things can only get better.  Take time to revisit the things you love, and remember that all of this will eventually pass. All we can do right now is stay at home, look after ourselves and our loved ones, and look forward to a better future.

View the discussion thread.

Related Stories

Looking back on lockdown days

Art class and self care during the pandemic

We'll Walk Together

A Race to What Finish Line

C 2019 Voices of Youth. All Rights Reserved. 

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“Now is the time for unity”

About the author, antónio guterres.

António Guterres is the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, who took office on 1st January 2017.

The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the most dangerous challenges this world has faced in our lifetime. It is above all a human crisis with severe health and socio-economic consequences. 

The World Health Organization, with thousands of its staff, is on the front lines, supporting Member States and their societies, especially the most vulnerable among them, with guidance, training, equipment and concrete life-saving services as they fight the virus.  

The World Health Organization must be supported, as it is absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against Covid-19.

I witnessed first-hand the courage and determination of WHO staff when I visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year, where WHO staff are working in precarious conditions and very dangerous remote locations as they fight the deadly Ebola virus. It has been a remarkable success for WHO that no new cases of Ebola have been registered in months. 

It is my belief that the World Health Organization must be supported, as it is absolutely critical to the world’s efforts to win the war against Covid-19.  

This virus is unprecedented in our lifetime and requires an unprecedented response. Obviously, in such conditions, it is possible that the same facts have had different readings by different entities. Once we have finally turned the page on this epidemic, there must be a time to look back fully to understand how such a disease emerged and spread its devastation so quickly across the globe, and how all those involved reacted to the crisis. The lessons learned will be essential to effectively address similar challenges, as they may arise in the future. 

But now is not that time. Now is the time for unity, for the international community to work together in solidarity to stop this virus and its shattering consequences.   

S7-Episode 2: Bringing Health to the World

“You see, we're not doing this work to make ourselves feel better. That sort of conventional notion of what a do-gooder is. We're doing this work because we are totally convinced that it's not necessary in today's wealthy world for so many people to be experiencing discomfort, for so many people to be experiencing hardship, for so many people to have their lives and their livelihoods imperiled.”

Dr. David Nabarro has dedicated his life to global health. After a long career that’s taken him from the horrors of war torn Iraq, to the devastating aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he is still spurred to action by the tremendous inequalities in global access to medical care.

“The thing that keeps me awake most at night is the rampant inequities in our world…We see an awful lot of needless suffering.”

:: David Nabarro interviewed by Melissa Fleming

Brazilian ballet pirouettes during pandemic

Ballet Manguinhos, named for its favela in Rio de Janeiro, returns to the stage after a long absence during the COVID-19 pandemic. It counts 250 children and teenagers from the favela as its performers. The ballet group provides social support in a community where poverty, hunger and teen pregnancy are constant issues.

Radio journalist gives the facts on COVID-19 in Uzbekistan

The pandemic has put many people to the test, and journalists are no exception. Coronavirus has waged war not only against people's lives and well-being but has also spawned countless hoaxes and scientific falsehoods.

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How to Talk to Students about COVID-19

Misty hance.

• March 27, 2020

Schools across the nation are taking extra measures in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) to keep students and staff safe. While these steps are certainly necessary, it can be unsettling for students who may not know exactly what is happening but see the changes taking place. Administrators and teachers can do a lot to reduce the fear and inform students with facts on a developmental level appropriate for each child.

Provide Accurate Information in a Calm and Reassuring Manner

Adults hear a lot of information, and some can be misleading and a lot can be overwhelming. It is human nature to then share the message and discuss the concerns. However, this type of “water-cooler” banter must not take place in the presence of students, especially those who may not be able to fully separate the fact from opinion. When talking about COVID-19 in the presence of students, it is important to provide accurate information, in a way that is understandable to them. It is also important to present yourself in a calm and reassuring manner, even if you personally have questions or concerns on the subject. Students of any age feed off of their teacher’s energy. If a teacher appears stressed and anxious, then students will often react in the same way. However, if the teacher appears to be rational and peaceful, then students will be more relaxed as well.

It is okay to let high school students know that this is a new strand of a virus that has been around for nearly 60 years. Older students will be able to grasp how new strands may develop and it takes time to build immunity, find cures, and create vaccines. A good history lesson that might lessen their fears would be to share how we have overcome previous medical concerns such as polio and discovered medicines such as penicillin through similar trials in our past.

Avoid Using Language that Blames Others or Leads to Stigma

No matter the age of the students, this is not the time to be sharing political views or placing blame on those believed by some to be responsible for this pandemic. Keeping a positive message for students is best, such as reminding students that there are scientists all over the world currently working on vaccines and medications to help.

Create an Open Dialogue

Allow students time to ask questions, share concerns, and relay things they have heard in order to help validate their feelings and lessen their fears. This is a time to be honest but limited in information. Be prepared to answer questions with facts, and make sure to keep answers on an age-appropriate level. When students are sharing things they have heard, it is important to correct misinformation in a reassuring way. Be careful not to spread panic. To get the most up-to-date information, teachers and students can visit the Center for Disease Control website .

Likewise, if students know of someone who has contracted the virus, it is best to be reassuring that medical staff can provide support and quarantining can help stop the spread of the virus. Do not go into details about mortality rates at this time. If students ask about the possibility of death, place emphasis on chances of recovery and allow parents to dive deeper into that conversation as they choose.

It might be added that it is best to keep these discussions brief, as children, like adults, can become consumed by the “what-ifs” and inundated with constant talk of COVID-19. Teachers can address questions as they arise or set aside a few minutes to address questions and concerns. Keep the main focus of the day the intentional lesson of the class.

Show Students Everyday Actions to Reduce Spread

Emotions are high for everyone, especially when a sneeze or cough is heard across the classroom. Remind students to cough or sneeze in the way your school or district has determined most appropriate. Some ways include coughing or sneezing into a tissue or into the bend of the elbow; but this can still spread some droplets, so have sanitizer nearby. Handwashing is another very important activity to encourage frequently. While hand-sanitizer may be adequate, students should be allowed time to wash with soap and water that is warm several times throughout the day.

This is a great time to teach about health and communicable diseases and how they spread, again at an age-appropriate level. Let students take part in experiments demonstrating how germs are spread from person to person by using flour or baby powder and watching how it spreads across the room as someone touches varies items. For those who are ready to understand, have conversations about the need for social distancing and how this is effective in flattening the curve so that our medical facilities can care for all the patients in need.

It is also a good time to talk about other healthy habits such as eating a balanced diet and getting exercise and appropriate amounts of rest required to restore the body. Share with students that these are important ways to help your body prepare for an illness so that it can recover more quickly and be less affected by any type of illness. Use this time to focus on what is truly important, like good hygiene and preventive measures.

Messages for Students as Schools Close

More schools are beginning to close in an effort to provide safer alternatives to gathering in classrooms. This is the time to assure students that things will be different for a little while, but they will get back to normal. Provide fun, engaging activities they can do at home to stay busy and be creative. Encourage students to take advantage of free educational sites that help them sharpen their skills while they are home. Remember the teacher is there to educate and provide facts. Keep in touch through online sites used by the school, and continue to share positive, calm messages to reassure students in this unusual time.

• #Coronavirus , #COVID19 , #SocialDistancing

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3 Minute Speech On Covid 19 In English

Good morning one and all. Respected Principal, teachers and my dear friends, it is my pleasure and privilege to stand before you today. I am honored to have this opportunity to speak to such a distinguished audience.Today on this occasion, I would like to speak about the pandemic that had impacted the entire world, creating an unprecedented crisis globally. This Covid 19  pandemic has impacted everyone’s lives, disrupting health, social, political and economic spheres. 

The world came to a halt as social restrictions were enforced and social distancing became a norm. Schools, offices, transportation and businesses were shut down and many who could not bear the losses closed permanently. These were some hard times and the economy suffered greatly.

The education system too suffered a lot because of online classes. Students forgot the habit of studying regularly and this also caused anxiety to many when they had to return to their offline classes. There was a great strain on the health providers and the large number of patients exhausted available resources. 

However, with communities stepping up, the world also witnessed humanity. Countless people started providing food and shelter to the ones severely affected and many popular personalities too benevolently donated for the cause. It brought a renewed sense of unity and harmony.

It proved that no matter what, with unity and empathy, we can overcome any challenge. In order to combat the virus, it is extremely crucial to under just how serious the issue is. The right guidelines must be followed by everyone. These guidelines include wearing masks, social distancing, using sanitizers and washing hands and also avoiding crowds and gatherings.

One must seek Immediate medical attention if experiencing any symptoms. We must encourage ine and all to get vaccinated. The vaccines have proven to be successful in reducing the severity of the virus. Getting vaccinated not only ensures our safety but also the safety of those around us. Houses with senior citizens must take extra precautions. 

The pandemic is serious and global in nature, however with appropriate awareness and care we can combat the virus and emerge successful. Thank you. 

Related Posts:

Coronavirus Disease 2019

The coronavirus speech i’d give, realistic reasons for hope..

Posted March 21, 2020 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

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Updated: Apr. 24, 2020

The media’s core message on the coronavirus is that even if we behave, coronavirus will change life as we know it for years to come: massive job loss, disease, and yes, death, rivaling the Spanish Flu, which killed 50 to 100 million people.

Perhaps a perspective from someone with little to gain from sensationalism nor from political blaming might replace some of the fear with realistic hope.

There are at least three reasons for realistic hope that the coronavirus problem will be satisfactorily addressed than is feared:

1. A simpler, faster test is here: Abbott Laboratories have developed a COVID-19 test that produces the results in five minutes, onsite, and the FDA has just authorized the first at-home swab test.

2. As of April 6, there were more than 200 coronavirus vaccines and treatments in development. It would seem that with some of the world's greatest minds working tirelessly, one will be developed, again, sooner than later. The WHO says that an effective treatment is likely just weeks or months away.

3. Social distancing works and in the U.S. compliance has risen to over 90 percent as of April 15, and since then, subjectively, I've noted ever greater compliance.

So live your life. Sure, practice social distancing, wear a mask in stores, and wash your hands often, but also take advantage of the slowed economy to do things you had wished you had time to do: Speak with friends, do a hobby, do volunteer work by phone or on the internet. Upgrade your skills and networking connections so when the economy and job market improves, you'll be ready. Love more.

Society will survive the coronavirus pandemic, not just because of improved preparedness for an epidemic but because we’ll live with a greater sense of perspective and appreciation of life’s small pleasures: from that first bite of food to the beauty of your loved ones to more present conversations with friends and family. Don’t let coronavirus deprive you of life's wonders. Live.

For some silver linings in the coronavirus situation, you might want to read my previous post, " My Shelter Diary ," including the excellent comment by "Your Reader in Pennsylvania."

I read this aloud on YouTube.

Marty Nemko, Ph.D ., is a career and personal coach based in Oakland, California, and the author of 10 books.

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WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 20 March 2020

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, wherever you are.

Every day, COVID-19 seems to reach a new and tragic milestone.

More than 210,000 cases have now been reported to WHO, and more than 9,000 people have lost their lives.

Every loss of life is a tragedy. It’s also motivation to double down and do everything we can to stop transmission and save lives.

We also need to celebrate our successes. Yesterday, Wuhan reported no new cases for the first time since the outbreak started.

Wuhan provides hope for the rest of the world, that even the most severe situation can be turned around.

Of course, we must exercise caution – the situation can reverse. But the experience of cities and countries that have pushed back this virus give hope and courage to the rest of the world.

Every day, we are learning more about this virus and the disease it causes.

One of the things we are learning is that although older people are the hardest hit, younger people are not spared.

Data from many countries clearly show that people under 50 make up a significant proportion of patients requiring hospitalization.

Today, I have a message for young people: you are not invincible. This virus could put you in hospital for weeks, or even kill you.

Even if you don’t get sick, the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else.

I’m grateful that so many young people are spreading the word and not the virus.

As I keep saying, solidarity is the key to defeating COVID-19 - solidarity between countries, but also between age groups.

Thank you for heeding our call for solidarity, solidarity, solidarity.

We’ve said from the beginning that our greatest concern is the impact this virus could have if it gains a foothold in countries with weaker health systems, or with vulnerable populations.

That concern has now become very real and urgent.

We know that if this disease takes hold in these countries, there could be significant sickness and loss of life.

But that is not inevitable. Unlike any pandemic in history, we have the power to change the way this goes.

WHO is working actively to support all countries, and especially those that need our support the most. 

As you know, the collapse of the market for personal protective equipment has created extreme difficulties in ensuring health workers have access to the equipment they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.

This is an area of key concern for us.

We have now identified some producers in China who have agreed to supply WHO.

We’re currently finalizing the arrangements and coordinating shipments so we can refill our warehouse to ship PPE to whoever needs it most.

Our aim is to build a pipeline to ensure continuity of supply, with support from our partners, governments and the private sector. I am grateful to Jack Ma and his foundation as well as Aliko Dangote for their willingness to help provide essential supplies to countries in need.

To support our call to test every suspected case, we are also working hard to increase the global supply of diagnostic tests.

There are many companies globally that produce diagnostic kits, but WHO can only buy or recommend kits that have been evaluated independently, to ensure their quality.

So we have worked with FIND – the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics – to contract additional labs to evaluate new diagnostics.

In parallel, we’re working with companies to secure the supply and equitable distribution of these tests.

And we’re also working with companies to increase production of the other products needed to perform the tests, from the swabs used to take samples to the large machines needed to process them.

We’re very grateful for the way the private sector has stepped up to lend its support to the global response.

Just in the past few days I’ve spoken with the International Chamber of Commerce, with many CEOs through the World Economic Forum, and with the “B20” group of business leaders from the G20 countries.

We understand the heavy financial toll this pandemic is taking on businesses and the global economy.

We’re encouraged by the solidarity and generosity of business leaders to use their resources, experience and networks to improve the availability of supplies, communicate reliable information and protect their staff and customers.

And we’re also encouraged that countries around the world continue to support the global response. We thank Kuwait for its contribution of 40 million U.S. dollars.

In addition to increasing access to masks, gloves, gowns and tests, we’re also increasing access to the evidence-based technical guidance countries and health workers need to save lives.

WHO has published guidelines for health ministers, health system administrators, and other decision-makers, to help them provide life-saving treatment as health systems are challenged, without compromising the safety of health workers.

The guidelines detail actions all countries can take to provide care for patients, regardless of how many cases they have. They also outline specific actions to prepare health systems, according to each of the “4 Cs” – no cases, sporadic cases, clusters of cases, and community transmission.

These guidelines provide a wealth of practical information on screening and triage, referral, staff, supplies, standard of care, community engagement and more.

We encourage all countries to use these and the many other guidelines, which are all available on the WHO website.

But we’re not only advising countries. We also have advice for individuals around the world, especially those who are now adjusting to a new reality.

We know that for many people, life is changing dramatically.

My family is no different – my daughter is now taking her classes online from home because her school is closed.

During this difficult time, it’s important to continue looking after your physical and mental health. This will not only help you in the long-term, it will also help you fight COVID-19 if you get it.

First, eat a health and nutritious diet, which helps your immune system to function properly. 

Second, limit your alcohol consumption, and avoid sugary drinks.

Third, don’t smoke. Smoking can increase your risk of developing severe disease if you become infected with COVID-19.

Fourth, exercise. WHO recommends 30 minutes of physical activity a say for adults, and one hour a day for children. 

If your local or national guidelines allow it, go outside for a walk, a run or a ride, and keep a safe distance from others. If you can’t leave the house, find an exercise video online, dance to music, do some yoga, or walk up and down the stairs.

If you’re working at home, make sure you don’t sit in the same position for long periods. Get up and take a 3-minute break every 30 minutes.

We will be providing more advice on how to stay healthy at home in the coming days and weeks.

Fifth, look after your mental health. It’s normal to feel stressed, confused and scared during a crisis. Talking to people you know and trust can help.

Supporting other people in your community can help you as much as it does them. Check in on neighbours, family and friends. Compassion is a medicine.

Listen to music, read a book or play a game.

And try not to read or watch too much news if it makes you anxious. Get your information from reliable sources once or twice a day.

To increase access to reliable information, WHO has worked with WhatsApp and Facebook to launch a new WHO Health Alert messaging service.

This service will provide the latest news and information on COVID-19, including details on symptoms and how to protect yourself.

The Health Alert service is now available in English and will be introduced in other languages next week.

To access it, send the word "hi" to the following number on WhatsApp: +41 798 931 892. We will make this information available on our website later today.

COVID-19 is taking so much from us. But it’s also giving us something special – the opportunity to come together as one humanity – to work together, to learn together, to grow together.

I thank you.

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• Published: 10 January 2022

The language of crisis: spatiotemporal effects of COVID-19 pandemic dynamics on health crisis communications by political leaders

• Benjamin J. Mandl 1 , 2 &
• Ben Y. Reis   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9908-5523 1 , 3  

npj Digital Medicine volume  5 , Article number:  1 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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In times of crisis, communication by leaders is essential for mobilizing an effective public response. During the COVID-19 pandemic, compliance with public health guidelines has been critical for the prevention of infections and deaths. We assembled a corpus of over 1500 pandemic-related speeches, containing over 4 million words, delivered by all 50 US state governors during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed the semantic, grammatical and linguistic-complexity properties of these speeches, and examined their relationships to COVID-19 case rates over space and time. We found that as COVID-19 cases rose, governors used stricter language to issue guidance, employed greater negation to defend their actions and highlight prevailing uncertainty, and used more extreme descriptive adjectives. As cases surged to their highest levels, governors used shorter words with fewer syllables. Investigating and understanding such characteristic responses to stress is important for improving effective public communication during major health crises.

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Introduction.

During times of crisis, communication by leaders is essential for mobilizing an effective and coordinated public response. The COVID-19 pandemic presented leaders, and for the purposes of this study, specifically governors, with one of the greatest public health challenges in modern times. Communicating specific public health guidelines to the public and promoting their compliance has been central to meeting this challenge, as the actions and behaviors of individuals directly impacted pandemic spread and individual outcomes, including illness and death.

The specific words through which leaders choose to communicate can have a direct effect on public compliance with public health guidelines such as social distancing and mask-wearing. Prior studies have shown that people’s behavior can be significantly affected by the manner in which instructions are presented 1 , and that specific word choice is often designed to shape public opinion 2 . A recent study found that after Brazil’s president intentionally and publicly minimized the importance of social distancing and downplayed the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing behaviors in areas with strong political support for the president decreased relative to areas with weaker political support for the president 3 .

Leaders employ diverse approaches to public communication. The words chosen by leaders have been found to be associated with a wide range of factors, including the leader’s political affiliations 4 , 5 , demographic characteristics 6 , personal linguistic style 7 , 8 and emotional state 9 . Speeches can also be influenced by the dynamics of the unfolding crisis 9 and the underlying characteristics of the local population.

Computer-based approaches to analyzing large corpora of texts provide a systematic quantitative approach to identifying salient patterns in the texts, which can in turn reveal deeper underlying phenomena. With the rise of computer technology and increased digitization of texts, corpus linguistic methods have been used to study a wide range of phenomena, including the evolution of language 10 , historical epidemiology 11 , historical positivity bias 12 , cultural shifts 13 , and political trends 14 . Applying these approaches to modern political speech, studies have variously examined the semantic content, grammatical properties 4 , 8 , 15 , and linguistic complexity 4 , 5 , 16 of speeches by public leaders. Studies have found that the complexity of speeches declined during times of crisis 17 , 18 , 19 .

In this study, we assembled a corpus of over 1500 pandemic-related speeches delivered by governors of all 50 US states during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We set out to study the associations, across both space and time, between COVID-19 case rates and the semantic, grammatical and linguistic complexity properties of these political speeches. We sought to determine whether the spatial and temporal dynamics of the pandemic affected the topics that governors chose to speak about, as well as the manner in which they did so. We also investigated the relationships between pandemic intensity and characteristic linguistic markers of stress, which can undermine effective public communication strategies at the time they are needed most.

Data Corpus

We assembled a corpus of 1515 speeches, containing 4,049,146 words, delivered by all 50 US state governors. Median speech length was 1984 words, with speech lengths ranging from 100 words to 12,557 words. The number of available speeches varied by state, and by month within each state (Table 1 ). Overall, the speeches were a mix of some pre-written statements along with spontaneous speech.

Semantic categories

The results of the semantic grouping process, including the semantic categories and their assigned words, are shown in Supplementary Table 1 in the Supplementary Materials .

Figure 1 shows the average Spearman correlations for the semantic categories that had strong associations over both space and time with COVID-19 case rates. Figure 2 illustrates some of these relationships over space as scatterplots, while Fig. 3 illustrates some of these relationships over time as temporal graphs.

Semantic categories associated with Covid-19 case rates over both space and time. Average Spearman Rho correlations with 95% confidence intervals, calculated over both space (blue) and time (red). (HOP: Hospital-related; ORD: Strict instructions; BAD: Descriptive bad; NEG: Negation; MST: Extreme descriptive; REL: Religious; EMR: Emergency; JOB: Job-related; PRV: Preventative measures; COM: Formal communication; TRA: Travel-related; HLP: Help and assistance.).

Both positive and negative associations are shown. States are represented by standard two-letter abbreviations. (NEG: Negation; JOB: Job-related; HOP: Hospital-related; PRV: Preventative measures; ORD: Strict instructions; TRA: Travel-related.).

Both positive and negative associations are shown. States are represented by standard two-letter abbreviations. (BAD: Descriptive bad; NEG: Negation; MST: Extreme descriptive; EMR: Emergency; PRV: Preventative measures; COM: Formal communication; HLP: Help and assistance.).

COVID-19 cases rates were positively associated with words relating to hospitals such as “ICU” and “ventilators” (Semantic category “HOP”; Spatial Spearman’s Rho 0.56 [95% CI: 0.33 to 0.75]; Temporal Spearman’s Rho 0.15 [−0.01 to 0.3]). They were also positively associated with negation words such as “can’t” and “no” (NEG; 0.28 [0.02 to 0.52]; 0.07 [−0.01 to 0.26]), words relating to issuing strict public guidance such as “prohibited” and “compliance” (ORD; 0.31 [0.04 to 0.54]; 0.13 [0.00 to 0.26]), descriptive words relating to the concept bad such as “terrible” and “worst” (BAD; 0.3 [0.02 to 0.53]; 0.046 [−0.07 to 0.17]), words relating to religion such as “pray” and “God” (REL; 0.19 [-0.1 to 0.44]; 0.08[-0.05 to 0.21]), and words relating to extreme descriptions such as “dramatically” and “extraordinarily” (MST; 0.28 [0.01 to 0.52]; 0.07 [−0.07 to 0.22]).

COVID-19 cases rates were negatively associated with words relating to jobs such as “employment” and “workers” (JOB; −0.23 [−0.47 to 0.06]; −0.08 [−0.2 to 0.05]), words related to travel such as “tourism” and “hotels” (TRA; −0.32 [−0.55 to −0.04]; −0.17 [−0.29 to −0.05]), words describing formal communication formats such as “announcement” and “declaration” (COM; −0.3 [−0.54 to −0.03]; −0.7 [−0.19–0.04]), and words describing helpful actions such as “hospitality” and “assistance” (HLP; −0.34 [−0.57, to −0.07]; −0.13 [−0.29 to 0.02]). Perhaps unexpectedly, words describing emergency situations such as “crisis” and “disaster” (EMR; −0.21 [−0.46 to 0.07]; −0.26 [−0.38 to −0.14]), as well as words describing specific protective measures such as “sanitizer” and “quarantine” (PRV; −0.26 [−0.51 to 0.02]; −0.24 [−0.36 to −0.13]) were negatively correlated with COVID-19 case rates.

Parts of speech

Next, we systematically analyzed all parts of speech for association with COVID-19 case rates over space and time. Figure 4 shows the average Spearman correlations for parts of speech that had strong associations over both space and time with COVID-19 case rates. Figure 5 illustrates some of these relationships over space as scatterplots, and Fig. 6 illustrates some of these relationships over time as temporal graphs.

Parts of speech and linguistic complexity measures associated with Covid-19 case rates over both space and time. Average Spearman Rho correlations with 95% confidence intervals, calculated over both space (blue) and time (red). (VBD: Verb, past tense; VBZ: Verb, present tense; RB: Adverb; PRP$: Pronoun, possessive; NNS: Noun, common, plural; VB: Verb, base form).

Both positive and negative associations are shown. States are represented by standard two-letter abbreviations. (VBD: Verb, past tense; VBZ: Verb, present tense; PRP$: Pronoun, possessive; NNS: Noun, common, plural.).

Both positive and negative associations are shown. States are represented by standard two-letter abbreviations. (VBD: Verb, past tense; VBZ: Verb, present tense; RB: Adverb; NNS: Noun, common, plural.).

COVID-19 case rates were positively associated with past-tense verbs such as “asked” and “did” (VBD; 0.13 [0.00 to 0.26]; 0.37 [0.1 to 0.57]), present-tense verbs such as “argues” and “claims” (VBZ; 0.12 [0.01 to 0.23]; 0.29 [0.02 to 0.53]), and adverbs such as “rapidly” or “reliably” (RB; 0.32 [0.19 to 0.45]; 0.21 [−0.07–0.46]).

COVID-19 case rates were negatively associated with possessive pronouns such as “his” or “your” (PRP$; −0.23 [−0.36 to −0.09]; −0.23 [−0.48 to 0.05]), plural nouns such as “people” or “cases” (NNS; -0.09 [−0.2 to 0.03]; −0.23 [−0.48 to 0.05]), and base-form verbs such as “respond” or “walk,” which are typically used in future tense settings (VB; −0.07 [−0.22 to 0.08]; −0.247 [−0.49 to 0.03]).

Word length/syllable count

COVID-19 case rates were negatively associated with average word length and with average syllable count, over both space and time, as shown in Figs. 4 , 7 , and 8 . This negative association between linguistic complexity and COVID-19 case rates was strongest in states experiencing the highest COVID-19 case rates.

Both word length and syllable count were negatively associated with COVID-19 case rates over space. The drop in word length and syllable count is particularly noticeable in states with the highest COVID-19 case rates. States are represented by standard two-letter abbreviations.

Both word length and syllable count were negatively associated with COVID-19 case rates over time. States are represented by standard two-letter abbreviations.

By analyzing over 1500 pandemic-related speeches delivered by all 50 US governors, we found that COVID-19 case rates were strongly associated, both spatially and temporally, with the linguistic properties of governor’s speeches, including semantic categories, parts of speech, word length and syllable count. Below we present possible interpretations as to how these results might be understood, recognizing that other possible interpretations also exist. For example, governors may be less influenced by changing cases and more influenced by the evolving political discourse around the pandemic, which could affect their choice of words.

Some of the positive relationships identified were not surprising; for example, the increased use of hospital-related words (HOP), extreme descriptions (MST) and words related to the concept “bad” (BAD) as COVID-19 case rates increased. For example, regarding HOP, New York governor Andrew Cuomo said, “There was a global rush for ventilators and literally we have people on the ground in China.” California Governor Gavin Newsome said, “that represents a 10.7% increase over yesterday.. hospitalizations in the state of California and ICU beds again those are the numbers that I look at first thing every morning.” As cases increased, governors also used stricter words to issue public guidance (ORD), consistent with increasing urgency to promote compliance with public health guidelines.

Some of the negative relationships were also not surprising: As COVID-19 case rates went up, governors spoke less about travel (TRA); travel activity slowed dramatically due to closures and lockdowns, and the relative importance of travel may have decreased in the face of an ongoing public health emergency. As COVID-19 case rates rose, governors also spoke less about words relating to jobs and employment (JOB); while increased pandemic-related unemployment was certainly an important issue, its relative importance may have temporarily decreased in the face of the ongoing pandemic.

We observed a positive relationship between COVID-19 case rates and words focused on religion (REL). During the initial peak of the pandemic, when many people were falling ill and dying, governors often turned to religious and prayer-related terminology to console, show empathy, or offer hope to their constituents. For example, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey said, “We keep each of their memories and their families in our prayers, and please join us in that regard.” Governor Jim Justice of West Virginia said, “Only God above knows, and he’ll get us through this. I absolutely am confident about that beyond belief.”

We also observed a negative association between COVID-19 case rates and words describing formal communication formats, such as “announcement” and “declaration” (COM). This is consistent with governors spending less time discussing the formalistic structure and format of their briefings, and more time focused on delivering actionable messages. We also observed a negative association between words describing helpful acts (HLP) and COVID-19 case rates, which may be attributable to governors focusing on telling people to stay in their homes rather than go out and help others.

We also observed some potentially unexpected relationships. There was a negative association between COVID-19 case rates and words describing the situation in terms relating to “emergency” (EMR), consistent with governors not wanting to facilitate further panic as the crisis worsened. We also observed a negative relationship between words relating to preventative measures (PRV) and COVID-19 case rates, whereas one might have expected that governors would increasingly emphasize preventative measures as cases rose. For example, early on, Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker said, “please help us stay ahead of the virus and prevent the spread through the simple steps we have talked about before: face coverings, hand-washing, hygiene, and social distance.” One possible interpretation is that governors continued to speak about preventative measures, but also spoke more about other topics, causing the percentage of words related to preventative measures to decrease.

While there was much discussion early in the pandemic around testing, personal protective equipment, and the status of the elderly, particularly in nursing homes, we did not find any strong correlations for these categories.

As COVID-19 case rates increased, we found an overall shift in verb usage from future tense (VB) to past (VBD) and present tenses (VBZ). This is consistent with governors shifting from talking about what they are planning to do in anticipation of the looming crisis, to describing what they are currently doing or what they have already done to respond to increasing case rates.

We observed a shift from nouns to verbs and adverbs as COVID-19 case rates rose. This is consistent with speeches becoming more oriented towards describing actions being taken to respond to the pandemic. Additionally, there was a shift away from the use of personal pronouns (PRP$), consistent with governors speaking more about what is being done rather than by whom it is being done.

We observed a strong, positive relationship between COVID-19 case rates and the use of negation words (NEG), consistent with the interpretation that as case rates rose and pressure to respond to the crisis mounted, governors responded in a number of ways that involved the use of negation words. These included speaking in a defensive manner about the actions they were taking and the limits of their authority, as well as highlighting the prevailing uncertainty that they faced. For example, Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana said, “I don’t know when that’s going to come and I don’t know in what amounts, I don’t want to speculate beyond saying that at some point in the next couple of weeks we should have an REC meeting.” New York governor Andrew Cuomo said, “I can’t mandate personal behavior, I never could. My strategy from day one, knowing that we were going to have to ask people to do things that no government has asked them to do, maybe since World War I or World War II.” Mississippi governor Tate Reeves said, “I don’t have the authority to shut them down, therefore I don’t have the authority to reopen them. Mississippi is not China but we have to continue to be vigilant in attacking this virus.” West Virginia governor Jim Justice said, “We don’t need to hear that that’s nothing but garbage. We don’t need to hear that we know what this killer is all about and it’s everywhere, and on the other side we really don’t need to hear all the noise that says, you know, really and truly, now we’re opening up swimming pools so we’re going to kill 19 other people and everything we got to know we don’t need that noise either.”

We also observed a negative relationship between COVID-19 case rates and average word length and syllable count. Interestingly, this association was strongest in US states that experienced the highest rates of COVID-19 cases. The use of shorter, simpler words as COVID-19 case rates surged is consistent with a characteristic response to stress on the part of the governors. Public speaking tasks have been shown to be highly associated with acute physiological stress 20 . Saslow et al. found a decrease in linguistic complexity associated with stress, along with elevated heart rate and increased cortisol reactivity 21 . Buchanan et al. found decreases in word productivity to be associated with stress, increased cortisol levels and elevated heart rate 22 . Acute stress responses to stress-inducing speech tasks have been found to reduce function of the prefrontal cortex 23 , decrease cognitive flexibility 24 , and impair working memory 25 (see excellent review by Saslow et al. 21 ).

Some studies have looked more broadly at how leaders respond to crises. Suedfeld and colleagues found that integrative complexity of speeches by political 17 and academic leaders 18 declined during times of crisis 19 . Green et al. studied communication by US Congress members during the COVID-19 pandemic and identified increasing polarization between political parties during the start of the pandemic 26 . Pennebaker and Lay studied 35 of Rudy Giuliani’s press conferences over years that included two periods of crisis, including the September 11, 2001 attacks; they found certain linguistic shifts associated with crisis, including the use of negation words and shorter words, though not all shifts were consistently observed over both periods of crisis 9 .

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is the first to identify the spatial and temporal relationships between pandemic dynamics and pandemic-related public communication by leaders, including examining characteristic linguistic measures of stress in response to crisis intensity. These associations can be used to guide and inform future research about the impact of the linguistic properties of political leaders’ speech on important public health communication measures such as compliance by members of the public.

This study is subject to certain limitations. Though we collected over 1500 speeches containing over 4 million words from all 50 US governors, some delivered speeches were not available to be included in the analysis. Whereas we analyzed the response to a major pandemic within one level of government of one large country, responses to other crises in other locations and other levels of government may vary. We analyzed speeches at the single-word level, providing many rich dimensions of information; multi-word patterns contain further information, and are a subject for future studies. Whereas we focused on speeches during the first few months of the pandemic, responses during later stages of the pandemic may differ. The spatial analyses comparing all 50 states may be subject to potential confounding, as certain non-pandemic-related state variables such as population density and political affiliation may affect word choice. To address this, we also conducted the temporal analyses—case rates and certain linguistic features were found to move together over time as cases rose and then fell within multiple locations, eliminating many potential confounding variables (e.g., population density) which do not change significantly on the timescale of a few weeks.

As mentioned above, the content and linguistic properties of governor’s speeches may be influenced by political approach and priorities, personal demeanor and the choice of which information sources a governor chooses to rely on. Governors may also deliberately modify their speech styles to increase comprehension by general audiences. In this study, we have proposed possible interpretations describing how COVID-19 case counts may affect governor speech patterns. It may also be the case that governors’ speeches may affect COVID-19 case counts. This is another topic worthy of future study.

Computational linguistic methods are a powerful tool for exploring how leaders respond to emerging crises. By assembling and analyzing a large corpus of speeches delivered by all 50 US state governors during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that governor speech patterns were strongly associated with COVID-19 case rate dynamics across both space and time. Several of the observed effects were consistent with responses to increased stress at the height of one of the largest public health crises in modern times. Such effects may serve to decrease the quality and impact of public health communication, or alternatively, may serve to improve it (as shorter words and greater urgency may heighten the power of the message). Analysis of similar bodies of text from other political leaders and public figures, at different levels of government including at the national level, from different public crises, and from different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic would be key to understanding if the patterns identified here are consistent across different conditions. It would also be worthwhile to study additional potential markers of stress, and to apply more advanced NLP methods. Investigating and understanding the effects of these characteristic stress responses is important for improving communication during major public health crises, both present and future.

Data collection

We collected pandemic-related speeches delivered by governors of all 50 US states from February 27, 2020 through July 14, 2020, a period during which most states experienced at least one wave of COVID-19 cases. Transcripts of public speeches were obtained from four primary sources: (1) Governors’ offices, via public websites or direct correspondence; (2) the commercial transcription service Rev ; (3) the online video sharing service YouTube , and (4) the social networking service Facebook . All transcripts were curated to include only words spoken by the governors themselves. There was no apparent bias in which speeches were made available, and speeches from the governors’ offices do not appear to have been redacted in any way.

For each of the 50 US states, we obtained data on confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 persons, assembled by the New York Times based on data published by state and local health authorities across the United States 27 .

Data analysis

For each state, for each word, we tabulated total word counts for each speech. We included only words spoken by 20 or more governors, and which represented at least 0.02% of all words spoken across all speeches in at least one of the 50 US states.

Words that met the above criteria were grouped by two independent raters into semantic categories. Words with multiple common meanings, or that could not be neatly categorized into a single semantic category, were excluded from the semantic grouping analysis on a case-by-case basis.

In addition to grouping words by semantic category, we also grouped words by part of speech using the part of speech tagger from the Natural Language Toolkit library of Python version 3.6.2. We also calculated measures of linguistic complexity, including average word length (number of letters) per speech, and average word syllable count per speech.

We systematically analyzed the associations of each of these linguistic features (semantic categories, parts of speech, word length and syllable count) with COVID-19 case rates per 100,000 persons. We analyzed these associations over space —across each of the 50 US states for the entire duration of the study period, as well as over time —across each week of the study period for a given single US state. For the spatial analyses, we normalized word counts as a percentage of all words spoken by that governor across all speeches in that state. For the temporal analyses, we normalized word counts as a percentage of all words spoken by that governor across all included speeches in that state during that given week. To ensure sufficient sample size, the temporal analyses were conducted only in states for which a total of at least 50,000 words from speeches were available.

For the spatial analyses, we calculated confidence intervals using the formula for finding the confidence interval around a single Spearman’s Rho value: where r is the estimate of the correlation and n is the sample size. For the temporal analyses, in which multiple Spearman’s Rho values were available (one from each included state), we used the standard formula for a distribution of values. As a visual aid, we fit polynomial curves to the temporal plots using the numpy.polyfit function of Python version 3.6.2, and plotted them alongside the original data points.

Reporting summary

Further information on research design is available in the Nature Research Reporting Summary linked to this article.

Data availability

The data used in this study are available upon request from the authors.

Code availability

The code used in this study is available upon request from the authors.

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Mandl, B.J., Reis, B.Y. The language of crisis: spatiotemporal effects of COVID-19 pandemic dynamics on health crisis communications by political leaders. npj Digit. Med. 5 , 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-021-00554-w

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The Coronavirus Crisis

Reflections on a lost senior year with hope for the future.

Diane Adame

Elissa Nadworny

East Ascension High School Valedictorian Emma Cockrum at her home in Prairieville, La., on June 1, 2020. Emily Kask for NPR hide caption

East Ascension High School Valedictorian Emma Cockrum at her home in Prairieville, La., on June 1, 2020.

Emma Cockrum was in her second week of quarantine when her father discovered an old bike behind their house.

And that bicycle turned out to be a gift: With school closed at East Ascension High School in Gonzales, La., bike riding for Emma became a way of coping with the loss of the rest of her senior year.

"I would say the first two to three weeks we were out of school, I was not the most fun person to be around. I was a ticking time bomb," says the 18-year-old, who's headed to Northwestern State University in the fall. "One minute, I would be fine and dandy, and then the next minute, I would be crying."

As she pedaled through her neighborhood each day, those bike rides forced her to stop and take in the world around her — and they became the inspiration behind these words in her valedictorian speech:

"I got to see life happening. I saw families spending time together, like children playing basketball on their driveways, or fathers teaching their own kids to ride bikes. When we stop to observe our surroundings, we are oftentimes provided with new perspectives on our situations."

Dear Class Of 2020: Graduation Messages From Frontline Workers

The coronavirus pandemic has caused many high school graduations to be replaced with virtual, drive-in and other alternative ceremonies. And so, the tradition of valedictorians and salutatorians addressing their classmates at this huge moment in their young lives is a little different this year.

NPR spoke with a few student leaders about their speeches and how a not-so-typical senior year inspired their words for the class of 2020.

Emma Cockrum

Valedictorian, East Ascension High School, Gonzales, La.

East Ascension High School Valedictorian Emma Cockrum with her dog Hercules in front of her old play house at her home in Prairieville, La. Emily Kask for NPR hide caption

East Ascension High School Valedictorian Emma Cockrum with her dog Hercules in front of her old play house at her home in Prairieville, La.

Aside from her bike rides, Cockrum was also inspired by a few words from Sol Rexius, a pastor at The Salt Company Church of Ames in Iowa. She says Rexius uses the analogy of a dump truck full of dirt being emptied all over their senior year. Here's how she put it in her address to her classmates:

This may sound harsh, but it's not untrue to how some of us feel. It is easy to feel buried by our circumstances. However, he [the pastor] goes on to paint a picture of a farmer planting a seed. Did the farmer bury the seed? Well, yes, but he also planted it. Instead of feeling buried by our situation, we must realize that the pain and heartache that has been piled upon us is not meant to bury, but to plant us in a way that will allow us to grow and prosper into who we are meant to be. As you stop and take in the circumstances around you, will you allow yourself to be buried or to be planted? 

As we move on from this place and embark on the next big journey of life, whether that's college, the workforce or something else, life will at some point begin to feel like it's going too fast. My bike rides have taught me a new way to handle these times because they allow me to exercise and be among the beauty of nature, which are things that cause me to slow down. When life becomes too much like a race for you, it may not be riding a bike. It may be playing an instrument, sport, creating art or something else entirely. I encourage you to find that one thing that allows you to unwind and refocus when life seems too much to handle.  Now, I'd like to take you on a bike ride with me as we share this experience together in our faces, something that is both exciting and terrifying: freedom. We sit atop our bikes of life as high school graduates and now have the freedom to choose who we are and where we will go.  

Salutatorian, Paducah Tilghman High School, Paducah, Ky.

Chua says he wanted to make his speech something that would provide some happiness to people, even if only be for a little while. Before offering some advice, he began his speech with a personal take on the famous line from Forrest Gump : "Life is like a box of chocolates."

"Life is like a fistful of Sour Patch Kids," Chua says in his speech, recorded on video from his home in Paducah. "Right now things are sour, but eventually they will turn sweet."

The sharing of knowledge is just as important as receiving it because, without sharing, knowledge has no value. The first piece of advice I want to share is to always try new things and challenge yourself, even if you think it's a bad idea in the process. Always attempt to answer questions and solve problems. Find new ways to do the same tasks. Wear all white to black out. Take that ridiculously difficult course load. Buy that oversized $30 pack of UNO that is literally impossible to shuffle just so you can say you own it. Just spend responsibly, kids. All in all, just make life spicy. Make life something you want to reminisce on.  The second lesson is simple. Just be nice to people. Trust sows the seeds of freedom, and a little respect truly does go a long way. It could even solve a few of the world's problems. You never know when you'll need to fall back on someone, so build strong connections early and maintain them.  Lastly, the phrase "I don't know" is powerful. By admitting ignorance, you are asking to learn. Inevitably, I know I will come upon a hard stop, and I hope that when I do, I'll remind myself to pause and ask for a hand of enlightenment, so that I might come back from that hard experience knowing more than when I started. Life rarely hands you a golden opportunity, so make one. Just as the tornado creates a path in the wake of its destruction, this class of 2020 will, too, create their own, hopefully without the whole destruction part.

Kimani Ross

Valedictorian, Lake City High School, Lake City, S.C.

Valedictorian Kimani Ross leads the Lake City High School parade through downtown Lake City, SC. Taylor Adams/SCNow hide caption

Ross says she wanted to remind her class that they can get through any obstacle. She recalls the adversities they've gone through together — like the death of a beloved coach — and the people that doubted her.

Ross says she'll attend North Carolina A&T State University in the fall, where she plans to study nursing.

Many people didn't, and probably still don't believe that I have worked hard enough to be where I am now. I've had people tell me that I don't deserve to be where I am now, and that really made me contemplate, "Do I really deserve this? Should I just give up and let them win?" But look at where I am now. I'm glad that I didn't stop. I'm glad that I didn't let them get to me.  I'm especially glad that I earned this position so that all of the other little girls around Lake City and surrounding areas can look and say that they want to be just like me. I want those little girls to know that they can do it if no one else believes in them, I will always believe in them. Classmates, when we're out in the real world, don't get discouraged about the obstacles that will approach you. As Michelle Obama once said, you should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it is important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages.

Valedictorian Kimani Ross and her family at the Lake City graduation in Lake City, SC. Taylor Adams/SCNow hide caption

Valedictorian Kimani Ross and her family at the Lake City graduation in Lake City, SC.

Lindley Andrew

Salutatorian, Jordan-Matthews High School, Siler City, N.C.

Andrew says her mind flooded with high school memories as she tried to write her speech. This inspired her to get her fellow seniors involved. With the help of her class, she strung together a timeline of national events and local victories.

"Sometimes it's the small, seemingly pointless experiences that leave the most lasting and impactful memories," she says.

Some of us lost our senior sports seasons, our chances to be captains and team leaders. Some lost our final chances to compete for clubs that we've given our all to for the last four years. Some of us lost our final opportunities to perform or display our art, and all of us lost the chance to have all of the fun and closure that we were promised would come in the last three months of our senior year.  Losing the last third of our senior year to a virus was not what we had planned, but it's definitely an experience that will affect our lives forever and a memory that we will never, ever forget. We are made up of our experiences and memories. All of the things that we have been through up to this point make us who we are, and the best part is, we're not done yet. We'll continue to experience things and make memories every day that mold us here and there and to who we truly are and who we are meant to become.  What kind of experiences will you create for yourself? What kind of memories will you make? When things don't go quite as planned, like our senior year, how you handle the disappointments and challenges that you face will determine the experience that you have and the memory you walk away with. 

Favio Gonzalez

Valedictorian, Central Valley High School, Ceres, Calif.

Gonzalez says there were many other events besides the pandemic that helped his class develop their character. In his speech, he highlights the election of President Donald Trump and the prevalence of school shootings. Despite what was happening in the world, he says his class never victimized themselves.

Gonzalez will be attending the University of California, Riverside, where he plans to study biology.

The real test came our senior year with the current pandemic. Although society has developed a higher level of understanding, comprehension and acceptance in years prior, self-victimization has become a common occurrence and is a major impediment in achieving our goals. We expect others to find the solutions to our problems and to provide excessive help, since we truly are powerless in stopping the external factors that impact us constantly, whether it'd be natural disasters, terrorism or disease.  Yet, what many people don't realize is that the impact these unfortunate events have on our lives can be nullified by the effort we place in improving our condition. Learning this from past experiences, our class did not victimize itself. Studying and mastering new material is difficult enough with the help of our amazing teachers, with the added responsibilities of helping more at the house, working an essential job and other challenges that come with being at home, it seemed impossible to keep up with schoolwork. We had to face a multitude of barriers with our unrelenting will to succeed. Standing here today, despite all of the setbacks and obstacles, because of our drive, our perseverance, our willpower to endure is stronger than any deterrent.  Now, as we step into adulthood and start to reach our goals, there will be harder challenges to overcome. But our willpower has been proven irrevocable. Never forget classmates, that as long as you use your unrelenting well, you're an unstoppable force.

Barrie Barto

Valedictorian, South High School, Denver

Barto says when her school closed, she tried ignoring some of the emotions she was processing. "I realized that you need to take the time to acknowledge what we have lost and celebrate how we have grown and how this is going to change us as a class," she says.

This inspired her to write the speech she felt that she needed to hear.

To be honest with everyone, when I sat down to write this speech, I really wanted to avoid talking about everything we miss as a class. It would be way easier to reminisce about when the homecoming bonfire was in the back parking lot. But when people told me they were sorry that my whole senior year was turned upside down, I shrugged it off and said it's not a big deal. It's a hard thing to talk about, and not talking about it seems less painful. But it is a big deal. We missed senior prom and graduation and our barbecue and awards. I would even go back for one more class meeting in the auditorium just to sit in South for one more Thursday. This pandemic was not the defining event for our class. Don't let it be. We had monumental events occur every year we were at South. We have supported our teachers when they rallied for themselves. They've supported us when walking into school was harder than it was any other day. We supported each other through the pains of block day, and air conditioning only working in the winter time, but also shifts in friendships and hard times with family. South brought us all together to teach us something about ourselves that we didn't know before.

Haylie Cortez

Valedictorian, Bartlett High School, Anchorage, Alaska

Cortez says she feels lucky to still be able to give a message and was inspired by what has been helping her cope.

"One of the things that pushes me through everything is knowing that things will go on and stuff will change," she says. "I just want to remind everyone that the future is still there and it's still coming to us."

Cortez plans on attending the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the fall, where she wants to study civil engineering.

We all deserve to celebrate and be proud of ourselves. It's upsetting that we won't have a traditional graduation ceremony and sadly, we cannot control the circumstances that we face today.  What we can do is choose how we respond to it as we take these next steps in life. It can be hard to imagine what life could look like as time progresses. The only certainty we have is that time goes on and the future will arrive. We can use the pandemic as an excuse for why we can't move on in life, or we can use it as a motivator to find our purpose. Whether we plan to go to college, trade school, the military or straight into the workforce, there is no denying that society will gain something worthwhile. The situation we are living through shows how valuable everyone in society is. The world is finally realizing the importance of the jobs of janitors, cashiers, teachers, politicians, first responders and more. Whatever we plan on doing after we graduate, it will impact society. I invite everyone to look to who you can't thank, and take your time to do so, although the door for high school has abruptly shut for us. I would like to remind everyone that another has opened and we can do with it what we want.

The pandemic changed the way we understand speech

A new study examines how certain now-common words influence what we expect to hear.

Our brains are great at filling in the blanks.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been inundated with words and situations that were uncommon to many people before then. We’ve been in lockdowns, maintained social distance, worn masks, and taken vaccines and boosters, and have been talking about these topics seemingly nonstop. Life has looked very different for most people since the start of the pandemic, and new research suggests it has even altered the way we understand certain words.

Our study , 1 recently published in PLOS ONE, shows how likely we are to perceive these newly common words as a result of the pandemic — to the point that we expect to hear words like “mask” and “isolation,” even when a different but similar-sounding word is actually spoken. What word do you hear in these clips?

Now that we’ve lived through multiple years of the pandemic, you probably thought that the speaker is saying “lockdown,” “infection,” and “testing.” In reality, each recording is only a partial word: “--ockdown,” “in--ection” and “te--ing,” with a cough replacing the missing sound in each word.

The pandemic presented a once-in-a-generation opportunity to study rapid changes in the way we process language, as those changes were in the process of occurring. The abrupt change to everyone’s lives, and to the words that were on everyone’s lips, gave us a naturalistic way to study how the human brain understands speech and engages in statistical language learning. It also allowed us to study how the brain perceives words in noisy situations — like in a bar or on a train — where it’s not always clear exactly what word someone is saying. This research both helps us understand how our brains perform the highly complex task of understanding language, and may also help to better train AI models tasked with understanding human speech.

From April 2020 through February 2021, a total of 899 subjects participated in four experiments, conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk, testing how they understood words like “mask” and “isolation” — words that did not feature prominently in our speech before COVID, but have now become extremely common. We found drastic, long-lasting cognitive effects in the way our brains understand these words.

What was that you said? What our 10-minute experiments taught us over 10 months

As cognitive psychologists, we love thinking about language and human interaction, and what happens in the brain when we talk to one another. As it became obvious that the sudden, massive societal shift caused by COVID was also changing the frequency with which we heard certain words, we wondered if it would cause any lasting changes to how our brains process language — a critical component of what makes us human.

At the time, we had no idea how the pandemic would unfold or that it would still be with us two and a half years later. This made the fact that we ran our first experiment just weeks after the start of the soon-to-be-commonly referenced “lockdowns” all the more prescient.

First, we decided on a set of 28 words which had become much more frequent after the onset of COVID – words such as “mask” and “lockdown.” To determine both the pre-pandemic frequency of these words (how often they were spoken between January and December 2019), and the post-pandemic-onset frequency of those same words (how often they were used between January and December 2020), we used the News on the Web ( NOW ) corpus — a dataset of thousands of newspaper and magazine articles containing billions of words, which, critically, includes when the articles were published and thus the date that each word was used. It was striking to see how much the frequency of individual words changed in such a short period of time: COVID-related words like “mask” were used three times as frequently during 2020 as they had been during 2019, even though similar-sounding words, like “map”, didn’t change at all.

Our experiments used the phonemic restoration task to test what words listeners understand when they hear something ambiguous. This works by recording a full word — for example, “knockdown” — and then removing one sound from the recording (here, the initial “kn” sound). Then, we replaced the deleted “kn” sound with a noise, as you can hear in the sound clip at the top of the post. We asked participants what word they heard when they listened to this now-incomplete and ambiguous recording. All the words we recorded were one sound away from a COVID-related word, such as "knockdown" instead of “lockdown,” and “task” instead of “mask.” And all of the recorded words were equally common in English as their COVID-related counterparts in 2019, but were much less commonly spoken in 2020.

The roughly 10-minute-long experiments presented each qualified participant with ambiguous auditory inputs. For example, a participant would hear a spoken word accompanied by an overlapping cough, much in the same way we might hear a word spoken in a crowd.

The pandemic changed the ranking of certain words we perceive

We ran a set of four experiments over the course of 10 months, and found that people now understand a slew of spoken words differently. For example, now that “mask” is more common, an ambiguous recording of a similar-sounding word “task” is misunderstood as “mask” three times as often as an ambiguous recording of the word “tap” is misunderstood as “map.” Our study is the first to demonstrate the presence of long-lasting changes in lexical accessibility induced by rapid changes in real-world linguistic input.

More research will be needed over time to confirm whether these pandemic-related words will recede to their pre-pandemic frequencies in our mental lexicons. But the implications are clear: Our brains rapidly adapt to the changing linguistic statistics of the world around us, and we predict and expect more common words compared to less common ones.

This research helps us to better understand how the brain processes language input, and adds to a growing body of research – including from our IBM Research colleagues studying other forms of sensory input – which may eventually inform the building of new AI models structured like our own brains. For example, this understanding of the brain's ability to rapidly adapt to changing word frequencies in real-world input could be applied to help digital assistants adapt to individual users' speech more effectively as well.

• Rachel Ostrand

Kleinman, D., Morgan, A.M., Ostrand, R., Wittenberg, E. Lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on language processing . PLOS ONE. June 15, 2022. ↩

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• Speech Writing /

Speech on Doctor for Students in English

• Updated on  
• May 8, 2024

Speech on Doctor: Doctors play a crucial role in our lives. In some cultures, doctors are given the status of ‘God’ as they treat our physical and mental health. They carefully examine the patients, run the diagnosis, and provide the right treatments. 

School students who aspire to become doctors are often helped by the school administration to deliver speech on doctors. Further students are also asked to do their research on the area of work of doctors and share their learning experiences with their fellow students. 

3 Minute Speech on Doctor

Also Read: Speech on Nurse: Short and Long Speech

2- Minute Speech on Doctor for Students

Also Read: Speech on Autism: Long and Short Speech in English for School Students

A.1 ‘A very warm welcome to respected teachers and fellow students. Today, I stand before you to present my speech on doctors. For some people, a doctor might be just a medical professional treating the injuries of his patients. But a doctor is more than just a medical professional……

Doctors help people diagnose and treat illnesses.  They perform life-saving surgeries.  Providing preventive care and guidance helps the patients as well as the caretakers. They offer emotional support to the sufferers during their tough times.  Meanwhile, they educate the community about healthy lifestyles.  For this, they monitor their chronic conditions closely.  Doctors take care of providing the necessary vaccinations to fight against the disease. They conduct medical research and advance treatments whenever needed. Doctors never step back in responding during emergencies and disasters. They serve selflessly and render their services to society.

A.3 A doctor is a highly trained medical professional dedicated to the health of people. Doctors study extensively to earn degrees, enabling them to diagnose and treat injuries. They possess in-depth knowledge of the human body, disease, and modern treatments. With skill and compassion, doctors work tirelessly to heal the suffering of people and save their lives. 

Popular Speech Writing Topics

This was a speech on doctor. For more such interesting and informational topics on the content of school education follow Leverage Edu .

Deepika Joshi

Deepika Joshi is an experienced content writer with educational and informative content expertise. She has hands-on experience in Education, Study Abroad and EdTech SaaS. Her strengths lie in conducting thorough research and analysis to provide accurate and up-to-date information to readers. She enjoys staying updated on new skills and knowledge, particularly in the education domain. In her free time, she loves to read articles, and blogs related to her field to expand her expertise further. In her personal life, she loves creative writing and aspires to connect with innovative people who have fresh ideas to offer.

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