A speech I wrote but never ended up using for my class :/

Sorry formatting is weird, but it was my outline and I'm still proud of this even tho I'll never use it now ://

Intro

Attention Getter: “Honesty is the best policy” say some, but is this really the case?

Topic/Thesis: Is full honesty always safe and healthy? Well in reality, honesty isn’t as black and white as “dishonesty is bad, honesty is good”.

Definition: Honesty is a tricky thing, as sometimes people are hurt by dishonesty and ergo go about wanting the truth and nothing but the truth. There is a gray area to this in which honesty can be bad and dishonesty the more moral option by comparison. This isn’t to say, however, that not telling something such as the death of someone close to them is the right choice just because their feelings will be temporarily spared. Again, honesty has a weird gray area.

Preview: Some bits of honesty are more harmful than dishonesty, and it can lead to unnecessary disappointment in a spoilt surprise or disappointment over a cool trick. However what’s more is how it affects children, who are much more impressionable and must be let down easily lest they become traumatized or seek out danger they weren’t previously aware even existed.

Body 

Reason: Sometimes honesty can disappoint or ruin things

Example 1: Surprises - There are nice surprises that, if ruined, can ruin a whole occasion, like finding out what a present you’re going to get is too early, or not hiding secrets such as surprise parties or proposals. Once when I was very young, my parents were honest about where they kept the Christmas presents, and I found one and effectively made them very disappointed. I felt as if I had ruined the entire holiday because of it. 

Example 2: Disappointing others - If for example a magician was honest about their tricks, a big part of the fun might be gone and the audience would be disappointed. Similarly, people may become disappointed if one were to be honest about not liking a gift of some sort. A time I was not honest for the better is when my mom made a dish for me, trying to copy a dish I said I liked before. It wasn’t anywhere near the same as the one I had liked so much, but I knew if I said that then she would become disappointed, and the dish she made wasn't bad at all. Ergo, I never told her and she was kept happy, and I also got to try a new dish that I still like to eat to this day.

Transition: Now that we have discussed how honesty can disappoint or ruin the fun, let’s turn back time and discover how children react to honesty.

Reason: Children need to be eased into truths to prevent trauma

Example 1: Bullying - kids being honest to other kids about insulting thoughts is bullying, especially if that is how the child truly and honestly feels about the victim. I, like many others, was harshly bullied when I was a child. This was a result of honesty, although this type of honesty didn’t make me feel better at all, and actually gave me a lot of trauma.

Example 2: Troublemakers - Also sometimes kids just want to disobey and will actively pursue danger if told about it, in which case lying and hiding the truth is a better option because the alternative will harm the child. A great example took place in my own childhood, as there was a small forest and a stream right behind my elementary school that we were always told never to go into. The truth is, there was poison oak back there, but because it was expressly forbidden, kids wanted to go there even more and sometimes got rashes from the poison oak. 

Review: In all, telling the truth can hurt, and as awful as it may sound without context, sometimes the most honorable thing to do in that situation is hide it until later or simply be dishonest about the truth to spare feelings and prevent real harm from befalling those who can’t fully understand how to handle their disappointment in an emotionally stable way. 

Conclusion

Reinstate thesis: So while honesty can usually be a good thing, there are still plenty of instances where honesty isn’t so black and white as being strictly good or bad.

Memorable ending:  In conclusion, honesty is not always the best policy, and sometimes all you have to do is give it some time before doing the big reveal.