speak on behalf of

Meaning

To represent or speak for another person, a group of people, or an organization. This phrase is highly formal and is commonly used in business meetings, legal contexts, public speeches, or official ceremonies to show that the speaker is authorized to voice others' opinions or wishes.

Examples

• I am writing to you today to speak on behalf of the local residents' association.

  I am writing to you today to speak on behalf of the local residents' association.

• Our lawyer will speak on behalf of our family during the hearing tomorrow.

  Our lawyer will speak on behalf of our family during the hearing tomorrow.

• I cannot speak on behalf of the entire company, but I personally support this initiative.

  I cannot speak on behalf of the entire company, but I personally support this initiative.

• She was chosen to speak on behalf of all the graduates at the ceremony.

  She was chosen to speak on behalf of all the graduates at the ceremony.

• He stepped up to the microphone to speak on behalf of the charity's board of directors.

  He stepped up to the microphone to speak on behalf of the charity's board of directors.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I want to speak in behalf of my team.

  ✓ I want to speak on behalf of my team.

  While 'in behalf of' exists in older legal contexts to mean 'for the benefit of', 'on behalf of' is the standard, modern phrase used to mean 'representing'.

• ✗ She spoke on behalf of she and her sister.

  ✓ She spoke on behalf of herself and her sister.

  The preposition 'of' requires object pronouns or reflexive pronouns, not subject pronouns like 'she'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The CEO was not able to attend, so the VP had to ___ the company.

  💡 represent the company in speech

  Show answer

  speak on behalf of

• I would like to ___ everyone here and thank you for your hard work.

  💡 express the feelings of the group

  Show answer

  speak on behalf of