Are you terrified at the thought of making a speech? Most people are and the longer they leave it, the worse it gets!

It is a shame, as the honour of being asked to be the Best Man , the proud Father of the Bride, or indeed the shy, but anxious bridegroom all should be able to enjoy the occasion, with the confidence gained in a well prepared and well rehearsed speech.

So, how do you go about it? - You Plan it!

Unless you have been asked at the very last minute, you should have enough time to prepare - start collecting information at the earliest opportunity - dig the dirt on your subject and develop a theme.

Talk to their friends, quiz them for little tit bits of information and ideas, and a pattern will start to emerge. Make notes, don't rely on your memory! Rough out an outline and identify your main points early; that way you will be able to structure them into your theme and keep the momentum going. Link the topics together, so it all makes sense.

Rough Draft

When you have collected all the things you want to speak about, it's time to do a rough draft. You should structure this in three parts, thus :-

1. The Introduction.

2. The Body.

3. The Conclusion

The Introduction generally is the easy part. Why? because in most cases the speaker is normally thanking people, which is a pleasant and easy way to start. - 'Thank you for the welcome' - 'Thank you for your support' - 'Thank you for those kind words' - 'Thank you for coming today'. etc.

The Body is where you use all the info you have gathered. This is the guts of the speech and represents all the evidence that will support your theme and topic. Write these down in order of story ie 'that leads me on to when...' but remember to leave your best story or anecdote to last, before you close. It is always how you finish that counts!

The Conclusion

This must be the conclusion - you must not go 'on and on' and bore everyone to death, otherwise all the good work earlier will be utterly wasted. It's got to be 'and finally' and mean it! Your audience will only remember how you finished.

So, now you have it down as a rough draft, which is the perfect time to start reading aloud - to yourself, and practice, Structure, practice. Fine tune it to perfection, rehearse it at least once a day until it becomes so good, that you just can't wait for the day to come when you will deliver it.

Your speech should only last for the maximum of 10 minutes - short and punchy - not long and boring! Only the very best of speakers can keep an audience interested for longer than that.

The Father of the Bride (or whoever is giving the bride away) traditionally starts the speaking. He will thank friends and family for coming, especially those who have travelled a long way. He should also thank the other parents for their help and welcome his new son in law into his family: talking of how the happy couple met, and the first time she introduced him to his future 'in-laws'.

Next he should concentrate on his daughter - the Bride. This can be emotional but it is nice to reflect on her growing up, into the lovely daughter she is today. His speech ends by asking everyone to stand and join him in toasting 'The Bride and Groom'

The Bridegroom will thank his new 'Dad' for the welcome and the nice words. Thank both sets of parents for their love and help in making everything possible. He should also thank everyone for coming and show appreciation that they all made the effort for both of them.

At the first opportunity he will say " on behalf of my wife and I," (this will get applause for saying the word 'wife') Then talk about his beautiful bride for a few moments, before giving out flowers and gifts to all those that helped or had a duty. Ending his speech by asking everyone to stand, for the 'Toast to the Bridesmaids'

The Best Man will thank the bridegroom on behalf of the bridesmaids. He should talk about the honour of being best man and speak about the bridegroom and their friendship etc. He will then relate stories to generally embarrass and send him up - nothing contentious, but he should not mention former girl friends. He may want to read cards, but only those from guests unable to be there.
Although not a tradition, it is also common practice for the best man to toast the bride and groom. It is a nice way to end the speech.
 

Need help ? visit  

• Fine Wedding Speeches  'Wedding speeches, for the Best Man, Bridegroom and Father of the Bride. Written for you by a Professional speaker and Wedding writer.'  Free help and tips available!

   

• www.thebestmanweddingspeech.com
  
  And Finally - The Golden Rule!
  
  Very little or preferably - NO ALCOHOL before speaking ( loads afterwards )

How much does a Toastmaster Cost? - Toastmaster Announcements - Toastmaster Services - Toast to the Ladies Masonic Ladies Festival - Duties of a Toastmaster Wedding - Toastmaster Master of Ceremonies  -Masonic Toastmaster Eric Gill Toastmaster & Master of ceremonies