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Crafting and Delivering the Perfect Wedding Speech

Being asked to deliver a speech at a wedding – either as best man, father of the bride, or another guest of honour – is something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is a huge honour, while on the other, it involves speaking to a room full of people for an extended amount of time; something which many of us dread.

 

Take a deep breath and relax; we’ve compiled some tips to help you craft and deliver a knockout speech on the big day.

Crafting-and-Delivering-the-Perfect-Wedding-Speech

Prepare. No Seriously, Prepare!

In our darkest moments, when the nerves of the impending speech are starting to get to us, all of us have turned to a friend and said, “to be honest, I’m a bit scared.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the friend replies, “there’s no point in preparing, just step up and go for it.”

Do not, under any circumstances, listen to this friend. Having a planned and prepared framework for your speech is vital, and without it you risk suffering a mind-blank in front of a room full of people. Prepare, prepare, and prepare again, and don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise!

Strike a Balance

Wedding speeches are all about balances. Humour is important as it helps you to quickly win over your audience and get them on your side, but you need to balance it with warm congratulations for the happy couple. Also, the humour itself must be well thought out; stick to cheeky, inoffensive, audience-appropriate quips, and don’t try to push the envelope.

Handle Nerves Responsibly

Dutch courage will only take you so far, and can cause you to make a fool out of yourself. Keep the pre-speech alcohol to a maximum of two drinks. This will be enough to relax you without causing embarrassing slurring of words or forgetting of lines.

Don’t Overrun

Once the adrenaline kicks in and you discover that this public speaking business isn’t as difficult as you first imagined, you may feel the temptation to ramble on. Resist this. Instead, stick to your prepared speech and aim not to go over the ‘magic’ five-minute maximum. Leaving your audience wanting more is fine, but don’t leave them wanting less.

Remember That Everyone Is On Your Side

This isn’t a press conference or a comedy gig in front of a tough crowd; this is a wedding. Everyone is here to share the warmth and joy of a special day and – trust us – everyone wants you to do well. Feed off those good vibes and deliver a pressure-free, well-received speech.

Have you had to deliver a wedding speech? Do you have any tips that we’ve missed? Let us know!

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