Best Man Speeches

Best Man Speeches can feel a bit like the visit to the dentist - you can't get away from giving a speech if you are the Best Man

At my own wedding we experienced an example of where the Best Man Speech when awfully wrong.

Our best man was a great friend. He had written something out and had practice it, but come the time...

HE CHOKED!

Completely

He looked at the words and saw nothing and then just went on this ramble that was meaningless to him as much as anyone else, and seemed to be never ending.

We all sat there feeling really bad for him.

We spoke to him afterwards - and loved him no less. But it took many years for him to get over it - as he, like most best men - so wanted to do a great job.

So where did he go wrong?

In his own words he took it upon himself to 'be someone else' - no one had asked this of him - it was what he thought he should do given the role. So he approached the whole speech as if he was another person.

And he also got himself so wound up about it internally that he wasn't able to rescue himself and realize why he was there - to honor his best friend and his new wife.

So what are some key tips?

My wedding interestingly became the catalyst for me to go into Professional Speaking - both because I gave a speech and enjoyed it. And also because of our best man's experience. I wanted to learn what the secrets were to publicly speaking.

As we all know the saying that people fear speaking in front of others more than death.

These are some of the key tips for a best man speech (and any speech with an audience):

a) Be yourself -whilst you may be required to don a suit that may not be normal attire - the person inside it does not have to change. You may want to put your best face forward - just make sure it is still your face - and your style. Audience's respond best to 'realness' - people that are being themselves.

b) Be prepared - write the speech out beforehand - using YOUR style of language (true it is best to remove profanity given the occasion). And then get comfortable with it. Do not try to rote learn it - as that is where you can fall down. Instead practice it and have fun as you practice it - maybe practice it in funny voices. Keep a list of bullet key points and then really feel into the content as opposed to trying to memorize it.

c) Remember this is not about you. This is about the Bride and Groom. You are there to honor them. And to do so in your style - as the reason you were asked to be best man is because of who you are - so be that person. And give to your friendship by being there for them as you no doubt on a daily basis in your friendship. So don't make it about you 'doing a good job' - make it about your gift to the bride and groom.

Always keep your audience in mind and create a speech that you feel will be pleasing to BOTH the bride and groom for years to come and is reflective of you and your style.

d) Have fun - as with a) being yourself - we can make it worse for ourselves by being nervous - and in fact this is a great sign that you are infact focused on yourself, rather than deciding that you are there to do a great job for those there.

Having shared that - the beauty now-a-days with the information age is that you can in fact get pre-written Best Man Speeches - there are over 20 templates and you can work them to fit the personalities of your bride and groom.

You will be shown how to create an original sounding speech that you feel confident in delivering, and it includes some guaranteed to laugh jokes and one liners!

Best Man Speeches will help you to feel confident, in control and have the audience in the palm of your hand on the day. My husband is their biggest fan after using it recently for himself at another friend's wedding - went down an absolute treat (so much so he's now giving another speech at another friend's wedding!)

You can also find out more at:

http://www.squidoo.com/best_man_speeches/