This week’s tip deals with one of the most difficult types of speeches there is: wedding speeches! We’ve all been to a wedding and seen a really bad speech. It’s cringe-worthy. It goes on too long, there are too many inside jokes, the stories don’t really make sense, and maybe it’s even a little inappropriate. Yikes!

Don’t let that happen to you. Here are three tips on giving a great wedding speech.

One: rehearse. I cannot stress this enough. Do not wing it. Nothing good comes from winging it. Allocate enough time in the weeks leading up to the wedding to properly prepare. Write the script down, then rewrite it, then rewrite it again. Then, rehearse it. But don’t just read it yourself, rehearse it out loud to somebody else and get their feedback. When you give the speech on the night of the wedding, that should NOT be the first time someone else hears it. How a speech feels to you, and how it comes across to other people are often different. So, make sure to have someone else hear it first, and take their comments into consideration.

Two: keep it moving. With wedding speeches, the acoustics aren’t always great in the room and people often have food in front of them. Which means, they may have to strain to hear you and they may want to eat their steak. So dazzle them for a few minutes, toast, and move on. Even great speeches can go on too long, and then they cease to become great speeches. I think three minutes of strong, entertaining, heartfelt material will serve you well. Don’t forget: other people will be speaking as well, and you’ll have to share the overall time with them. There’s only so much listening people at a wedding can handle.

And three: say nice things about BOTH people. This one is really important. A good friend of mine was the best man at a wedding. He said really nice things about his friend, the groom, but didn’t say much about the bride. In part, that’s because he didn’t like the bride very much, but that doesn’t matter. In the end, the bride was upset and it ruined my buddy’s friendship with the groom.

Even if you don’t think the other person is a good fit for your friend, or your child, they’re getting married, and they’re going to watch their wedding video over and over, so you MUST say something nice about the other person. Find something, anything, positive to say and say it with conviction. And remember, this is NOT a roast. Playful teasing is fine, but don’t be mean or sarcastic!

There is a lot more to cover. This is just a start. If you need help with a wedding speech, or any speech, contact me and we’ll set up a free consultation. Let’s create a speech that people will talk about long after the event!

Have a great day,

Dave