Make a Speech
Make a speech with confidence
How to Write a Speech
Eric explains how to write and deliver a speech...
Are you terrified at the thought of making a speech?
Most people are, and the longer they leave it, the worse it gets!
Proposing the toast to the Ladies at a Masonic Festival is pretty daunting, if you haven't done it before.
The big responsibility the Best Man, the proud Father of the Bride, or indeed the shy, but anxious bridegroom has at a wedding?
All of them 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 - so 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. Personalise your speech. Everyone likes to hear a true story.
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, or describing the honour of making the toast; 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'. 'It is an honour to propose this toast' etc. If you can, say something that will immediatly capture the audiences attention.
The Body
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 - Plan to end it!
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.
Read it - Rehearse it
So, now you have it down as a rough draft, this is the perfect time to start reading it 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.
Practice speaking clearly, don't mumble. It's no good giving a great speech if the audience misses most of your words.
Cue Cards
Now put your speech on cue cards using bullet points and number the cards back and front. It is more professional than sheets of paper and you will know where you've got to, when you are interupted by laughter or applause.
Keep it Short
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.
Good Luck!
This is it.... You are ready. Remember to take some deep breaths before you start. This will help calm your nerves. Good luck - You can do it - Go on knock 'em dead!
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Masonic Ladies Festival Speech
The Toast to the Ladies
The toast to the ladies is one of loveliest speeches of all at a Masonic Ladies night. It is usually made by an experienced Mason who knows the President and his lady, but not always. He will describe the ladies in all their splendour and talk of how lovely they look, particularly the Presidents lady. Amongst other things, he will say how it is an honour for him to propose this toast and thank the lodge for giving him the opportunity. He will end by asking everyone to stand for the toast to the ladies.
Wedding Toasts
Father of the Bride
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
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; her beauty and what she means to him, 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
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 embaress and send him up - nothing contentious, but he must not mention former girl friends. Then, he will heap praise on the bridegroom's choice of bride and say how lucky he was to get her.
He may want to read cards, but only those from guests unable to be there. It is also nice for him to express good wishes to the happy couple. A funny story to end always makes a speach.
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.
If you need help a good site is www.hitched.co.uk it has loads of speeches sent in by Best men.
If you can tell a joke try the web site Funny.com
And Finally - The Golden Rules!
* Never tell blue or smutty jokes
* Never mention previous partners of either the Bride or Groom
* Never cause embarressment to family members
Very little or preferably - NO ALCOHOL before speaking ( loads afterwards )
Well, that's all there is to it, good luck, but if you need my help or want to check my availabilty, for your function please click here
For excellent articles on all subjects go to www.pagequest.co.uk
Eric Gill - Toastmaster & Master of Ceremonies
Member of the National Association of Toastmasters
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Other articles on speeches I found to share with you that will be of interest - anything to help..
The Best Man
Standing behind the groom as he waits for his bride in the altar is what a best man normally does. But added to this very simple task comes a not so effortless one - the best man speech.
In a wedding, the speech of the best man is one of the most anticipated parts of the program. Of course, it won't be complete without best man speech jokes to provide the formal celebration with a touch of laid back and fun atmosphere. But how do you exactly define a good joke from a bad one? This article will help you uncover the strategies of making the celebration light and bubbly without the need for some comical offensive remarks.
The first rule in giving best man speech jokes are to make certain that you keep your comic stories as clean as possible. Even if you're close to the groom or the bride and you know they can stand your funny jokes, it still pays to make everything wholesome enough for everybody to contain. Sometimes, best men would be so complacent that they often loose themselves while delivering their jokes in their speech. So, instead of making the whole event lively, you end up having spiteful and intriguing grins from those who witnessed and heard your claim.
The next rule is to take into account the presence of children and elders in the event. Will your jokes be suitable for kids? Will these comic strips be acceptable to elders? These are some of the things you have to consider in making your best man speech. Apart from this, you also have to consider the feelings of the parents and relatives of the newly wed. So the question is, how can you deliver best man speech jokes without rubbing the wrong way and hurting somebody's feelings? Here are few things to do:
1. Think of a funny story (this can be a personal experience with the bride or groom or your own story). From there, try to tell the story in a funny and decent way. Taking your funny jokes for a speech from a personal experience can appear natural and effortless.
2. Familiarity and timing is salient. Practicing your best man speech jokes is necessary but you have to ensure that you don't deliver it in your practice as often as possible. Let it flow naturally and ascertain that proper timing is also well taken into account.
3. Do you know that practicing the joke until it doesn't appeal to you anymore is a sign of efficiency? This simply means that when the time you deliver it in the big day, the joke will come out inherent and unpretentious.
4. Just as jokes play imperative in delivering your best man speech, remember to do away with obscene and malicious tall stories and teasers.
As a final note, enjoy the whole experience. Being best man for a wedding is an honor so you have to bring back the privilege and respect by delivering a heartfelt, sincere, funny but decent best man speech.
How To Give Wedding Speeches That Will Be The Talk Of The Town! by Ted Davidsen
One big tradition at weddings that is both anticipated and dreaded in equal measures are the wedding speeches, but with just a little bit of time and effort you'll be able to deliver the perfect wedding speech, even if you are not used to public speaking.
The speeches at a wedding should offer warmth, humor, and words from the heart; however, they often flop, with off color humor, clichés, and stuttering words. Whether you are the father of the bride, the best man, or even the bridegroom, you need to take time to find out a bit more about making a wedding speech that is more than acceptable - but excellent. So, let's take a look at the three common speeches that occur at a wedding - The Bridegrooms Speech, the Best Man's Speech, and the Father of the Bride's Speech.
Father of the Bride Speech
Usually this speech is the first one that occurs at the wedding. The toastmaster calls on the father, and then it's your moment to shine. This is a time to offer a heartfelt speech proposing happiness and health for your daughter and her new husband. It's fine to have some humor, but it needs to be fitting for the wedding. Avoid putting down your new son-in-law, making crude jokes, or making the speech about yourself. This is a time to show love, admiration, and well wishing for the new couple.
The Bridegroom Speech
Once the father of the bride has concluded his speech, then it's time for the groom to give his speech. This is a time to thank your parents for all they've done for you and a word to the bride's parents is acceptable as well. Also, thanking those who brought gifts is important as well. Basically this speech should be addressed to all in attendance, thanking them for caring enough to come, and it can even be used to thank the wedding party as well. The bridegroom's speech is not the time for hilarious stories or off color jokes. Spending some time mentioning your love for your new wife is also an excellent addition.
Best Man's Speech
This is usually the speech that ends up many people cringe if the best man is less than loquacious. While many feel the need to tell crude stories and rude jokes, this is really the time for an appropriately funny speech that is light hearted and entertaining. This is a great time for some light humor, a few stories about the best man, and some anecdotes, as long as they are appropriate for the wedding. Remember why you are friends with the bridegroom and why he asked you to be best man. What funny stories can you tell that are suitable for the guests? While the idea is to humiliate the groom slightly, you shouldn't go overboard and especially remember that the guests will comprise of a range of age groups and backgrounds and while some of them may appreciate blue humor, there are many who would be deeply offended.
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