How can you give a great wedding speech?
Did you know that public speaking is one of the most highly feared things that humans do? It’s up there with the fear of death and fear of losing a loved one. That’s pretty crazy to think about.
To make matters worse, you could write a thousand books on public speaking and it still wouldn’t be enough to help people get over their fear.
And giving a wedding speech is no different. You’re going to be standing in front of a crowd (whether it’s a large one or a small one depends on the size of your wedding), you’re going to have to speak for at least a few minutes and you’re going to have to hold your composure.
Failure is not an option!
These fears are all self-imposed, as are most fears, but that still doesn’t make things any easier for you…
The good news is that the crowd listening to your wedding speech really don’t care how or where you got your information from. Chacnes are, they won’t even get half of the stuff you say because your speech is tailored for the couple getting married.
And if you’re the maid of honor or best man, the speech should be more of a personal toast to your newly married friends or family. Here are some tips you can use to make a great speech.
Know Your Topic
I can’t stress this point enough – it is absolutely crucial that you know your topic. Even if it’s a very simple one about all the years you’ve known the bride… Be sure that you know the points to talk about.
For example, think about your lives together in high school or college or whatever. What happened in each of those years? What are some great memories that you want to bring up that will guarantee a positive reaction from the bride to be?
Bringing up just one great memory you two shared together can be enough to leave a lasting impression.
These types of topics should be 100% focused on your best friend that’s getting married. Don’t even worry about the crowd when you’re talking about these. Your job here is to bring out great feelings for the newly weds and that’s it.
Be Familiar With The Crowd
This tip is useful if public speaking makes you very nervous. Simply take the time to walk around and visit all of the guests that have attended the wedding. I like to think of this as an exercise because it’s a great way to boost your confidence before speaking time. You’ll be more familiar with the crowd and that alone makes things easier.
You’ll also meet new people and who knows? You might meet a great connection that can be quite useful down the road.
This is a simple yet useful tip that you can do prior to giving the speech.
Avoid the ‘Naked’ Theory
This is another quick and simple tip. I’ve seen books out there talk about how you should imagine your audience being naked… Not only is this ineffective, I honestly believe that it will hurt your chances of giving a good speech.
Why?
Well, we’re all different. Maybe it will work for you… BUT I know that for me, I simply couldn’t do it. I’d probably end up thinking to much about it and getting grossed out when I glanced over at grandpa.
Instead, I suggest that you take the audience somewhat seriously and imagine the crowd as a group of individuals that have come to hear you speak. I think this mindset is much better.
Speak Slowly and Avoid ‘Ums’
This is where I struggle the most. I tend to speak way too fast and I end up saying ‘um’ and ‘uh’ quite often. It looks and sounds bad, and I still remember my professors in college forcing me to stop and start over except at a slower pace.
And you know what? It does work. If you find yourself getting lost and fumbling on words, simply stop yourself and take a deep breath. Then continue at a slower pace.
Speaking slowly rebuilds your confidence and allows your brain to think. The reason you’re speaking fast is because you’re nervous and it’s understandable.
When you catch yourself, stop, take a deep breath and continue on at a slower pace. Besides, speakers that speak slowly are able to hold the audience’s attention much more than others as it shows that you are confident in your speaking abilities.
Animate Your Wedding Speech
This is a tip that I actually discovered from great public speakers. They tend to move their arms around and their body language helps speak the words that are coming out of their mouths.
Now a wedding speech is a very simple speech that doesn’t require a lot of time. But if you find yourself struggling while on the stage, start moving your body and using gestures to convey your words. These are what the most powerful communicators have always done throughout time.
Check out 1 Hour Wedding Speeches – a new guide written by me and my friend Jeff that will teach you how to write any speech in less than an hour, not just maid of honor speeches.
I hope that these tips will help you with your speech. There are plenty of other topics we could cover, like speech writing and all of that, but I’ll save that for another day. You’ve got enough information here to help half of the battle.
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Another important tip is not to have too much caffeine (or alcohol) before your speech! You’ll either get too jitterish with caffeine or stumble your words with beer.