If someone requests that you make a speech at their wedding, it is very crucial that you do not mess it up. This is one thing I can boldly tell you because I had to make a speech at my friend’s rehearsal dinner last year and I was lucky enough to do it smoothly.
However, we have all been to that wedding where someone how to ruin the speech even though every other thing was perfect.
Just last week I was at a wedding where the maid of honor was supposed to give a speech, but instead, she runs us through a list of all the embarrassing people the bride had dated in the past ??.
At another wedding, the groomsman had nothing planned and ended up saying absolutely rubbish for about 30 minutes or so ?. One thing I have noticed with successful wedding speeches is that even though they are different, they all have some things in common.
And even though every individual has a different level of confidence when it comes to public speaking, specific tips will help you speak as confident as any motivational speaker would.
So, now that we know how important giving a flawless speech at a wedding is, we can proceed to help you ace yours.
1. Do not rely on inspiration; rely solely on preparation
If a tree falls in a forest and there is no one around to hear it can we say it made a sound? No, because no one heard it.
Can you count how many times you have sung a lovely song in your bathroom shower or delivered an exceptionally amazing speech in front of your bedroom mirror? Many times!. Every one of us has found ourselves in such situations before.
But no matter how good your song was or your speech in front of your mirror was none of it counts because there was nobody there to hear it.
While sometimes we get inspiration when we are alone in our bedrooms or in our bathrooms you cannot rely on it when you stand in front of 1500 people at your brother’s wedding reception it takes a lot of courage to talk in front of people, and that is why you need to prepare. There’s no shame in using note cards when giving a speech.
As a matter of fact, during my friend’s rehearsal dinner, I had cards with me to remind me of the things that were important say and the things to leave out.
Maybe I was lucky because during the rehearsal there was family, there was wine, and there was everything that would make even the best speech giver make a mess of himself. But somehow, I was able to pull through.
Maybe I was lucky because during the rehearsal there was family, there was wine, and there was everything that would make even the best speech giver make a mess of himself, but somehow I was able to pull through.
Which means if you’re prepared, there is no way you would mistakenly say things that you shouldn’t say doing your speech.
2. Humour is a prime factor
Can you be naturally funny? Then laughter is good in this case. Humour is one way to get people to enjoy your speech and actually like you.
Begin your address with some appropriate humour so that you can get the guests laughing with you and willing to listen to whatever it is you have to say going forward.
When making a speech about the bride or groom, do not make the mistake of using any of the “not so right” words such as poop or penis because some older people will be present and they might not find it funny.
You can give a joke about a time you went out with them, and they did or said something funny but make sure it is not embarrassing.
3. Tell your guests you can be wise too
Once you have won the hearts of all your guests with your humour, the next thing you want to do is make them know that you are a descendant of King Solomon.
Give them some of your wisdom so that they can do some deep thinking as you standing in front of them.
Your job here is to make the guests experience all forms of emotions except fear. Let them experience laughter and let them experience tears. Follow up on every joke with something serious like a quote or a question.
Sometimes, picking a line from a song or a poem is an easy way to get your audience to think you are a sensible person.
4. When you don’t have something nice to say
This is a possibility, but what kind of person would you be not to have something nice to say about the bride and groom even though they have chosen you to give a speech at their wedding?
If the bride or groom wanted you to give an address on their big day, make sure that you have lots of beautiful things to say about both of them.
If you can’t think of anything yet, start looking at them closely and finding reasons why their lover is perfect so that on that day you can share this with everyone. You do not want to make the mistake of making them feel like they made a wrong choice by choosing you.
5. Two drinks, a maximum of five minutes
So you have taken your time to prepare the speech you would be delivering, and you are ready to give it your best shot. One mistake you do not want to make is spoiling everything by getting drunk or rambled up.
It’s OK to have a drink or two before your speech but make sure you do not take more than two cups so that you are only warmed up enough to talk and you do not end up slurring your speech or making jokes that are not appropriate for the event.
These are the few tips I have been able to gather together, but if you have other ones that you feel will be useful, please share them with us in the comments section below.
