Into Motivation

You’re sitting there, hunched over your computer, staring at a blank page. The last speech you wrote was in your Speech 101 class, and that was quite a few years ago. Your buddy finally popped the question to his girlfriend, and he has asked you to be the Best Man. All you have to do is stand next to him at the wedding right? Not exactly. As a Best Man, you hold a lot of responsibility and are an active participant in your friend’s wedding. One of the biggest responsibilities you have is your speech. Where do you start? What should you say? These are very common questions asked by guys like you all the time. Don’t worry, with a little good advice and some practice, you can nail your best man speechs and make your Groom proud.

First off, take a deep breath and relax. This speech needs to be from the heart, not formulated and insincere. Get in a good frame of mind. If you can write your speech while you’re relaxed, you can sound more relaxed when you stand up in front of the crowd and maybe feel a little less nervous. You don’t want your speech to resemble a conglomerate of all the messages in the Hallmark aisle at your local grocery store; it needs to be relevant and personal. Avoid giving your speech a rigid structure. You want to avoid sounding like a 5th grader’s first essay paper. Trust in your personality and have some ingenuity, and you can write an original, creative, and memorable speech that the whole audience will never forget.

There are a couple pretty traditional

elements that are included in a Best Man speech. It’s generally between three to five minutes and is made during the reception. A Best Man speech generally contains an introduction, some valued memories you’ve shared with the Groom, and a toast to the couple. Start with an introduction. This is your chance to establish your relationship with the Groom and introduce yourself to the audience, some of whom may not know who you are. Your relationship to the Groom also sets the tone for the speech. Depending on whether you’re a father, son, or best friend to the Groom, the content and reception of your speech will vary, so keep this in mind.

It’s okay to keep a note card with keywords written on it. That doesn’t mean have a script. Reading from a piece of paper lacks ingenuity and reflects a lack of effort. By keeping an index card with some main ideas on it, you can glance down if you get stuck and quickly pick up where you left off. Try your best not to rely on your note card, though. Practice without it and keep it with you just as a crutch. Just relax and do what you’ve practiced, knowing you have a quick save if you need it.

Everyday people who are terrified of public speeches stand in front of a crowd and deliver their best man speeches without incident. This speech is supposed to be fun, so relax and be yourself. Everyone knows that making a best mans speeches is hard, so practice all you can and do your best.