Tips for Acing Your Best Man Speech

It can be daunting to be asked to make a best man speech. Perhaps public speaking is your idea of hell, yet you want to deliver a phenomenal speak so that you don’t let down your best friend.

Most best man speeches veer towards the comedy side, but being funny is not always as easy as some may be led to believe. You will also need to get some nice stories in there (think tearjerkers), so your entire speech can’t be purely abuse aimed at your best pal. Do take care to not offend or insult your close friend.

Following are some handy tips to help you navigate the task of making a great best man speech:

Make Plenty of Eye Contact

The most important piece of advice that we can give you is to look up. The worst best man speeches are the ones where the speaker simply keeps reading and doesn’t take his eyes off the paper in front of him.

No matter how hilarious or emotional your speech is, your words will be lost in the spaces between people if you fail to make eye contact. Having bullet points instead of sentences is a better idea if you find yourself tempted to look down.

A stand up speech

Best man speeches that are funny go down a storm but if stand up is not your greatest strength then you shouldn’t force it. Begin with a joke and select a few anecdotes but write a speech which is sincere, relaxed and emotional. Delivering awkward jokes nervously certainly doesn’t qualify as a good best man speech.

Do not get (too) Drunk

You may believe that having a drink will be a great idea as alcohol or any intoxicant lowers our inhibition. But worse than having a forced funny speech is to deliver a slurry speech which guests cannot understand.

Avoid having it on the phone

After phones have come into the picture, seeing people read from paper has become a rare sight. Some people even read out their vows from tablets and phones but it sends the impression that you have written it on your way to the wedding itself.

However, bringing your speech on paper gives the impression that you are well prepared and ready to deliver a breathtaking speech. The guests will think that you have put a lot of thought into it.

Practice makes perfect

You should treat the best man speech in the same way as you treated poetry narrations in school. Merely saying it aloud will tell you if it sounds exactly as it did in your head. Moreover, rehearsing your wedding speech will give it a better flow and the possibility of you stumbling over your words will also be lower.

Know your audience

Embarrassing stories of the groom and his college high jinks make for the best best-man speech material that you can ever find. But what you shouldn’t forget is that his new in-laws, parents, extended family and his boss will be present there too.

You must also not upset his better half by bringing up the tales of his former flings. Sharing your feelings about your best pal (the good ones obviously!) will be far more endearing than roasting him for all his drunken adventures.

Watch your nerves

The thought of giving a speech is absolutely terrifying. So take a deep breath and take a moment. When you hold the mic in your hand you may feel nervous and in such times you should take a few deep breaths to gather  yourself before you begin to speak.

Remember to keep some water nearby and if you need to catch a breath, just take a sip. You will be fine once you ease into it and you should also remember to speak slowly.

Read the room

If a particular story isn’t landing where it should or if the speech is dragging on you may have to think on your feet, nip it in the bud and move on to the next point. It is definitely easier said than done but the fastest way to kill a party vibe is to crack an awkward joke or an anecdote that is going nowhere.

Obligatory Mentions

A nice thing to mention as the second or third point in the speech would be to comment on how good each person in the room is looking. You should also keep a special shout-out for the bride and the groom. Saying a few sweet lines for the important members of the family is a good idea too.You may be tempted to talk about what reportedly happened on the hen do but remember to keep all the embarrassing details out of your speech as you really don’t want to humiliate or anger anyone. Drama should be avoided at all costs for any wedding!