Delivering a speech is nerve-wracking at the best of times, never mind on your wedding day! So we spoke to professional speech writer George Elder for his tips to keeping your cool and getting it right.
1) DO IT IN PLENTY OF TIME
Don’t procrastinate! Lots of grooms-to-be put writing their speech off until the last minute because they’re worried that what they write won’t be good enough, but putting it off until the night before isn’t going to give you magical writing powers. You don’t have to be a great scribe to write something meaningful. Start early and you’ll have plenty of time to get it right.
2) BE ORIGINAL
“Finding jokes on the internet or downloading speeches is not a good thing to do – the jokes and anecdotes on them are random and don’t relate to your wedding,” George says. “Humour is fine, but you should find it instead in things you have done in the past.”
3) GIVE IT MEANING
You’ll be expected to extend thanks to your guests, bridesmaids, parents, and anyone else who has helped make your day special. And then it will be time to talk about your lovely new wife! “Think not about the speech but about the relationship that you have, and write from that perspective. What happens then comes from the heart,” George says.
4) WRITE IT DOWN
Break it down and write it on prompt cards. “If you write it down verbatim then unless you really concentrate, you may read too quickly and stumble over the words,” George says. However, it’s worth having a full copy of your speech with you in case your mind goes blank. Type it up in an easy-to-read font (like Arial) with a space-and-half between each line.
5) STAY STRESS-FREE
“There’s a statistic that says more people are scared of public speaking than flying. If something happens on an aircraft, you’re in trouble. But if something happens when delivering a wedding speech, you’re not!” George laughs. If you’re really struggling, consider asking a professional speech writer, like George perhaps, for help. They’ll talk to you, find out what you want to say and put it into words. And remember that the audience is on your side – so try to relax!
