I think if you are doing a best man speech or any other speech of that nature then I am not sure whether using programs like PowerPoint would be the right thing. However, if you are doing a speech for work or at a society or perhaps as school or university, then definitely it is a good idea.

Programs like PowerPoint are great tools to help you remember where you are with your speech or presentation and are a visual aid to make it that little bit more interesting.

If you are thinking about using it for a best mans speech then I would include some pictures and especially ones of the groom and ones that are particularly compromising and where he is a child – these always get a laugh and help to take the focus away from you.

If this is you and you have a speak to do or perhaps a presentation to make at work then you might like to consider going to a hypnotherapist.

Hypnotherapy taps in to your subconscious and with a few positive suggestions it can help many people to give them the added confidence to make a speech.

An example of a hypnotherapist and this one is based in Bournemouth can be found by clicking here – Dorset Hypnotherapy.

Next to the fear of death – the fear of doing public speaking is top of the list. In fact, more people are more fearful of public speaking than they are of dying, perhaps this is because dying is something that most people cannot really think of happening to them, whereas a speech is must more “REAL”.

It is good to add humour to your speech where you can and if the circumstances are appropriate, but never force it and if you don’t feel up to making jokes then steer clear of trying to become the instant comedian!

Don’t worry about the fact that you will feel nervous just before speaking, as everyone does – even the likes of Elvis Presley did his 1,000 steps before a show to prepare himself and to help calm his nerves! So do whatever it takes to prepare yourself beforehand. Being nervous is natural and is a good thing so use this to your advantage.

Practice your speech beforehand is a good thing and doing so in front of a mirror might help and if you can run through your speech with a loved one so that they can do some “constructive” criticism for you.

Always remember that most people will be feeling for you and will quite understand the feelings you are going through and they will not be expecting a professional speech – so relax and try to enjoy it.

If you have been asked to be best man at a wedding you might also be thinking about how you go about writting your best man speech!

You may be the groom or the father of the bride and also need to write a speech for an up-coming wedding, so now is the time to start doing just that and good luck with it!

If you have comments about any subject please feel free to comment on articles already posted.

In the UK the father of the bride normally speaks first followed by the groom and then the best man, however, in Scotland and at a Jewish weddings the speeches between the groom and the best man are swapped.

Really and truly it does not matter at the end of the day, except for if you are a traditionalist, then you might want to follow the normal protocol, as follows:

Father of the bride speech

The father of the bride is there to start the wedding speech process which normally takes place at then end of the meal, at the reception of the wedding. However, as part of the role of a good best man the speeches should ideally be introduced by the best man and the best way to attract everybody’s attention is to tap lightly on a glass with a spoon.

It is likely that the original thought behind this tradition is that the father of the bride traditionally paid for the wedding and sometimes still does. It is only fare that he gets the first opportunity to have a say and be first to do so. If however, the other parents or indeed any other family members have contributed to the cost of the wedding it is the father of the bride’s role to thank these people at this point to acknowledge their contribution to the cost of the wedding.

The basis behind his speech is to talk about his daughter and acknowledging that she is going out into the big wide world and that he is handing over care to her new partner. Fathers and daughters are always thought to have very special relationship so to give her up to another man is one of the hardest things for him to do. The father of the bride should also officially welcome the groom into his own family and it might be appropriate at this stage to talk about how he first met the groom, adding any appropriate jokes to keep things light hearted is fine. Of course weddings are all about the bringing together of two families so the father of the bride should welcome the joining of the two families.

For details of what to include in the father of the bride speech click this link

The grooms speech

Traditionally in the UK the best man’s speech comes straighter after the father of the bride’s speech and that of the best man. It is a chance for you to thank everybody, and not least the parents and all the people who have made the wedding day happen. More than likely the bride will have played are large part in the organisation so don’t for get to thank her too.

Also, these days it is by no means uncommon for the bride to speak and in some cases the bride and groom can do a joint speech. If the bride is going to speak there is no tradition as to what she should say, so this is totally up to you as a couple. There is nothing wrong in the both of you doing the thank yous, for example.

An alternative is that if for whatever reason the father of the bride is not present, then the bride might want to speak first in the traditional father of the bride slot. At then end of the day there are no rules, just traditions so it is your wedding so you can decide what happens and in what sequence.

If the bride does not join in with the speech is important to remember that all your words should be as if from both of you. Try starting your speech with “My wife and I” or perhaps “My NEW wife and I” or another alternative is “Mrs X and I” where the X is your wife’s new surname – this is likely to bring some smiles or laughs to set you speech of to a good start.

For details of what to include in the grooms speech click this link

The Best Man Speech

If you are about to be best man at a wedding, I don’t want to put added pressure on you, but you probably realise that of all the speeches at a wedding reception, the best man’s speech is the one that everybody is waiting for.

All speeches at a wedding should be light hearted and good humoured with the odd joke or funny comment to make the guests laugh. However, the best man’s speech has traditionally been the speech to draw the most laughs and is normally there to humiliate the groom. Don’t worry about preparing a professional speech or about being a comedian, as you will find that you will get laughs from even the slightest quip. Remember also that a number of the guests will have been consuming an amount of alcohol and will have just eaten, so they will be relaxed.

Also, by the time you have to make your speech and on the assumption the wedding does not have a master of ceremonies, you will have stood up to introduce the speeches before yours, so you will at this stage be familiar with the audience.

The role of best man has many sides, you are there as the best friend to the groom and although your speech role is to humiliate him you are also there to support the couple on their important day as the head of all the wedding day assistants, like the bridesmaids.

For details of what to include in the best man’s speech click this link

Things to include in your “Best Man’s” speech, as a must and as a bare minimum:

- Firstly you should thank the groom for his speech, and the father of the bride for his.
- It is a good idea to also thank all for attending, even though the groom and father of the bride have already done so.
- Give up a toast for both of the parents of the couple and you need to thank them on behalf of the bride and groom.
- If requested you will need to read out any telegrams, emails or cards that the bride and groom ask you to read out.
- Make a final toast and a quick mention to wish the happy couple all the best for the future.

If you do the above and if you are not used to speaking then this will be fine to finish there. You might not be happy with trying to be funny, as this can fall flat where you try to tell a joke that is either not funny of delivered so that no one laughs. However, if you fancy making your speech a little bit more like the traditional best man speech, then add the following items:

- Explain to room how the bride and groom are as a couple together, how they met and go on to tell any stories you have chosen about them.
- Tell a funny story about your friend and put as much emotion into your story as you can. Emotion in a story will ensure the best laughs and will ensure your audience will enjoy your story and find it funny. When choosing a funny story, test it out on a friend and avoid stories that include ex-girl-friends, as this might make things a little awkward for your friend.
- You might want to add to your speech details of what the groom is like, how you met and what he has achieved.
- Include in your speech about the bride and explain to your audience what she is like and what impact she has made on his life, you might want to make this bit light-hearted and can usually get some laughs here.

Make sure you practice your speech beforehand and a good place to practice is in front of a mirror. It is natural to be nervous and I recommend you have at least one drink beforehand to help relax you, but don’t get drunk before you speak as this will not look good if you are slurring your words.

Keep your speech to within 10 or so minutes and don’t ramble on and on, as you will bore your audience – Good luck to you.

The way that I have dealt with this in the past is to do lots of positive thinking and to go into a separate room and let out my fears by shouting as loud as I dare depending on the location and who is around.

This does work for me, but it would be good to hear how others control their fear of public speaking, which is a fear that more have higher up than death! Which when you think about it is crazy – speaking in front of people will not kill you and yet we fear it so much.

We have all been to that wedding or business event when someone gets up that just loves the sound of their own voice! When this happens the whole room wants to shoot themselves for the boredom.

We want to hear your funny stories of how you managed to endure one of these speeches, where was it and who was it – was it the best man speech or perhaps the father of the bride? You might have even managed to sneek out.

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Your speak could be for a wedding best man speach, father of the bride speech or a birthday speech or perhaps a business speech! It does not matter whereever you heard it or gave it we want to know.