Give your best party speech ever

August 12, 2009

Whether it's for your best man, your parent's 50th wedding anniversary or even your own engagement party, there are going to be many times when you are called upon to make a speech. Here are some tips for the less gregarious who want to make a pleasing verbal impact.

First of all, pick a couple of solid points you'd like to make, like the time the groom fell off the roof or did something else comically embarrassing. Remember, the intention is not to be cruel and always follow a funny story with kind words about the person.

Three anecdotes are probably enough and you can pad these with a general jokey introduction, transition sentences in the middle and something to make everyone cry at the end, out of tenderness, of course. If you're the type that will talk for hours, it is essential to keep a speech to the point as you want to awe not bore your audience. Save the longer stories for later.

Don't be embarrassed to use note cards if you're worried you may get off track. The more casually you hold them, the less obvious they will seem. Just don't pull out a big stack or large pieces of paper as these are unsightly and may be distracting.