You and your buddy have been best friends since grade school. You’ve seen each other through thick and thin, ups and downs and agonies and defeats. And now you must take on one of the most difficult tasks of your life – the Best Man Speech! AAaggghhh!

The Best Man Speech, also known as a toast, is a traditional and important part of nearly every wedding ceremony and will be remembered by all long after the day is over. The speech traditionally honors the Groom, with a brief nod toward the Bride, and congratulates the happy couple.

Delivering a successful speech requires some planning. Most of us are not experienced at public speaking. And few of us look forward to it. Even The President has his speeches prepared in advance and then practices them beforehand.

Consider these basic public speaking tips while preparing your Best Man Speech.

• Ignore the fact that there may be a few hundred people hanging on your every word. Imagine you are speaking to one, single person. Pick one face out of the crowd if you have to, to concentrate your attention on.
• Speak in your normal tone of voice. Don’t use this speech to try out your British Accent.
• Use your own words. If you wouldn’t ordinarily say, “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen”, then don’t start now. You’ll just trip yourself up. Being yourself will help you feel more at ease and you’ll deliver a much better speech.
• Speak clearly and enunciate. That means, don’t drop the Ds and Ts and such from the end of your words.
• Leave out those irritating phrases like, “That being said” and “Ya know” and like, “Like”. Speak like the mature adult you know you can be.

A successful Best Man speech should be respectful and include some humorous anecdotes about the groom. Your comments should be personal and sincere, although appropriate for the general audience, too. Appropriate in that they are not only NOT X rated, but also easily understood by the various age groups present at the reception.Start off by introducing yourself and then maybe include an amusing little story about how you and the groom met or when you first realized you were destined to be best friends forever. Maybe offer up a few humorous stories about the planning of the wedding or your observations on the groom’s choice of wedding attire.

Make sure to compliment the Bride and her attendants, also. And even if you despise your best friends choice of mates, you must behave as if you wish you had found her first! This is HER day and even though you’re speaking for the Groom, she is still the star.

End you speech by toasting the happy couple and wishing them a lifetime of happiness!

Best Man Speeches can vary in length, but 5 to 10 minutes is best. Any shorter and people will wonder about what you DIDN’T say. Any longer, and people will get bored.

One more very important tip: Be sure to remain sober until AFTER you deliver your speech. Nothing looks worse than a sloppy, slurry Best Man trying to remove his own foot from his mouth!