Humor, as we know, is the trademark of a successful Best Man speech, you have hopefully,by now, read my previous post on The Top 20 Best Man Jokes, so humor will not be a difficulty for you, however another lighthearted method of providing laughter in your Best Man speech is to include a short section ” I Knew The Groom was in Love When..” then include some of the lines below;

..when he bought his own cologne instead of borrowing mine all the time.

..when he went on a diet and actually kept to it this time around.

..when he asked me if I knew where the finest jewelry store was.

..when he evolved into a smiling, happy, carefree person, rather than the grumpy guy I knew so well.

..when he traded nights out in the pub for romantic candlelit dinners.

You could finish this portion of your speech with a nice compliment about the Bride like “it is easy to see why John fell in love with Sarah, as she is a gorgeous person not too mention being a stunning beautiful lady.”

As ever it is vital not to offend so keep your comments good-natured and include a compliment to the Bride, you can then relax, secure in the knowledge that your Best Man speech will live long in the memory.

Wedding speeches, in particular Best Man speeches, can test the nerves of the most accomplished public speakers for a variety of reasons. With some it is due to a lack of preparation, with others it might be a lack of confidence in the content of their Best Man speech and with others it may be a classic case of stage-fright when their turn arrives to speak. So today we look at the key secrets to a successful Best Man speech and how you can deliver on the Big Day.

We have all heard Best Man speeches where a vain Best Man tries to be a professional comedian, straining every sinew in search of a faint hum of laughter, or been to weddings where the Best Man is the complete opposite, hardly budging from his chair reading out a droll pre-scripted speech. You may have attended weddings where the Best Man tries too hard in every sense, he inserts too many jokes, too many one-liners and talks far too quickly, eager to include every minute detail of his friendship with the Groom in his speech. These speeches can have moderate success but more often than not they fall flat on their faces, so with that let us unveil the secrets to a successful Best Man speech;

Stick to the Format of a Best Man Speech

Sticking to the correct format is vital, as otherwise, an essential part of the speech may be overlooked. Should you omit one crucial part of your Best Man speech, then that is what it will be remembered for, no matter how good the rest of your speech may be. For example, should you give a world-class speech but forget to compliment the Bride, you will have a very long night ahead of you that’s for certain.

Be Yourself

It is vital that you don’t try to force someone else’s personality into your speech. If you are not someone who enjoys telling jokes and recanting witty anecdotes then standing up in front of a large audience is not the place to try to tell them, instead stay true to your personality and give a sincere speech, include compliments where jokes may have been and feel your confidence surge as you get loud applause for complimenting the Bride, and the parents of the Bride and Groom not to mention discussing your friendship with the Groom.

On the other hand if you are a Best Man who is comfortable telling jokes and providing a funny speech, then by all means do so, just remember sometimes less is better, so 3 funny jokes will be received a lot better than 6 mediocre ones.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Practicing may sound blindingly obvious, but within 30 seconds of a Best Man getting up to speak, the whole room will know whether he has practiced or not. Take time to practice your speech, get comfortable with the content and get used to practicing your speech out loud. The effort you put in, in preparing for your speech will reap dividends on the wedding day, take time to practice, after all, practice makes perfect.

If you are looking for more ideas for content for your speech try these two posts;

Telegrams, Faxes and Emails, Secret Weapons in giving a Great Best Man Speech

Using Props to Enhance Your Best Man Speech

A Best Man has a pivotal role to play at the wedding, apart from the Bride and Groom all eyes will be on you, so enjoy your moment as Best Man and give them a Best Man speech to remember.

Using song lyrics from famous songs is a popular method of adding content to your Best Man speech, particularly if the Groom is a fan of music. Typically there are 3 instances in your speech where this works well;

When you are complimenting the Bride;
example-Even Eric Clapton’s classic wedding song “Wonderful Tonight” fails to accurately describe the Bride tonight as she doesn’t just look wonderful, she is perfection personified.

When you are poking fun at the Groom;
example-John looks great in his tuxedo today but back in the 1980’s his fashion-sense was not so great, it can be best described in the title of one of the biggest songs of the era “Dude Looks Like A Lady” by Aerosmith

When you are commenting on the wedding day itself;
example-in closing my speech I would like to echo the words of Lou Reed “it’s been a perfect day, I’m glad I spent it with you.”

In between the jokes and the compliments insert a one-liner or two relating to songs and the applause you hear afterwards will be music to your ears.