Being funny is an essential component of successful best man speeches so you should be certain to know who is fair game for funny jokes and all-round humor in your best man speech.  A previous article looked at a funny best man speech, today we look at the people that you can joke about in your speech, although be careful to ensure the humor is good-natured rather than cutting.

1. The Groom

The groom is without question the person who should on the receiving end of the majority of your funny jokes, embarrassing stories and funny one-liners.  In order to avoid offending anyone respectful humor should be used but do not let your best man speech pass by without at least one or two anecdotes that will entertain the wedding guests and leave the groom blushing.

2. The Groomsmen

Making fun of the groomsmen in a lighthearted manner is always well-received by guests at a wedding.  It also allows you to add a fresh twist to your speech as most people will expect the groom to be on the receiving end of the jokes, so a quick best man joke or two at the groomsmen’s expense should be in your speech for sure.

3. Yourself

If you are best man then display some modesty when giving your best man speech to endear yourself to the wedding guests.  A funny story that leaves the guests laughing at your expense will be sure to provide you with great laughter during your speech.

4. Your Other Friends

Given that your are the groom’s best man then chances are that you share the same friends.  If this is the case then ensure your speech has a line or two where your friends are included in the humor.  Be wary not to tell jokes that only you and your friends will appreciate, make the humor understandable for all.

5. The Groom (again)

He may be on our list twice but that is because of the overwhelmingly important role that he takes in your speech.  Be funny by considering the use of  funny best man props and ensure that his first hours as a newly married man begin with a combination of laughter and love.

                                                                                                                                            When being humorous make sure you know the topics to avoid in a best man speech. You should also compliment the groom, thank the groomsmen for all their help and be sure not to embarrass the bride with any of your comments.

Best Man speeches are often judged by their humor, their wit and the mixture of loving and funny stories that they contain. Another important element is the delivery of the speech, great content is one thing but a mundane speaker will find it difficult to bond with the wedding guests.

As Best Man your jokes need to be funny, your stories heartfelt and your toast uplifting, you also need to ensure you speak for the right amount of time and that you have omitted nobody from the speech. As anyone who has ever given a Best Man speech before will confirm, they are not an easy to master and with that in mind over the next 4 weeks I will be counting down the Top 10 tips for Best Man speeches. We begin our countdown with numbers 10 to 8, in our quest to help you create funny Best Man speeches that will provide memories of a lifetime.

Best Man Speeches Tip Number 10
Create an outline.

Like a good book your speech needs to have a beginning, middle, and end, unstructured speeches that don’t flow in a smooth manner will only end-up confusing the wedding guests, so the importance of working from an outline when creating your speech is essential. From your perspective, once you have your outline plotted, you will find your creative juices begin to flow and the speech-writing process will become less daunting. Your outline should contain some of the following elements;

1) opening lines / intro.
2) welcome everyone.
3) people to thank (here express gratitude to those who have made special efforts in the planning of the wedding).
4) people to praise (people to praise include the Bride, the Bridesmaids, the Bride and Groom’s parents, along with the Groom).
5) short story about the Groom (can be funny or embarrassing just ensure there is nothing too offensive).
6) story about the Groom as a friend.
7) heartfelt story about the Bride and what makes her a special person.
8) loving story about the Bride and Groom.
9) congratulatory toast to end your speech.

Short Best Man jokes and wedding one-liners should also be included at various intervals within your speech.

Best Man Speeches Tip Number 9
Get off to a confident start.

It is normal to feel apprehensive about giving a speech in public particularly a Best Man speech where a lot is expected of you. A great way to build confidence is to begin your speech without referring to your notes whilst smiling and looking directly at the wedding guests. Building a rapport is important and direct eye-contact and a smile will help you attain this. It is unrealistic to expect to deliver your whole speech without referring to your notes however, so do have your cue cards with you, but make sure you have your opening lines memorized to help you engage the audience from the start.

You want to deliver a speech that appeals to everyone so if you are telling a funny story about the Groom and your speech includes a handful of funny jokes then balance your speech out by opening with some serious heartfelt remarks before launching into humor. Don’t try to be too clever when opening your speech, a confident opening will provide you with the perfect platform to deliver your Best Man speech in style.

Best Man Speeches Tip Number 8
Don’t forget to introduce yourself.

While you can expect that the majority of the guests know who you are they may be unsure of your relationship to the Groom, so take a minute to introduce yourself. Refer to your relationship to the Groom here as this allows you one of the first opportunities to add humor to your speech. This humor should expressed as a short one-liner so you can save your longer stories for later in your speech. While introducing yourself, it is also a nice touch, and one that will be appreciated, to include your Groomsmen in your introduction.

Next week we continue through our journey of tips for Best Man speeches by revealing numbers, 7, 6 and 5 in our countdown.

7 Tips For Best Man Speeches.

As anyone who has been Best Man before can confirm, the thoughts of giving a Best Man’s speech can be enough to keep you awake at night with worry. Today’s post looks at 7 tips to help you become a more confident wedding speaker and will enable you to give a Best Man speech that you can be proud of.

1.  It is common for nervous Best Men to speak quicker than normal so take your time when speaking.

2.  Make sure you let everyone know your relationship to the Groom,as there is a chance not everyone at the wedding will be aware of who you are.

3.  Pause for effect, after telling a Best Man joke or after delivering an anecdote, to allow for the wedding guests reaction.

4.  Don’t read your speech, have it written on cue cards and refer to them as you need to, each paragraph should have one word highlighted to serve as as a cue for you when you glance at the card.

5.  Include a section in your speech where you vividly praise the Bride, this will be well-received by all in attendance and should guarantee an immediate round of applause.

6.  Personalize your speech by including a short story about the Groom that not many people will have heard before.

7.  Be aware of the structure of a Best Man speech to help ensure that you don’t omit anyone from your speech.

Once you have written, and rehearsed the important lines of your speech then you will find that those sleepless nights are soon replaced by carefree sound sleeps as you look forward to the wedding and unleashing a powerful Best Man speech.