Best Man speeches are notorious for Best Men trying to over-complicate their speeches. Once you stick to The Format of a Best Man speech, then just build your speech around it. I have previously posted about using Props in your Best Man speech and including your Groomsmen in order to insert more one-liners  into your speech but beyond that, keep your speech simple yet funny and sincere at times.

Ideally you need your speech to fall into one of two categories: 1-Funny yet warm 2-Sincere yet witty

For the “Funny yet Warm” speech maybe talk about The Groom’s hobbies, lack of sporting ability, and a funny story or two from his childhood, feel free to add to the story for comic-effect.

For the “Sincere yet Witty” speech perhaps speak about your spin on why he chose you to be Best Man, how he has changed since meeting The Bride or talk about how the happy couple met. You can use anagrams to illustrate points for example- marriage is an anagram of “a grim era”

Irrespective of which category your speech falls into, I strongly recommend reading, or for some of you re-reading, an earlier post about ways to personalize your Best Man speech. You should also have a few obligatory Best Man jokes in your speech.

Best Man speeches are highly-anticipated by everyone except The Groom so you should look forward with anticipation yourself and enjoy the honor and privilege of being Best Man secure in the knowledge you are on the best site to garner all the tools you need to produce a dream Best Man speech.

A factor that weighs heavily in the Best Man’s favor when giving a Best Man speech is that the Groom’s speech takes place before the Best Man’s speech. The running order of wedding speeches allows the Best Man to counter the funny comments or jokes made by the Groom at the Best Man’s expense.

You, of course, will not have access to the Groom’s speech so will not be aware of what he will say.The best way to prepare for this is to think of any regular jokes or comments that Groom consistently makes about you. Does he regularly make jokes about your weight, your lack of sporting prowess, your poor fashion taste? If any of these sound familiar then be prepared that he may make reference to them in his speech.

Similarly is there a story from your past that the Groom recounts on a regular basis? If so there is a high possibility he will insert it into his speech. You cannot, and should not, attempt to find out what is in the Groom’s speech beforehand, just smile broadly and laugh heartily along with everyone else, then reap revenge when it is time for you to deliver your Best Man speech.

Before you begin your Best Man speech you can counter by saying something lighthearted like:

 ”Thank you very much John, the hours we spent together working on your speech paid-off handsomely“

or

 ”Thank you for that speech, John, working pieces of fiction into your speech served you well.”

The friendly, fun interaction between the Groom and Best Man is an integral part of the wedding speech format, so laugh a lot and enjoy the day.

An important part of a Best Man speech is building a rapport with your audience. Whilst going around personally introducing yourself to the wedding guests is worthy, it is not practical. However building a relationship and breaking down the barriers between you and your audience is vital. If you are Master of Ceremonies (M.C) at the wedding then as everybody settles down for their meal, and before you hand the microphone over to the first speaker, normally, the father of the Bride, welcome everybody to the event, announce your name and explain that you are Best Man.

Other ways of introducing yourself to the wedding guests can be done via your Best Man speech. The method of introducing yourself will be dependent on your style of Best Man speech.

If you are giving a sincere speech you introduce yourself by saying “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to todays very special occasion, my name is Mike, and I am very proud to be John’s Best Man but even more proud that I have been able to call him a friend for the last 10 years”.

If you are giving a funny speech then say something along the lines of “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mike and I am your Best Man today, and for those of you who do know me, you may wish you didn’t by the end of the evening”.

For a lighthearted speech you might say something like “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen my name is Mike and I am delighted to be Best Man today. Should I meet any of you at the bar after the speech then my full name is Mike Wouldulikeadrink. Seriously today is a fantastic day and I am ably assisted by my fellow Groomsmen, Kevin, Jack and Brian”.

It is vital to ensure your introduction complements your style of Best Man speech, and remember to keep it short, then you can focus your attention on complimenting the Bride and your relationship with the Groom.