Delivering a speech

with confidence

What are the Golden Rules for delivering a speech at a wedding with total confidence?

Simple because there is only one -

Practice, practice and practice

The best speeches are ……. Short, easy to listen to and funny!

Let’s face it professional comedians make it all look so easy, don’t they? The words seem to slide from their lips with effortless ease and they give out the impression that they can talk for hours on any subject. We all think that they are gifted with being naturally funny and are able to just ad lib their way through anything.

So what’s their secret?

Well I’ll tell you ….

They spend hours preparing and practicing.

It’s like anything if you want to be really good at something you have to work at it. And delivering a speech is no exception. Ask any sporting great how they get to be at the top of their game and stay there – they will all tell you that they keep working at it. They keep practicing each element of their craft to improve their individual skills in order to improve their overall game.

David Beckham is a prime example. He has a natural gift – a natural affinity as a footballer but throughout his life from a very early age he has worked hard and spent hours and hours practicing. And I think we all agree – it has paid off!

So the message here is don’t leave it till the last minute to make a start on your speech. Start your homework early, prepare well and practice and it will pay off for you too.

Preparation

When preparing to deliver a speech there are a number of things that you need to do before you write a single word. Begin the process by deciding on the format of your speech. Do you want to deliver a speech that’s traditional, short and sweet, hilariously funny or something that’s really out of the ordinary. Think about your own style and what you would be comfortable doing. It’s important to be yourself. We’ve got some great speech ideas to help you decide.

Next do your research. Think about the person you are going to be talking about. What do you really know about them? What do you love about them? What makes this couple so special? To help you get the best material for your speech check out these interesting speech topics.

Once you’ve got all your material and you’re satisfied that you have uncovered everything about your subject(s) that you need, you are now ready to put together a speech outline

Your speech outline provides the basis of your speech and gives it some structure to help you start writing your speech with style.

If you are using one of our free speeches it is advisable to still do a little research. You may want to add a few lines of your own. Delivering a speech that's already written makes your life a whole lot easier. All you have to do is perfect the delivery! Check out our FREE best man speech.

Coping with Nerves

Everyone feels nervous when it comes to standing up in front of a crowd and delivering a speech. It’s perfectly natural. Your palms may get a bit sweaty, your heart starts to race and your mouth feels like the inside of a bird cage!

Don’t panic! What’s the worst thing that could happen? You are only delivering a speech. It’s not life threatening. We’ve got some great tips to help you keep calm and use those nerves to your advantage.

It also helps to choose the type of speech you are going to deliver carefully. If you are really worried about trying to learn the whole thing by heart – then DON’T. There’s no need to put yourself under that sort of pressure. Deliver a speech that’s written to be read straight off the page. Comic verse is ideal for this. Our free best man speech is a great example.

Voice coaching

On the big day the quality of your voice is going to be crucial to your success. Let’s look at how you can coach yourself to use your voice more effectively when delivering your speech.

One of the most useful things you can do to help yourself is to listen to the sound of your own voice. The best way to do this is to either record yourself or video yourself, ideally both. If you record just your voice it will make it easier for you to really tune into how you sound rather than get distracted with how you look. We’ll deal with that in a moment.

Most people hate listening to the sound of their own voice. That’s perfectly normal. The thing to consider is that the voice you hear on the recorder is the voice that everyone else hears. When you speak, the sound you hear is distorted by your skull. This is why we experience the sound of our own voices as being very different from that on the recorder.

To really get the most out of this exercise you will need to rate each element of your voice. Stand up and deliver your speech as you would on the day and record how you sound. Start by considering the speed at which you are speaking. The danger when you are nervous is that you tend to speed up in an effort to get it over with as quickly as possible!!!

The faster you speak the harder it is to listen to what you are saying as you will start to mumble. You will also need to rate the tone of your voice and the volume.

Body Language

Having listened and made the necessary adjustments to your voice you are now ready to review your body language. Getting this right is crucial to delivering a speech successfully. Check your posture, eye contact, gestures and facial expressions and of course, don’t forget to smile.

Start by reading your speech aloud to yourself to get a feel for the words, become familiar with what’s coming next and anticipate the audience’s reaction.

Next, start practicing in front of a mirror, then video yourself. That’s when you can really appraise your body language and see for yourself the image you are portraying. There a few simple things you can do that will make you present yourself so you really look and feel confident when delivering a speech.

Now you are starting to feel a bit more confident get a few mates round and practice in front of them.

Then you are ready for more……

Practice, practice and yes, you’ve guessed it, more practice!

By the time the big day arrives you will have put in so much preparation and practice that you can’t help but look good when you deliver your speech!

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