How to Deliver a Great Wedding Speech

There are many memorable moments that take place during a wedding. Most will point to the throwing of the bouquet, the cutting of the wedding cake, and of course, the exchange of vows as being the most memorable. Yet, many others will find the wedding speeches to be the most memorable and personal tribute on the day.

When delivered properly and effectively, wedding speeches can be poignant, unique and moving. Yet, they can be stressful to present because there are still considered public speaking. Such stress can hamper the delivery. When delivered poorly, the end result can range from dull to - horror of horrors - embarrassing. This would be memorable for all the wrong reasons. It would probably be safe to say most people would prefer the wedding speeches to be memorable in a positive way! That is why the composition and delivery of the speech needs to be polished and professional. Speaking with confidence and emotion will carry you far in this regard.

This is true of all speeches at the wedding including the best man's speech, the maid of honor's speech, and most importantly, the speech given by the father of the bride. Some may hear the word 'professional' and assume this means it is difficult to give these speeches. Honestly, that is not the case. Memorable wedding speeches are ones that pay attention to the basics of proper composition and delivery. These speaking skills are not tough to learn as long as you understand their basic effective elements.

And here are a few of those elements:

Do not confuse quality with verbosity. Wedding speeches are best kept short. A reasonable length would be around five minutes. Going on longer than that would run the risk of being dull. Going too short undermines the potential for the speech to be memorable and effective. That's why a length of about five minutes is suggested.

Keep the subject of the wedding speeches lighthearted and positive. Humor is always good but don't overdo it or try to eek laughs out of embarrassing material. Such attempts at humor are often awkward and prone to not working out the way you had hoped.

Among the very best subjects for a wedding speech would be a positive memory of the bride or groom that is uplifting. You will want to raise people's emotions in a positive manner and tales along this line would do so very effectively. People love to hear upbeat and poignant musings. That is why they make great subject matter for wedding speeches.

I recommend you practice your speech several times before a few people prior to the wedding. This way, you can get feedback from those that hear it. Also, you can gauge your own delivery and performance and make improvements where necessary. Performing a wedding speech - or any speech without practice - is most definitely ill-advised!

Planning ahead by investing in a quality public speaking development product would also prove quite helpful. This is excellent for planning and developing speeches, which makes it perfect for those a little nervous about that upcoming wedding speech.

Nikki has been working in an environment that constantly required her to talk to groups small as well as large. Public Speaking is something that not many people do well. Nikki has researched this topic and put her findings on www.polishedpublicspeaking.com

by Nikki Mennel - 2010-04-05

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Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=2752050