Best, Best Man’s Speech

With a little preparation, it’s possible to deliver a top notch Best Man’s Speech that wows guests as much as the stunning, tropical Thai location.

It goes without saying that being selected as Best Man by a close friend or family member is a huge honour.

However, in addition to fun responsibilities such as organising the bachelor party and liaising with the maid of honour about the big day is the much more formidable task of making the best man’s speech.

Whether you’ve known the groom for two years or twenty, you want to deliver a speech that does your friendship justice – and impresses guests just as much as the tropical ocean-side location that the bride and groom selected for their destination wedding celebration.

Below is a selection of top speech giving tips from the experts.

Plan Ahead

If you’re not a fan of public speaking, it can be tempting to bury your head in the sand and focus on the more enjoyable activities – such as planning the stag do – and ignore your speech completely. However, this is a big mistake, and it’s well worth starting to jot down a few ideas a couple of months before you head out to Thailand for the wedding. It’s also advisable to practice – preferably in front of an audience – at some point during the run up to the big day. You could even film yourself giving the speech and send the video to a friend who you know will give you honest feedback.

Remember to Segment

If you’re having complete writer’s block when it comes to physically getting any words down on paper, it can help to remember that your speech can easily be broken down into several sections. First of all, you’re going to want to kick start your speech with a killer opening line before thanking the other speakers, such as the father of the bride. Other things to tick off your list include congratulating the married couple, complimenting the bride on  how beautiful she looks and, of course, making a couple of friendly jokes about the groom. You could also read messages from other friends who haven’t been able to make it all the way to Thailand

Avoid Controversy

As well as making sure you cover the basics like congratulating the couple and making a toast, there are always a few taboo topics that should be avoided in your speech. These may be obvious pointers, but you can never be too careful! Firstly, avoid any negativity about marriage in general and never mention ex-boyfriends, girlfriends or previous marriages. Adult humour including mentions of sex, drinking or other ‘bad’ behaviour might also fail to go down well with more conservative guests, and will be inappropriate if children are attending the wedding as well.

Find your Inspiration

For some best men, making the speech as funny as possible is a key priority. In order to come up with a few gags that have tears of laughter rolling down guests’ cheeks, think long and hard about the groom’s personality and the memories you’ve shared together. Why not throw in a few entertaining anecdotes from your time at university together? You will want to think about whether the groom will mind you poking fun at him a little – if he’s quite a shy guy then this may not go down so well. If telling jokes doesn’t come naturally to you then don’t pressure yourself to include them.

Dress Rehearsal 

When the wedding day finally comes around, have a few more practice runs so you can decide exactly which words to enunciate, where you will need to make pauses etc. If you haven’t already, make some notes to help prompt you through the speech – no one would expect you to remember everything off by heart, and just a few notes on some cards is often handier than writing the whole thing out on paper. Consider varying the pace and tone of your speech as well to emphasise certain stories or jokes – this is sure to go down well with your audience.

 

 

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