How To Write A Killer Best Man Speech

You’ve stuck by your mate through thick and thin, zipped around chasing errands, been there to soak up every rant, and thrown the best darn stag party the world has ever seen. Now it’s time to say a few words. In this article, we’re giving you some handy tips on how to nail a best man’s speech that’s bound to go down a treat. Have a read through these pointers to give yourself the best chance of putting together a speech that keeps you in everyone’s good books!

Let’s get going!

Make eye contact as much as you can

Nobody likes speeches from people staring down at a piece of paper. Human beings regard eye contact as a symbol of warmth and connection. If you’re not looking at your audience enough, you’ll come across wooden and distant. Speakers usually read off a piece of paper because otherwise, they wouldn’t remember what to say. The best way around this is to practice your speech in advance so that you know exactly what you’re saying off by heart. This way you can put all your effort into looking around at everyone while you speak and saying every line with buckets of confidence.

Don’t cram jokes in for the sake of it

Comedy is not a numbers game. You shouldn’t be aiming to throw in a laugh every other sentence especially if you’re not known as “the funny guy”. Trying too hard to make people laugh and failing is a sure way to get people wincing in discomfort. If you’re not a certified comedian, play it safe by keeping the majority of your speech sweet and meaningful. The single best joke you can think of has a place, all the others can be cut. Here is a huge resource of best man jokes and material.

Make sure you’re sober!

Yes, almost everyone refers to the good stuff as “liquid courage”, but the truth is, alcohol makes you do everything worse, not better. The speeches are one of the key focus points of the wedding. The bride and groom will likely record these moments and want them kept safe for revisiting long into future. Of all the responsibilities you have, this is the duty that requires the most composure – so you absolutely can’t be hammered when you attempt it.

Keep yourself sharp and sober until the speeches are done, then you can let loose. Need more motivation to keep yourself away from the sauce? Throw “drunken wedding speech” into Youtube to access a world of horror shows.  

Keep it family-friendly

Remember that this wedding is likely going to include grandparents, aunties, young children, siblings, and parents. You might think the raunchy, substance-based stories are fun, but there are a lot of people in the crowd who won’t. Know your audience! These people want to hear wholesome stories about love and longevity. They’re not that interested in overly embarrassing tales of misadventures that should be kept firmly locked away in the cupboard of dirty secrets. If it’s not something you would say at the dinner table next to a 10-year-old, you shouldn’t be saying it into a microphone at this do.

Keep it short and sweet

You’ve probably heard this a million times before but that’s because it’s so absolutely true! People don’t like long-winded speeches, they like short, snappy ones. Why? Because you’re not a politician and these people aren’t interested in your views on everything under the sun. They want you to say a couple of nice things and then get the show moving onto something else. Write a 10 min speech and you’ll lose everyone’s attention about 2 mins in any way. Short, concise, and sweet is the way to win. Long and detailed is the best way to boredom and mounting frustration.