How To Go About A Best Man Speech Leaving All Your Worries Behind

What’s that you say? Your buddy is getting married, asked you to be his best man and give the best man speech at the after-wedding party, and you haven’t a clue what to say during it?

Fear not, friend! With my sage advice, and your determination to do your buddy proud, we’ll get through this together!

The central idea behind a best man speech is to describe the groom to the bride’s relatives, and talk him up a bit; he’s the man of the day, and people who’ve never met him are no doubt curious about what sort of person he is. Generally speaking, the length of best man speech you want to shoot for is between five and ten minutes – any less and you look like a jerk who doesn’t care, any more and you bore everyone.

Start by introducing yourself, and mention your relationship to the groom; there are probably people present who’ve never met you, and it wouldn’t do to have them wondering who that guy was who kept talking while they wanted to eat.

A lot of folks would recommend starting best man speeches with some kind of joke – and given the subject material, the best bet would probably be a humorous story about the groom. Avoid anything too ribald (no commenting on that time he woke up with a transvestite!) because after all, people’s families are there. Don’t tell an anecdote that makes him look too foolish; something that shows one of his better points would be ideal.

Depending on how good of a sense of humor your friend has, you could proceed with a roast at his expense (and if you’re making a humorous best man speech, I hope he does have one!) Never be outright mean or malicious in what you say, and once again avoid anything not safe for work, and whatever you do, do NOT say anything about the bride. Never ever ever.

The ending of any best man speech, even a humorous one, is traditionally done with a toast to their health. Offer sincere best wishes and your sincerity will infect everyone. By the way, make sure you also prepare for decent best man toasts separately while you prepare for the main speech. Several best men ruin their speeches simply by not thinking of the toast in advance. Creating a toast on the fly is never a wise idea, unless of course you only choose to raise your glass and say something like “To the couple” or “To John and Amanda”. Finishing off your speech properly is a crucial factor to make a best man speech successful and a bad ending could spoil the party.

To avoid stumbling too much, practice your best man speech after writing it. You don’t have to memorize it (though it would help) but even if you’re reading off a card held in your hand, practicing will mean you don’t stumble over any words or freeze up in front of the crowd.

Good luck, and if you start to freeze up just close your eyes and pretend you’re alone!
Which Best Man Speech do you think is right for you? Traditional or contemporary? Should it be a moving speech or would you prefer for the funny speech? Find your style of best man speech among these excellent Best Man Speech Collections.