If
you haven't listened to some outrageous speeches in the past,
you know those one’s where you have either fallen asleep
somewhere during it, felt embarrassed for someone whom the speech
was referring to or honestly, developed a hate for the person
who just delivered a speech of obscenities and vulgarity; I'm
sure you've heard of them before.
So when it comes to speeches
the rule of thumb states: a well written speech/toast should
never be lengthy, insulting or disgraceful. What it should contain
though is some balance of humor and sentiment, be appropriate
in its length and have natural measure and sincerity. Usually
a great speech will produce tears and/or laughter. If you want
to deliver a speech/toast that people will remember and enjoy
then reconsider these eight distasteful yet very common mistakes
that will result in speech of shame.
The
Boredom Begins:
If you want to guarantee a loss of an audience almost immediately,
try to avoid starting off boring. REMEMBER the opening will
set the tone for everything else to follow… keep it interesting
but classy.
Creatively
Crude:
The use of “bathroom humor” or crudeness is a guarantee
to turn everyone off except maybe the adolescent members within
the room; that will laugh admiringly. REMEMBER there is neither
bride nor her groom that deserves to have their day spoiled
by blundering material; if you must rewrite it over and over,
do so until it sounds appropriate.
Ramble
On and On and Did I Mention On?
If you’re going to tell a story make sure it’s going
to make sense to everyone in the room. Stories that have absolutely
no point what so ever will also guarantee the loss of your audience
in a second. Anecdotes can serve as commanding accents to your
speech, but only if they serve two purposes. One, they mean
something and two they go somewhere.
REMEBER all stories should have significance within the overall
theme of your speech and everyone in the room should have a
clear understanding of its meaning.
Dare
Not To Humiliate:
Do not cross that line from toasting to ridiculing, this will
also guarantee to make everyone extremely uneasy. Mocking the
bride and groom about personal quirks or idiosyncrasies can
add humor and warmth to your speech but avoid unintentionally
slipping into humility. REMEMBER using the same tone in your
speech as you would usually in the comfort of friends, could
portray itself as insensitive to those who are unaware of your
bond with bride and/or groom.
Never
Ridicule the Bride, NEVER:
The biggest mistake you could ever make is to ridicule the bride,
if so the room with turn from love to hate within seconds. This
rule is especially meant to keep in mind by all grooms for obviously
more than one reason alone. You are supposed to be proclaiming
to your guests and family all the love you have for your bride
and teasing her, even if it seems harmless to you, can become
dangerous ground. REMEMBER think again about mentioning how
much of a bridezilla she was during this lengthy planning of
your wedding or how she became a nut or anything other than
making her feel like a Queen; it’s her day to enjoy as
well.
Flattering
the Wrong People:
So speaking of forgetting whose day this is to enjoy. Picture
the groom standing up and pointing out in the very beginning
of his speech that he loves his wife but if all failed in the
future concerning their marriage at least he could walk away
with the memory of having the hottest bridesmaids ever!! REMEMBER
compliments should be directed to the bride, it’s her
day!!!
Leave
Out the Inside Jokes:
Refrain from using inside jokes, most likely there are only
a handful of people within the room who have any understanding
of what the hell you are talking about. Don’t confuse
this with making a quick reference or two to the toastee but
avoid overloading your speech with them. It’ll turn out
that those handful of people will be the only one’s who
know what you are talking about. Follow the “nod”
factor. That is when a great portion of the room nods along
with you when in your speech you offer qualities of the bride
and/or groom. This insures a great speech. REMEMBER sharing
inside jokes will leave the crowd asking their table group “who
is that?”, “what’s he talking about?”
and “is it ever going to end?”
Corny
Clichés:
If you’re going to use corny clichés and exaggeration,
you will bore the whole crowd within a moment. How many times
have you heard cliché phrases like “you’re
so beautiful inside and out” and blanket statements like
“you will never know how much you mean to me”? Penetrating
the core of the person in whom you speak of by referring or
at least mentioning the person’s defining characteristics,
use specific anecdotes to demonstrate these characteristics.
REMEMBER when you come up with something you find attractive
within that person it becomes more personable not so cliché.
Keep
in mind and remember, speeches can be nerve-racking for many
but by avoiding these eight common mistakes not only will you
produce a wonderful speech but it allows you to speak from the
heart; with YOUR own words which makes it that much more special
to whom its being delivered to.
Have
fun with it, be creative but sincere in every aspect. |
