Getting the Introduction to Your Wedding Speech Right

Whether you’re the groom, best man or father of the bride, the best way to conquer your nerves is to try to start your wedding speech with a strong and confident introduction.

This isn’t always easy, but there are a few tricks that can help you pull it off!

Here are a few:

Smile and Make Eye-Contact

It’s amazing how friendly body language can disarm an audience.  If you smile at someone, they will usually smile back and that’s worth a huge amount when you’re about to start speaking.

Try to Keep a Sense of Perspective

You may have been dreading this moment for months, but try not to let your imagination run away with you.  This isn’t a political hustings or a million-pound pitch.  You will be standing in a room surrounded by family and friends who want you to do well and who will be on your side.

Avoid Long Introductions About Yourself

A one liner about how you fit into the day is fine, but leave it there. Any longer is unnecessary and might make you feel self-conscious.

Never Apologise

Explaining that you’re nervous, are having problems with the AV, have drunk too much Champagne, or that you have a sore throat will just re-enforce the impression that you are a nervous wreck!

Avoid Weak Jokes

A natural reaction for a nervous speaker is to try to ‘befriend’ the audience by beginning with a joke, but humour is hard to pull off and might even offend people if done poorly.  If you are shaking like a leaf, it’s best to start off by being straight.

Make it Word Perfect

Know your introduction off by heart – this is not the time to be glancing at your notes or wondering what comes next. It’s worth spending five times as long practising your first minute over and over again than anything that comes later.

Keep it Simple

Short punchy sentences and easy-to-pronounce words and phrases are always a good idea, but if you are nervous they become an invaluable way of avoiding awkward stumbles and stutters.

Leave Surprises Until Later

Unlike a corporate speech, I recommend surprises such as props, quotes and images are left until your wedding speech has warmed up. More detailed info on wedding speech etiquette.

Be Sober

Many a speech horror-story has stemmed from someone trying to drink their way through it.  It might seem sensible when you stand up to speak but I guarantee that it won’t when you wake up the next morning.

I hope this helps. Remember, everything you put into your introduction will help keep the rest of the speech on track. If you’re still unsure of where to start or how to get your speech off the ground, please give me a call on +44 (0) 20 8245 8999 or email lawrence@greatspeechwriting.co.uk.

Article by Wedding Speech Writing Specialist Lawrence Bernstein

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