A Best Man Speech - Five Basic Rules

So, you're the best man at your best friend's upcoming nuptials. You know your duty. You have to lead off the evening with a best man speech. You have three weeks left, and you have no idea where to begin. You want it to be meaningful. You want it to be funny.
And you want to NOT throw up while giving it. Where should you start? Here are five basic rules for you to follow to give amazing best man speeches.

Tips for Best Man Speeches

Keep it short and sweet
This is not the time for a 20 minute monologue. There will be lots of people who want to speak. You don't want to monopolize the floor. Wedding guests have a short attention span. They want to get on with the show. Don't wear out their patience or your message will be lost.

Also, don't use overly difficult wording that may cause you to stumble over the speech. Give the speech like you talk in conversation.

Tell them who you are
Many people will already know who you are. But many might not. Especially if you are an out-of-towner. Tell everyone your name. Then, explain how you met the groom or how long you have been friends.

Look the groom in the eye
It might be easier to give a best man speech if you aren't looking at an audience of 200 or more. So, turn and speak to the groom and the bride. You can pretend they are the only ones in the room if it helps. This will enable you to deliver a more heartfelt and honest speech.

Keep it clean
There is a time and a place for "locker room" humor. This isn't it. Keep your potty mouth in check. No f-bombs or cursing of any kind. Don't tell embarrassing stories about the groom or demean him in any way. And especially don't ever bring up ex-girlfriends of the groom, any drunken adventures, or any other gross details you find amusing. He is your friend, and this is his big day. Help make it special for him.

Be Prepared
Sometimes it is okay to be spontaneous. Doing a best man speech off the cuff has the possibility of being very charming. It can also be very dangerous.

What if you forget what you were going to say? What if you freeze up?

The only way to avoid looking like a total moron is to make sure you are prepared. Maybe even over prepared. So, how do you prepare a speech for best man?

Write it down
Seems simple enough, right? Get your pen to paper and have a definite plan. There should be a definite start, middle and end. Use famous quotes, anecdotes from your friendship, wish them well and exit gracefully.

Practice
Get yourself in front of a mirror and practice your speech. Over and over. Then get yourself an audience and see what they think. Get comfortable with the speech.

Memorize
This is sometimes easier said than done. But if you can, commit your best man speech to memory. If you can memorize the lyrics to your favorite song, you can memorize a short speech. The worst thing you can do is get up there and read word for word. You will sound like an idiot. And it won't be heartfelt.

You probably still need a little more help putting your speech together, right? If you do, check out the many online resources that can help you write your best man speech. You can easily download a guide chalked full of quotes, toasts, and outlines to build a best man speech the whole reception will be buzzing about. The cost is either free, or close to free, and you will get the peace of mind knowing you've got your speech in the bag.