Adding Meaning to Your Best Friend’s Special Day

Some of the best man speech examples that I considered when I was asked to deliver one for my best friend’s wedding were so serious I wondered whether they were really for weddings.

Others that I looked into were short best man speech examples. I did consider delivering a one-liner since I am not too fond of speaking in front of an audience. But then I thought I needed to exert more effort as I only get to do this once for my best buddy.

In the end, I decided to trust my instinct and deliver a personal one that I made myself. A tribute to the guy who shared my dorm room and who had seen me at my worst. It turned out to be a huge success.

Click Here for 20 Professionally Written Best Man Speeches

Best man speech ideas must come from the person who would deliver it. In my case, I relied on past experiences I’ve had with the groom, and some of them were really hilarious that they rank up there with the top funny best man speech examples.

The best man speech tips that I could offer? Don’t make it too short but don’t deliver an epic either. Focus on positive experiences you’ve shared with the groom; they can be funny or serious, but they shouldn’t be humiliating or too revealing.

I started my best man speech by introducing myself briefly and how the groom and I became friends; cracked a couple of jokes about myself and I was off.

Remember, you can be funny without being crass or rude. Most importantly, you can make fun of the groom but don’t humiliate him. When I made fun of the groom, I made sure that I was also making fun of myself. In short, the anecdotes I provided always include both of us.

This, I found out, elicited laughs but did not embarrass the groom since both of us were the objects of fun. However, make sure that the speech is not about you, you’re just the supporting character, and the groom is still the main focus.

I’ve read a lot of best man speech examples and thought of just copying one of them. In the end, I decided to make my own, paying tribute to my best buddy who was about to begin a new chapter in his life. Surprisingly, I enjoyed delivering the speech as much as my audience enjoyed listening to it.

I made this best man speech guide to help guys who are not adept in writing best man speech and have no idea what to do or say when called upon to fulfill this important task. Don’t worry, these best man speech examples and steps worked for me.

1. Find out beforehand whether the wedding is a formal or an informal affair. My friend’s wedding was a bit formal and was held indoors. Ergo, my speech was a bit more serious since there were high profile guests in attendance. Be sure to fit your speech with the setting.

2. Make notes. I just kept making notes whenever an idea enters my mind. It could be a funny college memory with the groom, something funny that he did, something he mentioned that gives insight to his character (just the positive side, of course), etc.

Click Here for a Step by Step Guide to Creating Your Own Inspirational Best Man Speech

3. Create an outline. My speech started with a brief self-introduction, followed by thanking the bride and groom for asking me to be best man. I then proceeded to tell stories about the groom (without revealing personal details!) and how he met his bride. This part should be light hearted and can even be funny. Then move on to serious matters – sincerely wishing the couple a happy married life. You can also offer advice if you’re a married man.

4. Time the speech. What I did was read it at the privacy of my room while clocking it. It should not be longer than 10 minutes. Short best man speeches might be the easiest to write, but delivering a two-minute speech will be impolite, so make sure that it is about between eight and 10 minutes.

5. Focus the fun part on the groom. If you need to make jokes, make sure that you make fun of the groom. You can also make jokes about the bride, but only if you knew her well. However, your main focus should be the groom as the bride will likely be the subject of the maid of honor speech.

6. Practice the delivery. I practiced reading the speech in front of my girlfriend (women are more likely to offer useful critique and insights). This helped a lot as she was able to give additional ideas and was able to tell me honestly what I was doing wrong.

I followed this best man speech guide and everything went smoothly. So, if you are faced with the same challenge, follow these six steps and you will be fine.

Click Here for a Step by Step Guide to Creating Your Own Inspirational Best Man Speech

I did think that best man speech etiquette were mostly instinctive at first, but believe me, there are things that you will not know about being a best man until someone told you. So, if you were as clueless as I was when I first became best man, here are some best man speech advice.

Ten minutes is long enough for a best man’s speech. Unless you are naturally gifted as a public speaker, this is the average length of time you can hold a wedding crowd’s attention.

Click Here for a Step by Step Guide to Delivering a Fearless & Flawless Best Man Speech

When I first wrote my best man speech, I kept putting in thoughts that entered my mind that it got a bit longer than I initially intended. I thought I’d go on delivering it or cut it, depending on the reaction of the audience.

However, what decided how long my speech would be was the length of the bride and groom speeches. Traditionally, the father of the bride will be the first to speak, followed by the groom and then by the best man and then the bride.

After hearing the father of the bride and the groom’s speeches, I realized that my own speech is too long. As best man, I can deliver a speech longer than the groom as best man speeches are supposed to be one of the entertainments of the event.

However, after looking at best man speech examples it soon became apparent that you should never double the length of time of the groom’s speech. Two minutes over the groom’s time is fine, beyond that, you are stealing his thunder. After all, he’s the lead actor, you’re the supporting actor.

In my speech, I made fun of the groom (in a funny-without-being-nasty-way), told anecdotes about our college days and teased the couple about how they met and ended up getting married (without being rude, of course).

At the end part of my speech, I wished the couple a happy marriage and offered a toast. This part should be sincere and more serious. Also, don’t forget to thank the couple’s families and to thank them for asking you to be their best man.

Another piece of important best man speech advice – don’t drink too much before you deliver your speech. I was really nervous before I was called on to talk, but I refrained from drinking since I didn’t want to slur my words or look like a fool.

Best man speech etiquette basically include proper length of speech time, the right words and your appearance and behavior when delivering your speech. Mine went off without a hitch. Hopefully, yours will too.

Click Here for a Step by Step Guide to Delivering a Fearless & Flawless Best Man Speech

I probably could provide you with the most effective best man speech tips as I did survive the experience despite the fact that, in general, I am not much into public speech scenarios. So, for those looking for the most useful best man speeches tips, here goes:

1) Don’t make your speech too long. You’ll bore your audience. You might have a lot of best man stories to tell, but I assure you, not all of them must be shared with a wedding audience.

Click Here for the Pro’s Tips & Methods to Deliver an Incredible Best Mans Speech

2) Don’t embarrass the groom or yourself. I did make fun of Barry, but all the jokes were clean and not revealing. There’s only so much you can let the bride and her family know about the soon-to-be husband. Exercise caution. Don’t be crass, you’re not there to ruin the day.

3) Don’t drink too much before the speech. Fortunately, I learned this before I get to deliver my own best man speech. I was a guest at a wedding where I witnessed how the best man got too much to drink before his speech was delivered and proceeded to make a fool of himself by saying too much and slurring his words. Embarrassing for the bride and groom and for the best man when he finally sobered up.

4) Do choose a proper tux. Being single when I delivered my best man speech, I discovered that weddings are great places to meet a lot of single ladies. Thankfully, I was more presentable than I usually am when I attended Barry’s wedding. Looking crumpled and wearing ill fitting attire will definitely not help your chances with the female company.

5) Do pay tribute to the bride and groom and their families. Don’t deliver a speech about yourself. Focus on the groom and his good qualities. Toast the bride and groom, wish them well and don’t forget to also pay tribute to their families. No matter how unjustifiable, wedding guests will partly judge the groom with his best man’s behavior.

The best speech tips above are some of the most important that you need to keep in mind. Another thing, don’t forget to have fun. No matter how nervous you are about giving a public speech; believe me, weddings can be really fun.

Click Here for a Step by Step Guide to Delivering a Fearless & Flawless Best Man Speech

Don’t panic, help is at hand. Take in all of these best man speech tips and ideas and you’ll soon be standing up confidently in front of the bride and grooms family and close friends, delivering a speech filled with humour, anecdotes and observing speech etiquette to ensure everything goes smoothly as best man on the wedding day.