From among the numerous weddings you’ve attended, can you recall at least one best man’s speech? If the answer is negative, then maybe those you’ve had the chance to hear had been ho-hum and forgettable.
The best technique is to speak straight from the heart. A good best man’s speech presents some interesting tidbits about the groom, including how he confided his new love, what attracted him to her, how she has changed him for the better, and so on.

You can reinforce your thoughts by quoting a famous author or poet. Put some humor in your best man’s speech, too, but do not overdo it. Jokes can be fun, but even if you’re a natural jokester or are feeling bright and breezy enough to include more amusing stories involving the groom, restrain yourself. Some jokes and stories are better reserved for other occasions. Then again, in my opinion the best ones are those that are interspersed with serious-sounding lines.

Not all best men, though, are born storytellers, much less capable of adding witty rejoinders to their own short, animated narrative. Some use templates/sample speeches found in the internet. The downside of this approach is that the speech ends up sounding pretentious, detached, and insincere. In effect, you defeat the purpose of expressing your innermost sentiments and personal accounts of a unique friendship in a spontaneous, original manner.

What you can do is mention how you felt about being chosen best man, sprinkle the speech with a dash of humor, state why it has been a privilege knowing the bride and groom, then top it off with some advice for the newlyweds, in lighthearted speaking style. That done, all you have to do is practice your speech and see how you can enhance it further.

About the Author
Emmitt Streat is a writer and an entrepreneur. To learn more about writing best man speeches, or best man speech ideas, visit his website