Rarely, VERY rarely, do we run across an impeccable best man toast. But we stumbled across this one on YouTube (above), and it’s worth a closer look, as this gentlemen delivers a wedding toast master class.
As we’ve written before, the best wedding toast should make your guests laugh and cry. Humor and sentiment are powerful tools to engage and entertain an audience. But they’re hard to pull off effective, especially, the humor component.
So watch what this guy does:
- He remains composed. That’s not easy for most toast-givers to do. Why is he so composed? Because …
- … He knows his material. No notes. He appears to be speaking from the heart. But this is a well-crafted piece of work. He knew what he was going to say. He may not have scripted his remarks, but he knew exactly where he was going with it. And where was he going?
- He begins with a funny anecdote. Perfect. He demonstrates discretion by stating he won’t talk about what went on at the bachelors party. Excellent. Never, ever, embarrass anyone when giving a toast. And his anecdote is hilarious, delivered with a dry sense of humor that puts his audience squarely in the palm of his hand. Well done.
- When the laughter dies down, he welcomes his new brother-in-law into the family to thunderous applause. At this point, he could have made the toast and sat down. But he didn’t …
- Instead, he built on his success with deft humor directed at the groom, his mother, and his sister (the bride). And you’ll note how he always transitions from humor to sentiment after each successive anecdote. We don’t typically recommend 9 minute toasts, but this guy’s wedding toast master class shows it’s possible … if you’re this good.
- After dazzling the crowd, he raises his glass with a timeless approach to ending a toast: “So a toast to family, to friends, to love, and to [bride and groom’s names].
Wow. If you want to give a good toast, this dude just put on a wedding toast master class. Review the six points above before you begin writing your own toast. Yes, we DO suggest you write it out
As Mark Twain famously said,
“It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.”
In other words, if you want to come across as conversational in a toast, you need to be prepared. And don’t shoot for nine minutes. Most toasts work best if they’re just a few minutes long. Again, the gentlemen above proves there can be exceptions, but we recommend that you don’t push your limits … or your audience’s patience.
By the same token, you never want to test your guests’ patience when it comes to your wedding entertainment. They want to hear clear, beautiful, controlled volume when it comes to the music. They want professional DJs who know how to entertain AND manage the flow of the party. That’s where we come in. We are wedding entertainment specialists. Check us out.
