Never "wing" a Wedding Speech!
The one thing you don't want to do on the day of the wedding is
stand up to make your speech and try to "wing" it. Trying to
make a speech up off the top of your head is a recipe for
disaster. Chances are you'll forget what you wanted to say,
ramble on about unrelated matters, and say some things you may
later wish you hadn't.
"Now wait," you may be saying, "I've seen plenty of people who
did great jobs and they seemed to be giving a completely
spontaneous speech." Fair enough, but the key word here is
"seemed." The majority of speeches we see, especially the ones
that appear to be spontaneous and unplanned, are just the
opposite. These speeches have been planned to such an extent
that the speaker can deliver them so that it appears the words
are coming to him off the top of his head. This type of speaking
is known as extemporaneous.
Extemporaneous speaking allows you to plan out what you want to
say but also forces you to practice it so that you can deliver
your words with only a handful of notes instead of a
word-for-word manuscript. There are a number of reasons why
extemporaneous speaking is the best choice for a wedding speech:
* Because you aren't reading a manuscript, you will be able to
make eye contact with guests which adds a sense of sincerity and
warmth to your speech.
* Because you aren't making the speech up as you go along, you
can make sure to include all of the points you want to make. You
won't leave anything out.
* Because you are going to practice the speech, you'll feel more
comfortable with the words and with the delivery. By the time
you're ready for the actual speech, you'll be prepared.
* Because people tend to sound monotone when they read something
word for word aloud, extemporaneous speaking sounds more natural
and more pleasing to the audience's ears.
As you can clearly see, opting for an extemporaneous speech is
going to increase the likelihood of your public speaking event
going well because it will eliminate many of the problems
inexperienced speakers typically encounter.