How to Deliver a Best Man Speech Course | You Either Have it or You Don’t? | [VIDEO 1 of 30]
“There are three things to aim at in public speaking: first, to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into the heart of your audience.” – Alexander Gregg
I remember the first time I gave a best man speech. It was a disaster in so many ways. I was so nervous that I could barely hold my notes without my hands shaking which made it worse because people could see that. I wrote a speech that I genuinely thought was really funny, but at the all important punch lines, I got little or no laughs. Having all those eyes on me was very unnerving. As it went on, I just wanted it to be over so I rushed it, just so I could sit down early.I was really embarrassed and wanted the world to swallow me. It wasn’t that I hadn’t put the effort in to the speech, I had. I’d spent many hours honing it. The main problem was I just didn’t know how to deliver it.
A few years later, for some reason I got asked to be a best man for a second time. I was flattered and horrified in equal measure at the prospect of having to deliver another best man speech. This time I was determined that I wasn’t going to be making the same mistake again. I spent many hours reading what the professionals do and practiced again and again. Although inside I was still nervous, I knew I had prepared well and I used all of the tricks I had learnt. To my great relief my hard work paid off and I got some great feedback. I can honestly say, I was and am, still proud of myself that I had made the leap from my first train wreck.
The reason I’m telling you this story is to let you know that public speaking can be TAUGHT. Some people think it’s something that you either have or you don’t. ‘They’re a natural at it’. Well, its true, like anything, some people can learn it more easily than others, just like a sport. But I’m here to tell you that it can be learnt. I’m not one of those so-called naturals, I still get nervous when I speak in public and I’m a natural introvert. But, I know that it can be taught. So if you’re in any way like me, and you want to do the best that you can do on the day, then join me in this series of videos where I’m going to share with you, all of the techniques I have learnt and teach you how to deliver a great speech.
We’re going to start by looking at the psychology of delivering speeches and understand why it is we get nervous speaking in front of others. I’m then going to show you how these nerves can be managed by preparing in the right way and developing what I refer to as your muscle memory.
In sections 3 and 4 you’ll learn techniques employed by professionals to use your body language and voice to really engage the audience and build rapport. To finish, we’ll bring it all together and put your newly acquired skills in to practice so that when showtime arrives, you’re really going to shine.
