Wedding Breeze

Probably the best way to reduce nervousness is to just be prepared. Going into your speech confident, knowing that you have put a lot of effort into preparing yourself will not only make you less nervous, but it will make your speech sound great. A good way to practice is simply reciting your best man speeches examples in the mirror. You want to make your practice as real as possible, so mentally place yourself in the reception hall. Sit on the edge of the bathtub or something, and pretend you have just been called up to speak. Walk in front of the mirror and start. Practice with only little bits if you need to, and eventually build it up to the point where you can recite the whole thing. Once you have the whole speech down, work on making it sound natural. Stand in front of the mirror, and pretend you’re speaking the crowd. If you stumble a little bit, just keep going and try to finish smoothly. By preparing yourself for a mistake, you can remain calm if you encounter one on the Wedding Day.

There are tons of natural and effective ways to reduce your nervousness. Even just some simple breathing exercises are a proven effective way to reduce tension. Speaking of breathing, don’t forget to breathe during your speech. I have to prepare and present many speeches, and my biggest issue is remembering to breathe. Having to take a gasping breath is never convenient. Just relaxing can automatically trigger a more regulated breathing pattern and keep your heart from pounding. Make a conscious effort to relax your muscles and feel free to move around a little bit. You don’t want to look rigid and stiff like a statue, but you also don’t want to pace back and forth.

Move around a little bit, but avoid pacing. Picture the natural way a comedian looks on stage. A few sips of a drink can calm you down and reduce your nervousness a little. However, do NOT drink too much. Saying your best mans speeches while drunk, while it may be funny, will only result in embarrassment for yourself as well as the couple and will leave the groom feeling disrespected. Don’t let your nerves bait you into drinking too much.

Many people have issues with what do with their hands when they’re speaking. If you want to keep something in one of your hands, don’t make it very noticeable.  You don’t want people focusing on what you’re holding instead of your speech. Try a rolled up paper towel. It’s a quick sweat absorber and can easily be kept out of sight. It’s a good idea to keep a glass of water around, but holding it in your hand may not be a good idea, unless you’ve practice with it. If you get focused on something besides your drink and accidentally wave your hands, you could accidentally send water launching at the Bride. A quick sip no and then provides a good timeout during your speech, but you want to retain its flow, so don’t interrupt it with water too much.

While you’re speaking, look directly above the audience as opposed to making eye contact with everyone. You don’t need to actually make eye contact if it looks like you are. As you’re looking directly above the heads of the audience, scan the back of the room with your eyes. Avoid looking down at the floor, and avoid looking up at the ceiling. Engage the audience with your speech, don’t just talk at them. Pretend you’re at home practicing your best man wedding speech in the mirror or just talking to the Groom one-on-one. Although this sounds a lot easier to say than to actually do, it’s actually pretty easy. Take a couple seconds before you start talking to gather yourself and get “in the zone.” Honestly, it’s alright to take your time. No one will even notice. Five seconds might feel like an unbearably long time, but it’s only five seconds. Give yourself a little ego-boost: you were chosen out of all the people the Groom knows to be his Best Man. Most people go their entire lives without getting to do that. You, out of everyone, get to represent the Groom as his best friend, father, or son. So be proud of yourself.