One of the biggest honors for the best man is to give the best man speech during the wedding. For those best men who don't feel comfortable speaking in front of large audiences or do well at writing, this best man speech section will hopefully help you impress everyone at the wedding including the bride and groom (as well as the date you take). Below are the do's and don'ts of giving a best man speech:

1) Take Time To Prepare - When finding out you will be the best man, make sure to figure out how much time you will have to prepare for the big day. Give yourself at least one month to start slowly preparing by writing down notes on what you want to cover in your speech. Below we have some ideas that you can use. If you have only a few weeks, it is now time to do some research and prepare for the speech. "Winging it" is not a great idea as you may not cover everything you want and it may show that you were not prepared!

2) Practice Your Speech In Front of People - It is not silly to practice the best man speech you have written in front of people a few days before the wedding. Make sure it will go over well and make any corrections before the big day by listening to some men and women you know who you trust to help you.

3) Relax, Relax, Relax - Before giving the best man speech, take a few breaths and meditate. Remember you doing this for your friend and it is a light hearted event and not a business speech in getting funding! It is all in fun.

4) Bring the Bride and Groom Up - It is most impactful to give the best man toast directly to the bride and groom while they are next to you. If this does not work out for logistic purposes, make sure you are looking at them (and know where they are in the room) more than the rest of the wedding crowd as this speech is really for them.

5) Written Speech - For those who are not comfortable when giving speeches in front of an audience, it is absolutely okay to write down your thoughts in an outline of what you want to speak about and use it when giving the speech. The reason for not writing everything out is you may just stand there and read it, never looking up which is not as impactful as doing an outline and just briefly looking down at it to make sure you cover all that you want to.

6) Speak Loudly and Clearly - Make sure your voice carries with the microphone but not too loud which you will know if you hear feedback with the microphone/speakers.

7) Stand Straight and Tall - The speech is more impactful when you stand up in confidence as opposed to sitting down, slouching or leaning. The bride and groom will appreciate and respect you standing up for them!

8) Get Everyone's Attention Before you Start - It is important to have everyone quiet down before starting by saying something like, "Excuse Me. Can I have everyone's attention..."

9) Introduce Yourself - Start the best man speech by introducing yourself as many of the wedding party may not know who you are.

10) Topics to Cover In The Best Man Speech - The best speeches include items like:

• How long you have known the groom

• A fond memory of the groom and you that may get some laughs (that is not too embarrassing or personal)

• A quick and appropriate joke may work to liven up the room and be entertaining. Pass the joke by a few people while working on the best man toast to make sure it goes over well.

• What the groom was like before he met the bride-to-be.

• Your first memory when the groom met the bride-to-be and what he said to you or acted like.

• Mention the grooms family and thank both the bride and grooms parents in some way.

• Write down names if you are a little nervous so you don't forget anyone when speaking.

• How you know the bride and groom will work out (positive qualities/complimentary qualities each have)

• Some newlywed advice from you (if you are married or dating)

11) The Don'ts of a Best Man Speech - There are certain no-no's of presenting a speech that you should follow as you don't want it to flop or be an embarrassment. The following list of no-no's include:

• Don't add embarrassing stories that are inappropriate for the crowd and would severely embarrass the bride, groom and their family. Stay away from ex-girlfriend, bachelor party stripper, cheating, bad qualities of the groom/bride, etc as they are not funny and are hurtful.

• Don't get too drunk. When giving the speech, it will be obvious if you get too tanked while you slur your words or wobble around. Make sure if you are going to drink alcohol to take it easy until after the best man speech is over and you are not in the spotlight.

• Don't make the speech too long or too short. You don't want to take away from the event by speaking for over 10 minutes or under 1 minute. The best speeches I have seen run anywhere from 2 to 7 minutes at the most. Even though people want to hear you speak, they also want to go back to partying and dancing. Remember who's day this really is.

12) Make Sure To Raise Your Glass At the End - Make sure to state at the end of the best man speech, "...Now lets all raise our glass and wish the bride and groom much health and happiness for the years to come." or something similar to that statement. You can add salutatory statements like congratulations, cheers, l'chaim/mazeltov, salud, or any other depending on the culture and religious background of the bride and groom if there are any.

It is always great to focus on getting sentimental (yes, even for us guys) to show how much we enjoy the bride and grooms relationship. Focus on what you are saying which will go a long way and the bride, groom and everyone else in the room will be impressed with you. Let us know at groom@groomsmen411.com if you have any other ideas to make the best man speech a success and we may add it to the page and give you credit for your help. Remember to have a great time since it is a great memorable time to be the best man and give the best man speech!

Best Man Speech: Questions and Answers
Below we have started a wedding speech question and answer section for those of you who would like extra information. Feel free to email us your questions and we will add the best man speech questions and answers for others to learn from:

Question: What about when the Best Man is the Bride's brother and doesn't really know the groom. What kind of best man speech does he give?

Groomsmen Answer: When the Best Man does not know the groom well but is giving a toast, he can discuss what types of special qualities his sister was looking for and must have found in his new husband-to-be. You can also speak of some appropriately funny stories about your sister and how you are so happy for the two fo them.

Email us some of the questions you would like to have us answer and help others with at groom@groomsmen411.com