How do you add warmth to a speech? That’s a challenge for most public speakers. It does not mean, for instance, that you have to speak about hellfire and damnation. Nor does it mean speaking about a blazing sun. It is all about making your audience feel involved and part of the process. If you are an M.C. for instance, your opening remarks speech should be genuinely welcoming and a light-hearted comment about some topical event should make people laugh and there is no warmer sound than people laughing together. If you are the father of the bride your expressed love for your daughter should give that warm feeling to the audience who will understand and appreciate how much she means to you. In a eulogy, of course, the appreciative way you speak about the deceased and what he or she meant in your life should reflect the warmth of your feeling for that person. Basically it’s about involvement. It’s about your audience feeling at one with you about whatever the topic or the reason for the speech happens to be. It’s about getting them to understand how you feel and to share that feeling with you. It means making you speech easy to understand, interesting to the listener and relevant to their lives. In other words it’s the same sort of feeling you get when you meet someone with whom you feel an immediate rapport.

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After dinner speakers are often accomplished speakers and experts in a particular field. What though of the poor person chosen to be M.C. for the occasion? Quite often that job falls on the shoulders of someone who might be an excellent club member but have no experience at all of ensuring the such an evening goes off smoothly. They will know, of course, that they should welcome the guests as pleasantly as possible and introduce the guest speaker. Before that though they will need to discover what form the evening will take and organise the other various speakers. There may be a vote of thanks given to the speaker and the M.C should ascertain whether he or she is giving that vote of thanks or whether some else is. There could be a toast to the guests and s reply from one of the guests and if so the M.C. has to know who is going to give it and allow time for both the toast and the reply. It’s possible too that there may be a toast to the ladies and that one of the ladies will then reply to that toast. Depending on the formality of the occasion the M.C. may do all the thanking him or herself. So there is a question of timing to be agreed with any speakers. The M.C. should also give those important messages such as that there is a ban on smoking or tell the guests where the emergency exits are. Above all the M.C. should end the evening on a positive and pleasant note. Basically then it is a question of getting the protocol right and making the evening as enjoyable as possible for all the guests. If they go home smiling you will know you have succeeded!

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There is a long run up to most weddings. It begins with organising an engagement party, followed by the bridal shower and the bachelor or stag party. In between times there are venues to be selected, dresses to choose and cakes to be baked. Most people organise these things well in advance except for one thing that is often left to the last moment and that is the writing of the wedding speeches. Whether you need a speech for a wedding rehearsal dinner or the actual wedding day you should remember to write it early so that you can practise it before the big occasion. That applies whether you are one of the wedding party such as best man or father of the bride or whether you are a family friend who wishes to toast the parents of the bride or groom. Take, for example, Christmas weddings. It’s only about two months to Christmas and a Christmas wedding is particularly special and deserves a suitably festive speech. So make sure your speech is particularly relevant to that wonderful season. You can do that by, for instance, making a reference to Santa or to the mistletoe. Whether your daughter or son is getting married, whether you are the best man or even the groom, make sure your speech is seasonal.

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Speeches for social functions such as a club or association’s annual dinner call for a different kind of speech. Such speeches need to be polished and professional rather than personal although of course they do need to ensure that your audience feel a welcome part of the occasion. Take the introductory speeches for Guest speaker for instance. You will need to have done your homework and be able to introduce such speakers with confidence, knowing their background and what it is in particular that makes them the ideal speaker for the event.
Your brief may be to give a toast to the ladies and if that is the case your speech should be gracious and light-hearted and, of course, self-deprecating if you are a man. Alternatively, you may be asked to give a toast to the guests. This is usually quite a general speech but you can make it stand out from the norm if you can link it to the particular occasion. If it is an academic gathering for instance you might include a suitable quote from a Greek philosopher.
You may be asked to give a vote of thanks to a guest speaker. Again it should be gracious and obviously it should refer to what he or she has said. You can use words like “stimulating” and “interesting” but preferably while you might prepare the outline of the speech in advance you would also have to leave some gaps that you can fill in when you have heard the speaker actually speaking. Finally if you are the M.C. for the function your closing speech should sum up the occasion with warmth and wit.

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Let’s get it right. Every formal occasion has its own protocol. Sometimes it’s difficult to know exactly what should be said on the night. That’s why an M.C.’s guide or a chairperson’s guide can be so useful.
At a dinner, for instance, you may be asked to give a toast to the ladies or thank a guest speaker. Obviously such speeches are given every day of the week so it’s nice to be able to say what is correct but in a different way. In fact, as we are told there is nothing new under the sun, it’s the only way to give a speech.
When people attend a social function they do not want to be bored. They prefer a speaker to be light-hearted . That is not to say you have to be a comedian. That calls for excellent jokes and good timing and is totally different from being a speaker. A speaker only has to remember that the audience is on a night out and they want to relax in a pleasant atmosphere. Your speech should reflect this fact.  You should be the oil that greases the occasion and makes it run smoothly.
If you know what to say you will create that right atmosphere. Your audience will enjoy the occasion more and, no matter how nervous you are, so will you.

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