Humour is a great ice-breaker

A good wedding speech with some humour is a great ice-breaker, and it’s a great feeling if you can get your audience laughing. However, bear in mind that you don’t have to keep the guests in fits of laughter for half an hour – that’s for films… So, here are three simple steps to get you started…

1) This probably the most important rule of all :- Make sure to take your audience into account when forming jokes to work into your speech. There will almost always be people of all ages and beliefs at a wedding – and not everyone has the same type of senses of humour (how often have you told a joke to one person who has laughed hysterically, and the next person you’ve told it too didn’t raise a grin?). Whoever you are at the wedding, a bad joke is an embarrassment, and one which offends is a show-stopper. While it may not be possible to please everyone, do your best to form jokes that you think everyone can get or relate to.

2) Your jokes should tie into a central message – your jokes should be an integral part of the speech, which shouldn’t be all about jokes, but your jokes should be all about your speech. This simply means that your speech should have a central message or purpose, and your jokes should compliment this. Having a theme (such as changes in the bride and groom, old memories that influenced your life, or even how you will setup a new life with your spouse) will help you move your speech along.

3) Give your speech a flow that enforces your central message in the beginning, middle and end. Constant reminders of what you want to get across are a surefire way of making sure people walk away with that message.