Penning his first article for Huffington Post, communication coach and public speaker Robin Kermode outlines 10 steps to giving a great best man speech.

Robin believes that the most important thing to remember is to “be yourself. You have to feel relaxed and you certainly won’t be relaxed if you’re saying things that feel unnatural or trying to be someone you’re not. Just say it like you mean it and you’ll probably be home and dry.” Here are a few more top tips:

1. Make it your own – something only you could have said or done.
2. Start well – write down all the things that you’d like to say, then stand back and decide what your most interesting thought or story is and start your speech with that.
3. Use a prop – can work well but if your speech relies on a prop then don’t forget to bring it with you!
4. Humour – don’t borrow jokes from the internet – the audience will spot it a mile off and, if you do tell jokes, make sure they are relevant – everything in your speech must be about the Happy Couple.
5. Length – I generally advise speaking for no longer than 5 minutes.

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To find out more about Robin Kermode, or to book him as a speaker, please contact Leo von Bülow-Quirk on 0044 (0) 20 7792 8000 or at leo@chartwellspeakers.com