At a wedding, you could tell a funny story about growing up with the bride or groom. At a funeral, you could tell a story about how kind or generous the deceased was, or about how they influenced you.
For example, imagine you’re giving a toast at Frank’s 70th birthday. You could say something like: “They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Frank here’s proving them wrong. Who else would have the courage to start running marathons in retirement?”
For example, if you’re toasting the groom at a wedding, stick to just two good stories about your friendship. If you see people in the audience do things like turn away, talk to each other, check their phones or watches, or fidget in their seats, you might be rambling on and losing their attention. If this happens just quickly cut to your main point and say “thank you” as a way to close.
Simple ways to find your confidence before giving a speech include taking some deep, slow breaths, or closing your eyes and visualising a happy place before you begin. [6] X Expert Source Lynn KirkhamPublic Speaking Coach Expert Interview. 20 November 2019. You can also look out in the audience and find a few friends or people who seem supportive, and focus on them. If you’re nervous, you could also try the old standby of imagining everyone in the audience naked! Above all, just remind yourself that most people will naturally admire the courage of someone who shows the confidence to get up and speak in front of a crowd.
If you don’t have time to write even a few notes, just make a quick mental outline, telling yourself something like: “First I’ll say how generous Jim is. I’ll tell the story about the time he fixed my flat tire in the middle of the night, then the one about how he baked me a birthday cake when I was sick in bed with the flu. ”
A moving story A convincing fact or statistic An inspiring quotation
Begin by saying that casual Fridays boost morale, lead to greater productivity, and will make your company seem up to date. Follow up by acknowledging that casual Fridays mean that employees will appear less professional at the end of the week, and that they may need guidance on what kind of casual clothing is acceptable. End with your position that since most client meetings happen early in the week, casual Fridays overall will be good for your company and not create a disruption.
You could start off with something like: “I know we’ve all been thinking about casual Fridays, and there are a lot of opinions out there. Let’s get the conversation going by airing some of those. Does anyone have any questions, or want to share their point of view?” You can also call on someone in particular, if you want or need to: “Frank, you’ve been with us the longest. Why don’t you start?”
Begin by saying you think casual Fridays are good because they boost employee morale.
