Dear Jen,

 

The worst part of being a Maid-of-Honor, for me, isn’t having to shell out a couple of hundred on a bridesmaid dress I’ll never wear again or having to fly to Cancun, Mexico for a bachelorette party where I’ll come face to face with more tequila shots than a girl in her early 30’s ever wants to see again, it’s giving a speech. I’m just a regular person with a regular job. I am in no way a good or confident public speaker. But here I am, having to stand up in front of 350 people, and say words. How do I get up there, without downing a bottle of champagne first, and do this? How do I remember to speak?

 

Sincerely,

Speechless Maid-of-Honor

 

Dear Speechless Maid-of-Honor,

 

Speaking in front of a crowd is terrifying. Let’s just both acknowledge that simple and true fact. It’s scary and everyone’s eyes are on you and they are expecting to say three minutes worth of the right thing and all you are expecting, from yourself, is just the brief memory that you can remember how to speak. Everyone experiences this, even the pros. But there are simple and easy ways to mask this and the first thing you need to do is write the speech. My advice to you, off the bat, would be to keep your speech short. Keep it natural. Write it like you would speak it, that way when you deliver it, it sounds like a fluid conversation and not a research paper. Wondering how to do this and do this right? Use the voice to text function on your phone and speak what you’d like to say. When it types out, it will sound more like you than a robot.

 

Practice your speech twice a day and record yourself a couple of times so you can hear your pacing and your tone. The more times you do this, the easier it will be when you go to do it in person. You’ll feel confident because you’ll have practically committed the words to memory.

 

Admit to yourself that yes, this will be scary, but you can do it. Keep it short, practice often, and have a glass (just one) of champagne nearby.