State of Deception: Nazi Propaganda Webquest



Wedding Toast Speech

Student Name: _________________________________________________________________

Assignment:

It may seem strange right now, but the older you get, especially between the ages of 22 to 30, you will go to a lot of weddings. In fact, you will probably be in a lot of weddings, and it is a statistical certainty that you will have to give a toast at least once. Your task is to write and deliver a mock Wedding Toast addressed to a sibling or a very close friend and his or her spouse. Your audience should not know the newlywed’s spouse. Not knowing him or her will make your task much more realistic because almost half of the guests at a wedding reception probably do not know both the bride and the groom personally. Your speech should last between 3 to 5 minutes.

1. Pick someone to write a wedding toast for; this could be your best friend, parent, sibling, or someone you just made up.

2. Introduce yourself and thank everyone for coming. Anytime you address an audience, it helps if they know who you are and why you’re talking. You’ll also want to make sure while talking that you thank everyone who has helped to make the day come together – and complimenting how nice the bride looks doesn’t hurt either.

3. Be sure to clearly explain who you are and how you know the bride and groom. Clarify your relationship to one or both of them. People love stories, so you can include in your speech how you know the bride/groom. You can talk about how you met, or how long you’ve known each other. It doesn’t have to be long – keeping it brief and simple is fine.

4. Address the couple and why they are perfect for each other. Wedding toasts are supposed to celebrate the two people getting married, so saying anything that says why you think they will have a happy marriage. Remember, the wedding day is a day to celebrate this couple’s love for each other, and you are there to help lead this celebration during the reception following the marriage ceremony.

5. Share stories about the bride or groom. Talk about growing up, high school, college, vacations, funny habits, first meeting, appropriate embarrassing moments, first thoughts of future spouse, etc.

6. Throw in some quotes. A short line of poetry or a famous romantic love quote for a wedding toast is always a good stand-by if you can’t think of anything else. Don’t go quote crazy, but a well selected one can really help.

7. Add a touch of humor. Saying something mildly funny or amusing that is appropriate for all audiences can be a great ice breaker. Be sure that it doesn’t cross into the no-no territories of religion, politics, the couple’s sex life, or crude humor. Saying something light and appropriate will make your audience stay awake during the wedding toasts.

8. Dish out advice sparingly. Most wedding toasts offer some sort of advice. If your toast includes advice, make sure it doesn’t cross into the no-no’s of adding a touch of humor in wedding toasts as I mentioned above. If the advice can’t be given simply and without making the bride and groom feel good, it’s probably better to leave it out.

9. Avoid cliché’s. Your task for this assignment, and in a real life wedding toast scenario, is to be as original as possible. DO NOT COPY someone else’s ideas for this assignment or for the speech you may someday find yourself delivering in the future.

10. Finish your speech with an actual toast. This can be as simple as congratulations or a quote, proverb, or poem you believe exemplifies the couple.

Student Name: _________________________________________________________________

|Elements of Wedding Toast Speech |Level 1 |Level 2 |Level 3 |Level 4 |

|Introduction and thank you’s | | | | |

|Explains your relationship to the bride and groom | | | | |

|Addresses the couple and why they are perfect for each other | | | | |

|Shares stories, quotes, humor, and advice | | | | |

|Has a memorable conclusion with toast | | | | |

|DELIVERY/OTHER SPEECH ELEMENTS | | | | |

|Consistently employs eye contact and posture, not reading the speech | | | | |

|Consistently speaks with appropriate volume, tone, pace, and articulation | | | | |

|Spoke with passion and vocal energy | | | | |

|Effective, natural gestures and body language | | | | |

|Very few interrupters (um, like, you know, etc.) | | | | |

|Organizes information coherently and stays on the topic | | | | |

|Consistently uses standard grammar, avoiding expletives | | | | |

|Evidence of planning (notes, power poetry, index cards, etc.) | | | | |

|Speech lasts 3-5 minutes | | | | |

14 Total Elements

Due: Speech Grade: ___________

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