A Guide To After Dinner Speaking At Events For The Total Noob

Many people do not know how to give a proper speech after dinner. An after dinner speaker has to consider a lot of things before he starts his/her speech. It is not like you are speaking at your relative’s social event. The main thing that an after dinner speaker has to consider the quality of the audience. Most events may have people who are much more informed and cultured than the speaker himself.So, before you start your speech asses your audience. This is a simple task when you consider the listener’s dress, event type, number of male and female attendee, age and much more things. the speech must be prepared with the country where it will be given in mind, as not to offend anyone from that country. A good after dinner speaker does a lot of research before they give their speech.

Entertainment must be in the speech of after dinner speakers. Addressing the audience in entertaining way and directly looking at their eyes when speaking is a must for speakers. A speaker is not there to annoy the listeners. A simple friendly gesture or playful engagement of the audience is the best way to go.

Being nervous is not an option for an after dinner speaker. If a speaker is nervous it can clearly be heard in his voice and the audience certainly would not enjoy that. A speaker has to have confidence and composure. A clear head and few seconds of pause is a good idea for a speaker before he/she starts off their speech with confidence in front of the audience.A good practice is to start off with a joke or in case of serious event start off with a particular point.

Reading off an bundle of text for the audience is not recommended for an after dinner speaker. Normally audience do not prefer a speaker who reads off text. Using cue cards instead is a good idea. People are not there to hear a book reading, a speaker has to keep that in mind. Thus, after dinner speakers might make use of cue cards when needed. Maintaining speech flow and composure is a must for the speaker

An after dinner speaker should restrain themselves from drinking before the speech. People expect a sober speaker, so it is a mustNo one wants to hear a drunken man/woman’s rant. The speech should be kept to the minimum length, that is a very important rule for after dinner speakers. You can entertain the audience for a particular amount of time but must not drag it to the point when they think they have had enough.A clever speaker knows when the audience is just about had it with his/her speech and bows out before that happen. 20 minutes to 30 minutes is the ideal length for any type of after dinner speech.

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