An after dinner speech is performing and serious public speaking at the same time. Your tone has to be lighthearted, your speech topic has to be relevant to the event and your presentation has to be funny. Here are the do's and don'ts.

The After Dinner Speech Do's:

Recognize the atmosphere of the event or celebration. Therefore determine the purpose and the ambiance of the event or occasion. The after dinner speech is frequently given after the attendants have eaten. Although it's possible to speak before and during dinner. So, keep in mind that the guests have enjoyed good food and drinks, and they are relaxed.

Realize to whom you are talking. Try to flow your after dinner speech in the mind set and group unity. Try to be on a similar wavelength.

Offer an original point of view that will inspire the audience. Make a choice: do you want to inform the audience about important subjects, results, or thoughts? Or to persuade them to change their values, beliefs or behavior? Or do you want to set a social agenda by choosing special or noteworthy topics for an after dinner?

Apply a good sense of humor that is relevant to your message, the audience, the atmosphere and the purpose of the occasion in your after dinner speech. If you want to discuss a serious or provoking topic, then always choose for a relaxed and humorous way.

Practice, time the length, rewrite and polish your after dinner speech.

Organize your after dinner speech topics in a clear structure. Use transition sentences.

The After Dinner Speech Don'ts:

Avoid religious humor, racist or ethnic, sexist, and even political humor that could offend or provoke individuals or groups. It can destroy your credibility.

Don't ask for radical or dramatic changes.

Don't sound angry or negative.

Ask the hosts how long your talk may last. If they want you to speak for example 3 minutes, then don't talk any longer. Don't be a party killer with a never ending after dinner speech.

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Jim Peterson has over 10 year's experience on speech writing. He offers 1,250+ free speech topic ideas and how-to guides for any kind of public speaking and speech writing assignments at http://www.speech-topics-help.com.
Copyright 2006 Jim A. Peterson