Wedding Speech Nerves - How to Reduce Them

A wedding day or civil partnership should be a special day for everyone involved. But for some people it becomes a nightmare because nerves start to niggle away and get bigger and bigger. It's usually the groom, best man or father of the bride that are most likely to feel nervous because they are the ones that are expected to give the speeches.

There are various ways of reducing your nerves. One of the most important is to plan what you are going to do. Don't put everything off until the last minute because it will just make things worse. In the back of your mind you will be aware that the day is getting closer and when you finally do have to think about what you're going to say you probably won't be able to think clearly and you'll feel even more anxious.

So plan the day. Make sure you know what you will be expected to do throughout the day.

If you're giving a speech think about what you want to say. There are plenty of books around that can give you ideas for speeches. Ask advice of anyone who you know who is good at speaking in front of people.

Don't try and be formal. Be yourself because that way you will sound and feel more natural. Write your speech to be said, not to be read. It's very easy to write perfect prose that becomes a real tongue twister or sounds very stilted.

Keep your speech short. A tip from showbusiness is to always leave the audience wanting more, not wanting to leave as quickly as possible.

Don't agonise over making a few mistakes - most people make them and people are there to enjoy the day, not criticise your speech.

Practise beforehand because then you will be used to what you are saying and it will feel much more comfortable on the day.

Another valuable way to reduce your nerves is to use hypnotherapy. That will help you to relax and to think differently about your speech and all the events of the day. A personal session will help you to address your own specific concerns whilst CDs and hypnosis downloads are a cheaper option that tend to focus on relaxation and giving positive suggestions for everything going well and you having an enjoyable day.

Sharon Stiles uses hypnotherapy, CBT, NLP and EFT to help people reduce stress and anxiety in their personal and work lives. She offers individual sessions in Bristol, UK and by webcam. She also has hypnotherapy downloads to help people overcome wedding speech nerves at http://www.sharonstiles.co.uk/shop

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