Guide
Teleprompter for a best man speech.
For most men this is the highest-pressure public speaking of their life, and they have prepared for it by panicking.
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Quick answer
A best man speech works best delivered from a phone with the script marked into sections, so a stumble means jumping back one section rather than losing your place entirely. Script the opening, the toast, and any anecdote where the wording matters, and hold the phone at chest height rather than reading from a folded page.
The folded piece of paper is the problem
Everybody does the same thing. They write it out, fold it into quarters, put it in a jacket pocket, and then unfold it at the top table with shaking hands while a hundred people watch them find their place. The paper rustles. The hands shake and everyone can see the paper shaking. You look down at it for a full second before every line.
A phone at chest height solves all of that at once. It does not rustle, it does not broadcast your nerves, and it scrolls so you are not hunting for your place.
Script this, not everything
The opening line
Fully. It sets whether the room is with you, and you will not be able to improvise it while your heart rate is where it will be.
The toast
Fully, obviously. This is the one thing you cannot fumble and it is also, cruelly, at the end when you are most rattled.
Anecdotes where the wording carries the joke
If the laugh depends on a specific phrase landing in a specific order, write the phrase down. Improvised comic timing is a professional skill and you are an accountant.
The sincere bit at the end
Write it. You think you will find the words. Under that much emotion, in front of his mother, you will not find the words.
Leave the rest as headings
The connective tissue should sound like you talking, because everyone in the room knows you and will notice if it does not.
Sections are the actual insurance
Here is what people are really afraid of: losing their place in front of everyone and standing there in silence.
Mark each part of the speech with a section marker. If you stumble, you tap once and you are back at the top of that section. Not scrolling. Not squinting. One tap. Knowing that is available is worth more than any amount of rehearsal, and the odd thing is that people who know they can recover stumble less in the first place.
Practicalities for a wedding
- Set the font large. The room is dim, you are standing, and the phone is at chest height.
- Turn the brightness up. Wedding venues are lit for atmosphere, not for reading.
- Use presenter notes for names you might blank on. Her mother's name. The bridesmaid you have met twice.
- Install it beforehand so it works if the venue Wi-Fi does not, which it will not.
- Do not use voice-paced scrolling here. Set a slow speed, or just scrub with your thumb. A room full of people laughing will confuse any microphone.
- Put the phone in aeroplane mode. A notification arriving mid-toast is a story they will tell forever.
And read the whole thing out loud, alone, at least twice, before the day. Every sentence you trip over at home is a sentence you will trip over at the top table, except at the top table his gran is watching.
Frequently asked questions
Should I read a best man speech from a phone?
Yes, and it is better than paper. It does not rustle, it does not shake visibly, and it scrolls so you are not hunting for your place in front of everyone.
Should I script the whole speech?
Script the opening, the toast, any joke where the wording carries it, and the sincere bit at the end. Leave the connective tissue as headings so it still sounds like you.
What if I lose my place?
Mark the speech into sections. A stumble then means one tap back to the top of that section, rather than standing in silence scrolling. This is the single most useful thing you can set up.
Any wedding-specific advice?
Big font, maximum brightness, aeroplane mode, and install it beforehand so it works when the venue Wi-Fi does not. Do not use voice-paced scrolling, because a laughing room will confuse the microphone.