Public speaking is at huge part of being a celebrant. Whether you’re leading a small family funeral or a big wedding ceremony, your voice, your presence, and confidence set the tone for it. If you need help or advice on speaking with confidence, here is some information on public speaking skills for celebrants.
Improve Your own Public Speaking Performance and Delivery.
Preparation is EVERYTHING. Being familiar and confident with your script and indeed your ceremony structure ensures a smooth delivery. Here are some preparation tips, which hopefully will help you prepare for the day.
- Rehearse your script multiple times. It’s all well and good writing it and reading it to the client, but is it fresh in your mind? Maybe you read it over 2 months ago and it isn’t quite so fresh as it was once. By giving yourself a little refresh, it’ll be at the forefront of your mind.
- Practice in the venue or in front of a mock audience. How does it sound when you read it in a room? Does the humour or the vibe translate as you meant it? Friends and family can be tough critics, which would benefit you endlessly. When it comes to practicing in the space, how are the acoustics? Do you need to project more or perhaps less than usual? By being in the space you’re giving yourself less room for unexpected surprises.
- Discuss the tone, language, and mood with your clients to align expectations. If the client is expecting something lighthearted and fun, and you deliver something quite the opposite, it’ll reflect on you in the long run. ALWAYS listen to the client and grasp exactly what they’re wanting.
Voice Techniques For Clarity and Engagement
Your voice is your main tool, obviously, and how you use it can make or break a ceremony. To ensure clarity and engagement:
- Use proper breathing techniques to support your voice projection. You’ll notice singers breathe from their diaphragm, which allows for strength, projection and breath control. If you breathe from your chest and into the shoulders, it creates tension and can make you look panicked,
- Warm up with vocal exercises, tongue twisters, or even singing. There are so many things that work for different people. Perhaps you’re a car ballad belter, or a Spotify singers vocal warm up? Or are you more inclined to a tongue twister and some lip rolls? Choose what works for you.
- Vary your tone, pace, and volume to add emphasis. Nothing is worse than monotone, perhaps record yourself to hear how it sounds back. Try not to be shouty, there is a strong difference between projection and shouting.
- Avoid filler words like ‘er’, ‘um’ and ‘so’.
- Avoid repetitive phrases as these make you look unsure of what you’re saying.
- Be mindful of regional colloquialisms that may not resonate with all audiences.
- Only use words you feel natural saying for example, if ‘cherished’ isn’t in your vocabulary, don’t force it to be!
Body Language and Presence
Non-verbal communication is just as important as your words. Consider:
- Maintaining an open and confident posture. If you look confident, you’ll feel it and the guests will buy into everything you’re saying.
- Using natural and effective hand gestures. Similar to not forcing language you wouldn’t use, try not to wave your hands round if you’re not a naturally gesticulated person. Is it necessary? Maybe, if you’re making a strong point.
- Making eye contact to create a connection with guests. Not everyone feels confident holding eye contact, it’s just not natural for some. However, engaging with each guest makes them feel involved and like you really care. So, top tip, if you don’t want to make direct eye contact then look at the middle of the guests forehead and they’ll be none the wiser.
- Ensuring you are comfortable in your outfit; confidence comes from comfort. Enough said.
- Mastering microphone techniques if using amplification. Without demonstrating this it’s hard to explain. For handheld mics, don’t do a Lina Lamont (Singing in the Rain) and turn your mouth away from the microphone because it’s going to cut out your volume and words. Head microphones can be great, but always speak to your clients first because they can look unsightly in a photo.
Engaging with The Guests
Engagement is key to keeping an audience attentive and making the ceremony feel personal. To achieve this:
- Start with a strong opening, perhaps an icebreaker, like: ‘I’m Glenn, and you’ll hear me before you see me today!’
- Read the room and adjust your delivery accordingly.
- Allow for pauses to let laughter or emotional moments land. It’s the pants effect. Let people laugh, cry, shout out first, allow them to quieten down secondly, and then you can carry on. Follow these points and your onto a ‘pause of champions’.
- Never ad-lib, stick to your script. Whilst you might think what you’re going to say will land, it also might not. Even if it does, you run the risk of losing your place in the script or throwing yourself off entirely. Equally, sometimes things sound better in your head than they do said out loud.
- Manage audience participation effectively to keep the flow of the ceremony. Let them have a moment if they need it, but always remain in control.
Overcoming Nerves and Building Confidence
Nerves are natural and beneficial, when harnessed correctly. Some strategies to keep them in check include:
- Identifying your personal triggers for nervousness. Is it sweaty palms? Do you get really thirsty? Whatever your triggers are, use them to your own advantage.
- Using visualisation and mindfulness techniques. There are an abundant amount of apps and YouTube videos you could use for this. Whatever is going to keep you centred, use it.
- Repeating positive affirmations and developing preparation rituals.
- Setting the mood for yourself before the ceremony, be that through music, a familiar perfume or aftershave, or comfortable attire.
- Having all essentials prepared (e.g., tissues, backup scripts, unity ceremony items). If you’re prepared with everything then much less can go off course.
- Remembering that no one else knows your script, if you make a mistake, carry on confidently.
- Writing difficult words or names phonetically to ensure smooth pronunciation. We’ve all been there at any type of ceremony or event where the names are said REALLY wrong (cough*John Travolta*cough) and it gets pretty awkward pretty quickly.
Handling the Unexpected
No matter how well prepared you are, unexpected moments happen. Whether it’s a microphone failure, an emotional moment, or sudden bad weather, knowing how to adapt is vital. Keep calm, maintain composure, and remember:
- Interruptions are manageable with quick thinking. A great example would be if your mic stops working. Don’t do a Bridget Jones and shout ‘OI’ at the guests. Just roll with it and project more so nobody even knew the mic was a thing.
- A strong presence reassures the couple and guests. Your confidence will dictate how smoothly the situation is handled. Just smile and carry on.
Speaking in Public, Coaching for Celebrants
For those looking for personalised guidance, we also offer individual Speaking in Public, Coaching For Celebrants for both wedding and funeral celebrants. Sessions are on Zoom and are on a 1-2-1 basis and personalised guidance, and advice is given. Each session is 1 hour long and costs £50. Most require a single session, but additional sessions are available if you require them.
Continued Professional Development For Celebrants
Choice Celebrant Training also runs CPD courses for wedding and funeral celebrants. Currently available courses are:
Handfasting For Celebrants Training Course
Confidence comes from preparation, practice, and self-belief. With the right techniques, you can lead ceremonies that are engaging, heartfelt, and unforgettable. Keep learning, keep practising, and most importantly keep celebrating love with 100% authenticity and presence!
