Giving Eulogy Speeches – a Great Honour and a Huge Responsibility at This Time of Sadness and Mourning

Of all the speeches you can give in life, eulogy speeches have to rank among the most important, and also the most intimidating.

Nobody wants the eulogy to be given by someone who didn’t know the person who has died, as that would be really impersonal, or worse. I still remember when my own grandmother died and the eulogy was given by a priest who had never even met her. It was a painful experience, as he combined the notes my family had given him with his own made-up comments about my grandmother, and even some poorly-judged attempts at humour. This left us all cringing and disappointed, and it was as if the funeral wasn’t about her at all! This stopped us being able to fully grieve during the ceremony, and many of us felt angry and cheated for a long time afterwards. I know it wasn’t until I visited my grandmother’s grave a year later that I was finally able to cry and grieve in the way I’d wanted to during her funeral. It was a great shame.

So yes, I believe it’s important that someone like you gives the speech, someone who actually knew and loved that person. And at the same time there are still many pitfalls to be avoided.

For instance, how will you give a loving and positive impression of a person’s good points, without making it a sugar-coated speech which doesn’t represent the person’s whole character? What about humour – is it appropriate to make jokes and tell funny stories from someone’s life, and if so, how much would be too much? And when close relatives have widely differing views – either about the facts of someone’s life, or about their personality and character – how can you accommodate everyone’s opinion without causing offence? Plus of course there are all the other questions, such as what to include and what to leave out, how long to speak for, and how to open and close your speech.

And what is clear is that mis-calculating in any of these areas can lead to a eulogy which misses the mark and jars for some or all of the people present, and which is a source of regret for you and for others. I know that my own first eulogy – for my grandfather, some years after my grandmother had had her funeral – was a rewarding experience but one which still leaves me wincing a little when I think of how I mis-judged the tone of the speech in some key ways.

Since then I have written, advised on and delivered over 100 eulogy speeches in my capacity as a professional Funeral Presider (taking the role traditionally filled by the priest). And I have long since ironed out all those mistakes and identified a simple formula which takes all the heartache and anxiety out of giving a eulogy, making it easy for you to give a great speech which really honours the person who has died, and which you feel really good about afterwards and for years to come.

You can see more about my downloadable guide, How to Write and Deliver a Great Eulogy in 6 Simple Steps, by clicking here. It comes complete with many example eulogy speeches, funeral poems, quotations, public speaking tips and even eulogy speeches for famous people from John F Kennedy to Princess Diana. And it also comes with a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee.

If you’re ready to buy the guide straight away, click here.