7 Things All After Dinner Speakers Should Know

Remember these to make your speech great.

After dinner speakers need special skills that other speakers don't require - at least not in the same proportions. Here are some things to remember while you give your speech.

• Pay attention. During dinner and during the day, all the time. "Collect" phrase, items, anecdotes that you can use for speeches. Life is the best resource for any speaker - especially one who speaks at the conclusion of the day.
• Don't overprepare. Have a topic and a couple of sayings handy, but trust to the evening to provide good material. Mentioning the people at your table and events at the dinner helps to draw people together and foster a feeling of comraderie.
• Don't overeat. If you're too full to buckle your belt, you're too full to speak. Most audiences don't like belching. Eat light. Don't imbibe too much, either.
• Tell stories - well. Both interesting and funny, a well-told story is a great way to make the evening speech shine.
• Be funny. It's obvious, but bears repeating. There's no better way to break the ice and warm up the audience than a couple of humerous anecdotes.
• Audience involvement is a good thing - if it's natural. Ask people questions, invite them to tell stories. But nothing forced, nothing that would make anyone uncomfortable. Natural involvement draws everyone together. Forced interaction makes people not like you.
• Don't talk about yourself. Focus on the people at the dinner. Everyone likes hearing about themselves more than they like hearing about somebody else.