How to Deliver a Short Speech with Big Impact with Eddie Rice.

Welcome to Public Speaking with Peter George. Do you want to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then stay tuned as we discuss public speaking tips, techniques, and tactics that help you increase your impact, influence, and income.

Perhaps the most important speech you’ll ever give lasts only a few minutes. It’s commonly known as a toast. My guest on this episode, Eddie Rice, discusses the art of both creating and delivering one. Eddie is the author of the award-winning book Toast: Short Speeches, Big Impact. He is also a speechwriter and public speaking coach with ten years of experience who loves creating strong, narrative-driven speeches that balance emotional and thought leadership content. His clients include executives, business leaders, and nonprofit leaders. Here’s my conversation with Eddie Rice.

The Two Goals of Every Toast

Peter: What’s the golden nugget most people don’t know about giving a toast?

Eddie: The goals of any toast are to honor the person and honor the event. If you nail those two things, you’re going to give a really good speech. That’s where most toasts go wrong — the speaker isn’t honoring the person, or they’re not honoring the event. That’s how you end up with the crude toast, the unplanned roast, or the one that lands on YouTube for all the wrong reasons.

Structure: Beginning, Middle, and End

Eddie: Start by telling people who you are and how you’re related to the person you’re toasting. At a wedding, half the crowd may not know you. Then build your toast around one really great story — a single story that honors the person. For the closing, find a book, song, or movie that’s personal to the couple and quote a line from it. Ask everyone to raise a glass, deliver the line, say cheers. That’s a far more memorable ending than anything you’d find with a quick internet search.

Preparation and Rehearsal

Eddie: Balance the time you spend writing with the time you spend rehearsing. If you have a month, spend two weeks writing and two weeks rehearsing. Without rehearsal, some people forget key parts and come up short. Others get hit by adrenaline and ramble for ten minutes. Neither serves the couple well. Start earlier than you think you need to. Use a voice recorder app on your phone, give the speech, and play it back. You’ll hear the awkward phrases, the jokes that don’t land, the things you want to edit — before you’re standing in front of everyone.

Notes: Go Analog

Eddie: Use paper or 3×5 index cards instead of your phone. Cell phones die. The backlight hits your face and interferes with photographers. And if you’re reading from your phone for the first time at the actual ceremony, that’s too late. The goal is scaffold memorization — having your notes as backup while you deliver from memory.

Using a Microphone

Eddie: Get comfortable holding a microphone before the day of the event. Position it close to your mouth — if you had a mustache, it might be touching the microphone. Don’t gesture with your mic hand to the point where it drops to your side. If you can borrow or find a cheap microphone to practice with beforehand, do it. And even if you think you project well enough to skip the mic, use it anyway — not everyone in the room has the same hearing capacity, the acoustics may be worse than you expect, and it’s only three to five minutes.

Peter: Eddie, where can listeners find your book and learn more?

Eddie: My book is Toast: Short Speeches, Big Impact — available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook at any major bookstore. And you can find me at ricespeechwriting.com. I can help with any stage of the process, from brainstorming to rehearsal.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Public Speaking with Peter George. Are you ready to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then visit petergeorgepublicspeaking.com and let’s make it happen. I’ll see you next time.