Kick out the prop!

Written by The Barking Dog.

Increasingly over the years, best men have started turning to props in the belief that it will enhance their performance and guarantee a few laughs. We’ve got to say right from the off that nothing beats a really great speech. No Props. No videos. No gimp suits. And no searching for wifi signals.

It does sound really tempting on paper to have something that will instantly make people laugh and take away all those nerves, the only thing is…it rarely work out like that. If you’re holding up a teddy that he still likes to go to bed with…some handcuffs from the stag weekend etc etc only a very few people will be able to see what it is you’re holding. The vast majority will only have to imagine how funny it might be, and usually that’s not very funny at all. Worst still, people will start to talk amongst themselves about how they can’t see, and you also probably get a few who will get up and starting moving around for a better view. The whole thing just engenders complete chaos.

Videos are becoming more common, and that’s because a lot of guys are paralysed by fear at the thought of standing up and making people laugh. We get that, but really if you’ haven’t got the balls to grab this opportunity and celebrate the man who’s bestowed this honour upon you, you should probably hand it over to someone else. Watching a video we can do any time, it’s impersonal and lacks a sense of occasion. You can, and need to do better than this.

Some guys decide that they want to share photographs, which is great but you have the same issue with people not being able to see, and also the very minute you introduce something like a photograph, everyone will instantly stop listening to a word you’re saying. It’s completely counter productive, and in the end makes only harder for you to get them back on side and land your speech.

So forget props, let people hear it from you, and not through some powerpoint presentation. You’ve got the rest of your days to reflect on this best man speech, so getting it right on the day is really important.