8 Tips for Writing Memorial Service Speeches

Memorial service speeches are one of the most personal and emotional parts of a funeral. If you have been asked to read a speech at a funeral it is a huge honor. It provides you with an opportunity to pay tribute to your loved one and share your favorite memories with friends and family attending the funeral.

Writing a speech to read at a funeral is very difficult. The emotion of losing a loved one is immense and organizing your thoughts into a speech is difficult. Furthermore, there is so much information that you want to share with the people attending the funeral. You want to show them how special the deceased person was and how much they meant to you. To help write the perfect speech to memorialize and honor your loved one, we have put together the following tips for writing memorial service speeches.

1. Keep it short and to the point

You have probably heard the saying “less is more”. It is important to remember when writing a speech for a memorial service. You likely shared numerous experiences with your loved one. Furthermore, he or she had a lot of good qualities and interests that you want to share. However, the most effective memorial service speeches are 5 to 10 minutes in length. Focus on the deceased’s qualities that you will remember the most about him or her. Share a story or two that best depicts these qualities and that everyone in attendance will be able to relate to.

2. Introduce yourself

People who read memorial service speeches often forget to introduce themselves. A wide range of people will be attending the funeral and not everyone will know who you are. Furthermore, it can help to give a brief background on how you knew the deceased. This may not be necessary if they were a family member. However, if you are a friend of the deceased it is helpful to provide some information on where and when you met the person.

3. Remember who it is about

It is important to remember the purpose of the eulogy speech. You are there to honor and pay tribute to the person who passed away. Often people delivering speeches will start to speak too much about their personal relationship with the deceased. Furthermore, people will also speak about the grief they are feeling over the loss. It is understandable why people do this, but it creates a disconnect between the person giving the speech and the audience. The goal should be to share information about the deceased so that people attending the funeral can learn more about the person and remember the time they shared with the deceased.

4. Stay positive and add humor

A funeral is a very sad occasion. The eulogy provides you with an opportunity to put a smile on the face of friends and family. Instead of discussing the sadness you are feeling over the loss, speak about the wonderful life the person lived and his or her positive qualities. Sharing a humorous story will help to break the tension in the room and add laughter to a somber situation.

5. Make it conversational

The best memorial service speeches are conversational. Think of the speech as a conversation you are having with a close friend. Oftentimes, people reading a speech will simply read a list of facts about the person and read a story or two. It is not necessary to share every piece of information about the person. Instead, the goal is to engage the audience and share with them what made the deceased person so special to you and everyone else.

6. Be inclusive of everyone

The memorial service will include friends, family, coworkers, and other acquaintances. Not everyone attending the funeral will know the deceased as well as you did. Do not assume that everyone knew him or her the way you did. It is ok to share personal memories, but try to choose stories that emphasize a personal quality of the deceased person. That way, even though people attending the funeral were not there for the situation, they will still be able to relate to the story.

7. Bring a printed copy

It is not necessary to memorize the speech. In fact, trying to memorize the speech can make reading the speech more difficult because if you forget what to say it can be difficult to get back on track. Print a copy of the speech using a large font that is easy to read from far away. That way you do not have to hold the speech close to your face to read it. We recommend reading the speech a few times before the funeral to become familiar with it and then refer to the printed speech while delivering the eulogy.

8. Don’t be afraid to show emotion

The most important tip to remember when delivering a eulogy is to not be afraid to show emotion. Everyone attending the funeral will be sharing in your grief and will understand how difficult it is to read a eulogy about your loved one who passed away. We recommend bringing a glass of water with you to the podium. If you find that you are getting emotional during the speech, pause, take a deep breath and drink some water, then continue. This will help you to collect your emotions and continue with the speech. If you find that the emotion is to great, you can request that a friend or family member continue reading the speech on your behalf.

The 8 tips for writing memorial service speeches are helpful to keep in mind when writing and delivering a eulogy. We recommend that you also read one of our eulogy writing guides listed below to learn more about how to properly structure a eulogy and what information to include. This will help you write a beautiful eulogy speech for your loved one.

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6-Step Eulogy Writing Guide

Eulogies are the speeches that are delivered during a memorial service. If you have been asked to speak at a funeral, this 6-step eulogy writing guide will help you compose a memorable speech that pays tribute to your loved one.

Typically a close friend, family member, or a member of the clergy, will deliver the eulogy. Naturally, when someone is asked to deliver a speech at a funeral, there is some hesitation. It is not that the person does not want to honor their loved one; it is the fear of speaking in front of a group of people. Combine the fear of public speaking with the grief of a loss and giving a eulogy is a difficult thing to do. We recommend the following 6-Step Guide to Writing and Delivery a Eulogy. Click the following link to learn more about this excellent product. Or, read the summary of the 6-step eulogy writing guide below.

1. Prepare

Preparation is an important and often overlooked step when writing a eulogy. The emotion of losing a loved one combined with the distractions of career, family and other outside factors can affect our ability to write a eulogy. Locate a place where you can be alone and turn off your phone and anything else that will cause distraction. Now, take a deep breathe, relax, and began writing the eulogy.

2. Plan

Now that you are ready to begin writing the eulogy, you should start by planning what you are going to write. Do you want the eulogy to be serious or light-hearted? Do you want to share your own stories, or include stories from other people? Do you want the eulogy to be written in chronological order? What information do you want to include? For example, family history, career, interests, and so on.

3. Collect

After you have decided what to write you will need to collect the information. Write the headings of the topics you plan to include on a piece of paper. This may include childhood, family, education, career, marriage, children, interests, and so on. Next, begin to write all of the information you can think of under each heading. When you are finished, you can contact family members and close friends and ask them to provide you additional information on the deceased. You will also want to spend time thinking about a few personal stories that you can include in the eulogy.

4. Write

Now that you have all of the information for the eulogy, it is time to write it. Begin by taking the information and turning it into a rough draft. The best way to do this is to take the information under each heading and turn it into properly structured paragraphs. Next, you will want to write the introductory paragraph where you introduce yourself and what you plan to speak about in the eulogy. The next step is to take each of the sections you have written and combine them into a speech. Remember that this is the first draft and will likely include a lot of facts that are unnecessary. Read the speech to yourself a few times and remove the unnecessary information and fix the spelling and grammar errors. Continue to edit and rewrite the speech until you are left with a final version that you are happy with.

5. Practice

When the final version of the eulogy is complete it is time to rehearse the speech. Read it to yourself a few times and refine the speech as necessary. Next, you will want to read the speech out loud to better prepare yourself for reading the eulogy at the funeral. You may also want to ask a friend or family member if they will listen to the speech because they can help by suggesting changes. Practice the speech as often as you need, but do not worry about memorizing it.

6. Deliver

Now that you have practiced the speech, it is time to read it at the funeral. Remember to try and not worry about memorizing the speech. We recommend printing a copy of the speech in a large font and having it with you. The friends and family will not care if you refer to the speech, or even read from it, at the funeral. Also, it is perfectly understandable if you get emotional during the speech. If you begin to get overwhelmed with emotions, simply pause and take a deep breath then continue.

Reading a eulogy at a funeral gives you a chance to honor the person who passed away. Writing and giving the eulogy may seem like an impossible task at first, but with some preparation it can be easier than you may think. Above we have provided you with the basic information required to write a eulogy. For more in-depth information and help, click the link below to download the 6-step eulogy writing guide.

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Helpful Guide to Writing Eulogies

If you have been asked to write a eulogy for a deceased person it is a great honor. Writing eulogies can be very difficult, especially if you have never written one before. However, no matter how worried you may be to write and deliver the eulogy, do not turn down the opportunity because it is a tremendous distinction. Though it may be the most difficult speech to deliver and brings about a great responsibility, it is an excellent way to honor your loved one and show everyone how much they meant to you.

While writing eulogies may seem to be difficult, especially if the person has little experience writing a speech, there are products available in the market to help the speaker be at ease and write a personal and heartfelt eulogy. We recommend the following 6-step Guide to Writing and Delivery a Eulogy. Click the following link to learn more about this excellent product.

1. Prepare yourself – It is important to begin the eulogy when you are in the right frame of mind. Writing a eulogy to someone you love that has passed away is very difficult. It is important that you set aside some quiet time to collect your thoughts, relax, and then begin writing the eulogy.

2. Plan the eulogy – The first step to writing the eulogy is to decide what type of eulogy you want to write. Do you want it to be serious or light-hearted? Do you want to share personal stories? Do you want it to be in chronological order?

3. Gather information – After you have decided what to write you will need to collect the information. Begin by thinking of memories you shared with the deceased. Looking through photos will help. Next, you can contact family members and close friends and ask them to provide you information on the deceased.

4. Write the eulogy – Now that you have all of the information for the eulogy, it is time to write it. Begin by taking the information and turning it into a rough draft. The next step is to read over the draft and turn it into a well-composed speech. It may take you a few re-writes until you get a speech that you are happy with.

5. Rehearse and refine – When the final draft is complete it is time to rehearse the speech. Read it to yourself a few times and refine the speech as necessary. Next, you will want to read the speech out loud to better prepare you for reading the eulogy at the funeral. You may also want to ask a friend or family member if they will listen to the speech because they can help by suggesting changes.

6. Deliver the eulogy – Now that you have practiced the speech, it is time to deliver it at the funeral. Try not to stress too much about memorizing the speech. We recommend printing a copy of the speech and having it with you. The friends and family will not care if you read the speech or get emotional during the speech. If you begin to get overwhelmed with emotions, simply pause and take a deep breath then continue.

As mentioned, writing eulogies is difficult. Writing the eulogy with honesty and from the heart makes it a lot easier. The best thing that you can do is to share your personal experiences with the loved one to everyone at the funeral. What made the person special to you and what qualities did you appreciate the most? Recall the memories you shared together and why they were important.

Reading a eulogy at a funeral gives you a chance to celebrate the life of the person who died, share the memories that happened, inspire other people, and ease the feelings of pain of the survivors. Writing it at first may be difficult, and while delivering it may make the eulogist break down and cry, the audience will understand. Writing eulogies is not easy and delivering them is even more difficult; however, it is a rewarding task and saying a few words at your loved ones funeral will be appreciated by everyone in attendance.

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