Today we are catching up with Patricia, the owner of Best Man Speech Writer. As one of our new trends for 2015, we wanted to start a dialogue with fellow industry professionals. This way we can bring thoughts, ideas and a little more fun to our blog so you can look to us not only as a Wedding Cinema site, but as a valuable resource. There are so many things going on in the preparation of a wedding day, and we wanted to spend more time focusing on those little things! So to start the New Year off right, we're going to talk about speech writing, specifically, Best Man Speech writing! Here’s our interview with Patricia:
Q: So Patricia, you’re living our fantasy - writing in New York! Specifically, you are writing Best Man toasts, how did this happen?
A: For once, I can actually blame my brother without getting into trouble! I’m kidding. But my brother is the inspiration behind my business because a few years ago, when it was his first time as best man, he reached out to me for help with his speech. Our collaboration went so well that we did this same song-and-dance number once again. It was after his second best man speech, when the DJ and wedding planner congratulated him on a job well done, that I realized the existing need for best man speech help and that I was pretty good at helping best men with their speeches. So, all thanks to my brother, the proverbial seed was planted in my mind and here we are.
Q: It’s been said that the best speeches are from the heart. We've been in the industry for bit of time now and have noticed that the best man usually does a killer job, in fact, their speeches are often the soundtrack of our films. So why should a best man want to hire you if that’s the case?
A: Best man speeches are, indeed, often used as part of a wedding film’s soundtrack which is why a great best man speech benefits not just the best man but also the clients of wedding cinematographers. And great best man speeches almost always come from the heart. But the problem for many of our clients is taking what's in their hearts and putting it into words. Add to that that the average best man will spend about 15 minutes to prepare for his 15 minutes of wedding fame and you have a recipe for disaster. We are speechwriters but in a lot of ways you can consider us interpreters. We take the stories, feelings, emotions, and everything else the best man shares with us and we help them to put it down on paper in a way that conveys the message they want to send. We recognize not every best man requires us in their corner. However, there are a great many others who would significantly benefit from our help and expertise. If a best man is unsure of whether or not he needs our help, we suggest that he asks himself certain questions. For instance, best men who are on the fence about hiring us should consider the following:
Have you spoken in front of a large crowd before?
Do you know with what, or how, to start your speech (often times the beginning of a best man's speech sets the tone for the entire speech)?
Is this your first time as best man?
Are you confident in your writing ability?
Do you think it would be helpful to have a professional speechwriter review your speech?
Regardless of the best man's answers to these questions or choice to retain our services, we're always rooting for the best man.
Q: Do you write the entire toast?
A: Yes. Typically we're hired to write a best man's entire toast from start to finish.
Q: If the best man has trouble writing a speech, wouldn't he also have trouble presenting it? You might be able to write a bang on speech, but what about on the big day, when the best man is alone in front of 200 people? Does your company provide coaching or any performance help?
A: Let me first say this: A good presentation/performance can make an average speech a good speech, but a bad speech will always be a bad speech regardless of the performance/presentation.
Stage fright is a valid concern for even the most confident best man and it can only be resolved through practice and coaching. Our services often include coaching (along with the great best man speech we've prepared, of course) and the main goal of our coaching sessions is for the best man to become comfortable with his speech and, therefore, be confident presenting it. The sessions involve the best man mock-presenting his speech to us and we coach him on what improvements, if any, are needed. Our advice is tailored specifically to each client and we make certain to arm them with the tools they need to deliver an exceptional best man speech. A list of some of the tips we share with our clients are available on our website here - please feel free to share with your clients and readers.
Q: How involved does the best man need to be? In our experience, the best man is pretty busy, so how does he find the time? Do you do it over the phone or email?
A: We require very little from our clients because we understand that they hire us for our expertise and to remove from their already-filled plates the task of writing their speech. Therefore, besides answering some questions, responding to follow-up questions when necessary, and practicing their speech with us, we ask for nothing else from the best man. In addition, so as not to disrupt their busy schedules, we communicate with them virtually - email, text message, Skype, FaceTime, telephone, etc. We believe these virtual methods of communication are less obtrusive and better suited time- and geography-wise for our clients.
Q: What has the general feedback been from your speeches and do you see professionally written speeches as an upcoming trend in weddings?
A: We've received positive feedback for the speeches we've written and wedding speech writing is still a fairly unknown service in the U.S. However, given how best man speeches have rapidly grown to become an integral part of receptions, I believe that our services will become a wedding industry staple. Furthermore, as more and more best men seek originality for their speech, they’ll look beyond Google for speech help and turn to us for a speech written especially for them.
We wanted to say a Big Thanks to Patricia for her time, we thoroughly enjoyed learning about her company and what she does to Capture the Story!
COMPANY: Best Man Speech Writer
