A nationwide survey* commissioned by Wedding Speech Guru, reveals that Britain could be heading towards a shortage of best men. Almost half of the UK male population – 43% – would consider turning down the opportunity to be best man because they are so nervous about the prospect of making a speech.

And their nerves would seem to be well-founded. Almost three quarters (74%) of the 2,000 people questioned said that speeches can make or break the wedding. And 79% say that they feel sorry for the best man because of the pressure the speech brings…

Nearly six out of ten (56%) said that they have heard embarrassing and inappropriate wedding speeches, over a third (35%) have been to weddings ruined by drunken speeches and a third of 18-34 year olds are ashamed of their wedding speech.

 
With so many best men getting it wrong, Wedding Speech Guru is organising Best Men Boot Camp – a workshop to help men talk about a bridegroom with truth and humour, rather than embarrass him with cheap jokes.

 
“What many best men don’t realise is that rather than embarrassing the groom, the main purpose of their speech is to commend their friend to the guests,” said Robin Bayley, author and founder of Wedding Speech Guru. Once wedding guests see that a speech is coming from a place of love and respect, they are much more likely to respond with laughter.

 
At the boot camp, which is being held in central London on July 16th, the best men will learn how to gather their material, hone it into stories that illustrate the groom’s character, and practise delivery in front of the other best men.

 
But if best men aren’t willing to step up to the plate, it seems that women are. One in five – 20% – of UK weddings have best women rather than best men. Women are judged to make better, less cringe-worthy speeches, less likely to get drunk and also to steer clear of rude jokes about the bride.

 
62% of Londoners think that it should be normal for women to make wedding speeches, and 57% said that women are more natural because men try too hard to be funny. Nationally 53% of 24-34 year olds believe that women’s wedding speeches are better than men’s.

 
*Nationwide survey by Populus, March 2016. 2,000 respondents, aged 18+

 

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Wedding Speech Guru was founded by author, life coach and serial best man, Robin Bayley.

Wedding Speech Guru’s mission is to ensure that speeches honour the bride and groom and come from a place of affection and emotional truth. Alongside group workshops, such as Best Man Boot Camp Wedding Speech Guru provides tailor made, one-to-one speech coaching for anyone making a wedding speech. Robin helped to set up Wedding TV in 2008 and is a registered minister, licensed to conduct weddings in California. He has just been asked to be best man for the sixth time.

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For more information contact Robin
07985919856
[email protected]
or visit
www.weddingspeechguru.co.uk

Post written by Robin Bayley and publised on ukcelebrant.co.uk