It’s a real honor to be asked to speak at someone’s cremation services in Salix, PA, but feeling honored and actually knowing what to say are two different things. You might agree right away because how do you turn someone down when they are asking you to help them out and do something special for their loved one? At the same time, once they walk away from the conversation, the panic might settle in. Use these tips for speaking at the cremation service and you will do just fine.
Keep It Brief
No one is expecting you to tell the deceased’s entire life story and, in fact, no one wants to hear you talk for half an hour. Cremation service speeches are meant to be short, sweet, and to the point. Ten minutes is plenty and if you are shorter than that, that’s okay, too. You want to hit a few high points, keep things positive, and make sure it’s all as personal as possible. It doesn’t have to be long to be memorable.
End On A Positive Note
It’s best to stay away from sadness as much as you can during this speech. Everyone knows the person you are there to honor has passed on. What they want is some hope and some uplifting words. Tell a memorable story or two about the person or end by saying how much that person would love seeing all of their family together in their honor. You want to end positively so people have something to hold onto.
Be Personal
Anyone can read an obituary out loud, but not just anyone can tell personal stories about someone special. You can tell your own stories or you can do a little research and tell stories others have shared with you to spread the memories around a little. These stories can be ones that make people smile or even laugh as they remember some of the good times with their loved one.
Prepare In Advance
A speech of this nature isn’t something you just want to wing. You are going to want to thoroughly thing through what you are going to say and even practice it alone and possibly run it by a few others to see if it comes across right. This is an honor that you want to get right for the family in attendance.
Write It Out
It never hurts to have the speech written out, even if you have it memorized. You never know when you might get nervous or overcome and have to pause. The writing will help you get back on track and pick up where you left off.
It’s nice to agree to give a speech at someone’s cremation services in Salix, PA, but if you agreed too fast and now you’re panicking, call the professionals at Simple Alternatives Funeral Home & Crematory for advice on what to say, what to avoid, and how to put the speech together and be are prepared as possible.