THE DELIVERY

·         If you have a lot of crib cards or bits of paper, either make sure they are clearly numbered or, better still, fasten them together so they don’t get jumbled up. There is nothing worse than a speechmaker rustling paper for half an hour with a panicked look on their face!

·         Avoid improvising unless you really need to (or have regularly appeared on 'Whose Line is it Anyway?')

·         Take a deep breath before you begin and remember to breathe deep and rhythmically throughout the course of the speech.

·         Remember that a deeper voice carries better, so avoid a Joe Pasquale style delivery.

·         Exaggerating words and consonants and clearly expressing key words will help your audience – especially important for those key one-liners!

·         Don’t be afraid to take a few sips of a drink during the speech, just try to stick to water or a soft drink and make sure that you don’t reach for the toasting glass in error!

·         Make sure you are introduced, either by the toastmaster or do it yourself.

·         If you really are concerned then get the audience on your side by letting them know. The phrase ‘Sorry I’m a little nervous’ always works, but a quick joke, something along the lines of ‘I don’t suppose anyone has a change of underwear handy do they?’ may be just as good depending upon the audience.