"What! Planning, researching, rehearsing and now you expect me to give my speech and listen at the same time?". Well, quite frankly - yes, but don't worry, it is quite easy to achieve - and it is listening that will give you charisma.

Charisma is that magic quality that will make your speech even more memorable. Everybody craves charisma and yet it doesn't come from doing something difficult that takes years to master. Being charismatic in giving your best man speech can be quite easily achieved - especially once you really know what charisma is.

Thanks to the communications research, conducted over the last thirty years, we know that charisma is, quite simply, expressiveness. Expressiveness is the willingness to be open to your audience - both verbally and non-verbally. Getting past the nerves and anxiety and showing passion for what you care about - and giving that to the audience. This is why we say "giving a speech".

Contrast the following examples. The first best man is looking down at his speech, held in his hands. He greets the audience without looking up and, without pause, continues to give his speech whilst spending the majority of his time either looking at his notes or looking over the audience's heads, in the middle distance.

Not an ideal speech delivery. The second best man speaks with is hands comfortably by his side. He smiles, greets the audience and pauses for a response. During the pause he makes eye contact with some of the guests in the audience. His speech continues with this level of interaction, both verbal and non-verbal - the second best man is showing charisma.

This is very a simplified example but, hopefully, gets my point across. The key to success is in making the rhetorical questions real. When you greet the audience and ask how they are you will likely not get a verbal response but you will get some non-verbal responses. Your speech will be made up of many small moments of connection like that.

So, if you really want to give a memorable speech then listen to your audience - an with listening will come charisma.

	Select your role to find out more The Best Man The Groom The Father of the Bride The Maid of Honor If you have to say a few words, make sure they are the right few words

Have a website of your own? Feel free to create a link to this article, from your website. The link html code is given below, simply copy the html into your web page.