December is the month of toasts so it's time to brush up. If you're not raising your glass at your holiday party then you might be toasting with a friend on New Year's Eve.
A good toast honors a relationship, rite of passage, community, mission and/or big accomplishment. Fortunately, giving a good toast is a public speaking skill you can learn.
The first step is to make sure your glass is nearby and partially-filled and that everyone has their glass handy. Then, follow these tips:
The structure of a toast:
Raise your glass and say, "I'd like to make a toast."
Give everyone a second or two to focus and raise their own glass.
Open with gratitude. For example: "Thank you for being here!"
Continue with appreciation. For example, what do you appreciate about this person or this community?
Conclude with a wish for this person's next chapter or this community's next year.
Punctuate your ending with: "Cheers!" "Happy New Year!" "Bottoms Up!" "L'Chiam!"
All you need is two people and two glasses to make a toast that commemorates any occasion, big or small. Start making toasts every week so when the big occasion comes, you’ve had plenty of practice.
The attitude of your toast:
Exude delight.
Don't worry about being perfect. Awkwardness shows your vulnerability.
Stand tall with your weight evenly distributed on both feet.
Don’t memorize your toast or you will run the risk of sounding robotic.
Do memorize your first and last sentence so you can look at the audience on your open and close.
Radiate warmth.
Don't wait until you're called on and wish you'd planned ahead. Plan and rehearse now and be ready to warm up your events and your relationships by making a toast. The great thing about toasts is there doesn't have to be just one, you can always say, "And I'd like to make a toast too!"
And then email me to tell me how it worked out.
Photo by Allison Kettlety on Unsplash