Tips To Writing A Funeral Eulogy

May 13th, 2010 by admin

It’s a kind of double edged sword when someone asks you to give a funeral eulogy for someone they love. You feel the pressure to perform and come up with the just the right words to make everyone remember the loved one fondly. It’s an awesome responsible that someone has entrusted you with, as they will remember the words you speak forever.

Take this responsibility seriously as the person who’s asked you to speak is at a very vulnerable point and will take your words to heart. Do your homework, talk to people who knew the deceased before you and get anecdotes and stories that describe the type of person you knew them to be. Think back on their entire life and touch base on all the major milestones they may have achieved.

Another thing it consider is the length of the speech. While you’re covering an entire life span, you don’t want the talk to be too long. A funeral eulogy is succinct and poignant, not long and drawn out. Talk about the person and their accomplishment, a few stories that describe their personality and then hit home on the type of legacy and family they have left behind. In all total, the speech should not be much longer than five minutes.

A word to the wise, don’t try to “wing” the speech. You owe it to the person who asked you to talk in the first place and the deceased to practice the speech and be prepared. Definitely do make an outline to keep you on track, but if you practice it several times before a mirror, your confidence level will increase and you’ll deliver the eulogy with compassion, humor and conviction.

Make a copy of your speech so that if emotions overcome you before or during the speech, you can pass it on to someone else to read. However, don’t be afraid of some emotion showing during the eulogy. It’s to be expected and no one can blame you. The loved one who’s passed would have appreciated your efforts and the family hearing your speech will remember your words for a lifetime.

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