Double-act speeches are growing in popularity and I can see the benefit of having someone to share responsibilities and blame if things don’t quite go to plan. And the margin of error where a double-act is high. It’s possible that one of the two persuades the other they should go for harder-hitting stuff and from the opening sentence they offend, shock and sicken the audience. It’s possible that the two best men hate each other, or don’t even know one another. They could be on the other side of the world for that matter. I could go on. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it takes a lot of collaboration to get a double-act speech right. It might seem relatively simple, one speaking after the other. And I grant that it is possible to have a double-act speech where individual stories are told one after the other. But it’s much, much better when each Best Man’s contribution knits together and flows with a seamless rhythm. It’s also important to note that while much of the success of this is in the words, it is also in how well the two Best Men interact. The more they rehearse and prepare the better. If one Best Man is delivering a punchline for the other, he can’t be focussed on the uncle of the bride’s terribly chosen shoes, he has to be alert and ready for his cue. If one Best Man is finishing half of the story, the other has to ensure he has the correct half of the story. So it goes.
Here's an example of one that fortunately went very well.
William
Now we all know the whole point of this best mans speech is to make all the guests look at the bride and ask, “What the hell was a lovely girl like you thinking, agreeing to marry that chancer?”
Harry
The thing is, everyone says that already! I said to Charlie regarding the speech, I’m having my doubts about going through with this but I thought what the hell, I said I’ll do it and it’s too late to back out now.
William
Pretty much how Camilla was feeling this morning… So now we’re both a bit nervous and feeling a little queasy, but we’re determined to get it over with as soon as possible.
Harry
Pretty much how Camilla will be feeling tonight…”
Delivering a great Double Act Best Man Speech requires commitment. Ask yourself. Are you ready? Are you??