Eulogies are the speeches that are delivered during a memorial service. If you have been asked to speak at a funeral, this 6-step eulogy writing guide will help you compose a memorable speech that pays tribute to your loved one.
Typically a close friend, family member, or a member of the clergy, will deliver the eulogy. Naturally, when someone is asked to deliver a speech at a funeral, there is some hesitation. It is not that the person does not want to honor their loved one; it is the fear of speaking in front of a group of people. Combine the fear of public speaking with the grief of a loss and giving a eulogy is a difficult thing to do. We recommend the following 6-Step Guide to Writing and Delivery a Eulogy. Click the following link to learn more about this excellent product. Or, read the summary of the 6-step eulogy writing guide below.
6-Step Eulogy Writing Guide
1. Prepare
Preparation is an important and often overlooked step when writing a eulogy. The emotion of losing a loved one combined with the distractions of career, family and other outside factors can affect our ability to write a eulogy. Locate a place where you can be alone and turn off your phone and anything else that will cause distraction. Now, take a deep breathe, relax, and began writing the eulogy.
2. Plan
Now that you are ready to begin writing the eulogy, you should start by planning what you are going to write. Do you want the eulogy to be serious or light-hearted? Do you want to share your own stories, or include stories from other people? Do you want the eulogy to be written in chronological order? What information do you want to include? For example, family history, career, interests, and so on.
3. Collect
After you have decided what to write you will need to collect the information. Write the headings of the topics you plan to include on a piece of paper. This may include childhood, family, education, career, marriage, children, interests, and so on. Next, begin to write all of the information you can think of under each heading. When you are finished, you can contact family members and close friends and ask them to provide you additional information on the deceased. You will also want to spend time thinking about a few personal stories that you can include in the eulogy.
4. Write
Now that you have all of the information for the eulogy, it is time to write it. Begin by taking the information and turning it into a rough draft. The best way to do this is to take the information under each heading and turn it into properly structured paragraphs. Next, you will want to write the introductory paragraph where you introduce yourself and what you plan to speak about in the eulogy. The next step is to take each of the sections you have written and combine them into a speech. Remember that this is the first draft and will likely include a lot of facts that are unnecessary. Read the speech to yourself a few times and remove the unnecessary information and fix the spelling and grammar errors. Continue to edit and rewrite the speech until you are left with a final version that you are happy with.
5. Practice
When the final version of the eulogy is complete it is time to rehearse the speech. Read it to yourself a few times and refine the speech as necessary. Next, you will want to read the speech out loud to better prepare yourself for reading the eulogy at the funeral. You may also want to ask a friend or family member if they will listen to the speech because they can help by suggesting changes. Practice the speech as often as you need, but do not worry about memorizing it.
6. Deliver
Now that you have practiced the speech, it is time to read it at the funeral. Remember to try and not worry about memorizing the speech. We recommend printing a copy of the speech in a large font and having it with you. The friends and family will not care if you refer to the speech, or even read from it, at the funeral. Also, it is perfectly understandable if you get emotional during the speech. If you begin to get overwhelmed with emotions, simply pause and take a deep breath then continue.
Reading a eulogy at a funeral gives you a chance to honor the person who passed away. Writing and giving the eulogy may seem like an impossible task at first, but with some preparation it can be easier than you may think. Above we have provided you with the basic information required to write a eulogy. For more in-depth information and help, click the link below to download the 6-step eulogy writing guide.
