Funeral Speeches – A Challenge During Hard Times
Funeral Speeches are probably the most challenging speeches of all. It is hard to capture the life of a person in a few paragraphs and a few minutes.
Did you see Michael Jackson‘s memorial service this week? One of the most touching moments was when Michael’s daughter Paris came up to the microphone. She didn’t say much. But what she said touched everyone in the audience.
Not everybody’s eulogy will be as short as Paris Jackson’s. But you should strive to include as much emotion as she did. Funeral speeches are meant to comfort the grieving families. They should bring the deceased to life for those who may not have known him or her well. They can include some surprises even for closer relatives but above all they should remind everyone of happy times with the deceased.
If a person lived a long and fulfilled life the funeral speech will not be the same as when a child dies or a young person is killed in a traffic accident. After all, what comfort can there be for the loss of a beloved child? What kind of funeral speech shoudl there be if the death was so sudden that everyone is in a state of shock? Such funeral speeches call out for imagination and full understanding of a terrible loss.
Funeral speeches must be sensitive to the feelings of everyone at the funeral. It is extremely important that you do not say anything to offend anyone or disrupt the ceremony.
Every funeral speech is different because every person is different and should be honored in an individual way. We are told only to speak well of the deceased. The main reason for that is not to upset the living. Nobody wants you to stand up in church and speak, however sympathetic, about alcoholism or debt. or Funeral speeches are after all a public declaration of personal and private feelings. But not matter how you feel, every eulogy should end on a positive note. Even non-believers need your assertion that a person will live on, even if they don’t believe in a paradise. Always remember that you cannot undo what you say in any speech. So whatever you say, especially with funeral speeches, say it kindly.
Related articles
- Michael Jackson’s 11-Year-Old Daughter’s Heartfelt Tribute To Her Father (themoderatevoice.com)
- How to Write a Speech – Funeral Speeches (howtowriteaspeech.net)
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