As someone who has given three speeches, I gotta say bullet point notes are lifesavers. It keeps you on track and focused and makes sure you don't ramble. 

In the end, isn't delivery the only thing that matters? I don't mind someone with notes if the have an AMAZING speech, even if it's 10+ minutes. The worst ones are the ones with notes where the person is just reading what they wrote for the entirety of the speech, and you know they're super uncomfortable delivering it. 

I actually think they shouldn't force maid of honor / best man to do a speech — instead, the person who does the speech should just be the best performer of the group. 

I feel like it all depends on the person who's giving the speech. If I saw someone pull out notes I'd think "oh crap this is about to be a LONG one." But also some people might get really nervous and want to have some notes to make sure they say everything they want. I think bullet points is a great idea, this way the speech is still natural sounding, but you hit on all those embarrassing points.

I’ve been to too many weddings where a speaker didn’t have notes and ended up going on 20 minute rants. TEAM NOTES 🎉🎉

I was at a wedding this weekend and it was lovely. However, I've started to notice a collective panic over the crowds' faces when they see whomever is giving a speech pull out notes. Is it bad to bring notes up for a speech? In my mind, I get it it. You want to organize your thoughts and reduce the risk of rambling. On the other hand, you're confirming to the attendees that they should get comfortable, this is gonna be a long one. 

I think the flip side is no notes can very well (and usually does) equal chaos. 

So what's the solution? Maybe just a little note card that has bullet points? - Bring up her soccer career. - Mention the couples' love of travel. And then, if it's taking a while, you can cut one of those anecdotes? 

Notes or no notes... speeches edition

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