Whether you’re celebrating your work wife’s promotion or raising a glass of bubbly at your best friend’s wedding, knowing how to give a great toast is a life skill that’s worth mastering, but, of course, that’s easier said than done. When honoring someone with a toast, you want to be heartfelt, kind, funny, and poignant, which is no small feat (especially when you consider that 73% of people suffer from speech anxiety before giving a presentation or public speech), so we tapped two experts for some tips.

At our recent Future You Festive, Jeni Britton Bauer, the founder and chief brand officer of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, and Brian Fairleigh, the brand education manager at Chandon, spilled the details on how to give a great toast, no matter the occasion. If you missed their must-watch workshop at our digital summit, don’t worry, we have you covered! Scroll on for Bauer and Fairleigh’s tried-and-true tips on how to raise a glass and give a memorable toast that won’t end in dreaded awkward silence or elicit eye rolls.

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Tip #1: Read the Audience

When preparing to give a toast, the very first thing you need to do is read the audience. “It's important to see who's in front of you,” advises Fairleigh. “Because what you're going to say to an audience of old businessmen versus your friends at your friend's wedding are totally different things.” Consider who will be raising their glasses with you and let that help inform the content of your toast.

Tip #2: Read the Situation

After you’ve considered your audience, you want to be mindful of the situation. "Sometimes you want to make jokes, sometimes you want to roast the person a little bit, sometimes you want to be very sincere and very from the heart," explains Fairleigh. Being mindful of the occasion will ensure your toast resonates with your audience.

Are you at a wedding where a heartfelt toast describing the happy couple’s meet-cute moment would be most appropriate? Are you raising a glass to your work wife’s promotion where that funny anecdote about how she accidentally signed off an email with “have a nice eek” will get a laugh? Be sure to take both your audience and the situation into account to give a cheers-worthy toast people will remember.

Tip #3: Keep It Short and Sweet

Just as important as reading the room, knowing your audience, and being mindful of the moment is knowing when to wrap it up. “I can't tell you how many times I've seen people give a toast where they absolutely crush it in the first couple of lines, but then, when they see that they're doing well, start taking risks and don't cut it off when they're still in their prime,” says Fairleigh. “Remember the three B’s: Be brief, be brilliant, be gone.”

Tip #4: Prepare

While toasting is meant to be improvisational, a little bit of preparation goes a long way, especially if you’re nervous. “There are a lot of templates that you can use if you're freaked out,” recommends Bauer. “Take someone else's speech and rewrite it for yourself because you will change it in such a way, based on your own life and your own experiences, that no one will recognize it.”

If you’re debating whether or not to use notecards as you prepare for giving a toast, Bauer is pro notecards. "It's not a problem to use cards if you have to, as long as you love people, you care about them, you care about what you're doing, and as long as you're speaking from the heart, it doesn’t matter," she notes. The most important thing is that your words are coming from a place of sincerity.

Tip #5: Be Authentic

Fairleigh's number one piece of advice for giving a great toast? Be authentic. "You just have to be authentic,” he says. “When you're giving a toast, people will see through it if you're saying something that you don't believe in." Speaking from the heart is always a good idea when honoring someone with a toast.

Tip #6: Practice

"Always, always practice," advises Fairleigh. "I mean it works for anything, whether your public speaking or whether giving a toast." Practicing your toast ahead of time will ensure that you’re prepared to deliver a memorable toast and help keep nerves at bay (along with a glass of sparkling Chandon wine, that is!).

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