An after dinner speaker needs to be socially adept. Where a wedding speech serves as a means of thanking friends and relatives and a funeral oration is devoted to respecting and praising the deceased, the after dinner speech is a means of rounding off a meal with witty comments that entertain. It requires sophistication, elegance and tact. These are all high order social skills.
Frequently business people are invited to a dinner to celebrate an occasion such as an anniversary to mark a centenary or number of years that the company has survived. In such a case the best topic for the after dinner speech may be the organization itself, under a topic such as 'You and the company you keep'. This would allow some space for analogies, puns and amusing allusions from the after dinner speaker.
Two broad themes that are usually safe when the intimate details of an audience are indeterminate are time and humanity. Time rolls on incorrigibly and affects all people of all persuasions. It may be regarded as a universal theme to which all human beings can relate to some extent, as they can to comments about our own species. 'Once upon a time there was a girl', rings a bell with most of us at some point in our lives.
Other broad categorizations of audience types may be town and country. Rural audiences may be expected to respond to earthy or environmental themes. Farmers are also great grousers, ever quick to laugh at their enemies who are usually authorities of one sort or another. Urban audiences, on the other hand, may respond to more sophisticated topics such as 'Fashion Fits'. Here again there is scope for some puns and anecdotes that may be amusingly told.
Sports people love to have dinners. Rugby players especially enjoy the camaraderie of joking and socializing, perhaps because they play a rough game. After eating and drinking heartily they like to laugh and remember funny instances of the rough and tumble that their game involves. A topic like 'Reminiscences' will sum up all that a speaker will have to do. Simply by recalling things that actually happened he will have his audience crying with laughter.
Whatever the topic, a good speaker will be able to assess the mood and adjust his delivery accordingly. An inexperienced orator might be inflexible and stick to his text whatever the mood. This might be a good ploy even if it may seem awkward at the time. A speaker who jumps to the whims of his audience will be exposed if he lacks confidence and rhetorical skills.
However, if a large amount of wine and good food has been consumed an audience may be well satisfied with a very broad topic such as 'Let's not get serious now'. This may especially be the case if the invited guest has thrown caution to the wind and joined in with the conviviality. In such a situation even banalities and truisms can be greeted with howls of laughter.
The proclivities of after dinner speakers will influence what topics may be suggested. What some may consider 'great' may cause others to scratch their heads. When orators worth their salt are invited there will almost certainly be requests for details about the context of the speech, the audience and suggested topics.
Frequently business people are invited to a dinner to celebrate an occasion such as an anniversary to mark a centenary or number of years that the company has survived. In such a case the best topic for the after dinner speech may be the organization itself, under a topic such as 'You and the company you keep'. This would allow some space for analogies, puns and amusing allusions from the after dinner speaker.
Two broad themes that are usually safe when the intimate details of an audience are indeterminate are time and humanity. Time rolls on incorrigibly and affects all people of all persuasions. It may be regarded as a universal theme to which all human beings can relate to some extent, as they can to comments about our own species. 'Once upon a time there was a girl', rings a bell with most of us at some point in our lives.
Other broad categorizations of audience types may be town and country. Rural audiences may be expected to respond to earthy or environmental themes. Farmers are also great grousers, ever quick to laugh at their enemies who are usually authorities of one sort or another. Urban audiences, on the other hand, may respond to more sophisticated topics such as 'Fashion Fits'. Here again there is scope for some puns and anecdotes that may be amusingly told.
Sports people love to have dinners. Rugby players especially enjoy the camaraderie of joking and socializing, perhaps because they play a rough game. After eating and drinking heartily they like to laugh and remember funny instances of the rough and tumble that their game involves. A topic like 'Reminiscences' will sum up all that a speaker will have to do. Simply by recalling things that actually happened he will have his audience crying with laughter.
Whatever the topic, a good speaker will be able to assess the mood and adjust his delivery accordingly. An inexperienced orator might be inflexible and stick to his text whatever the mood. This might be a good ploy even if it may seem awkward at the time. A speaker who jumps to the whims of his audience will be exposed if he lacks confidence and rhetorical skills.
However, if a large amount of wine and good food has been consumed an audience may be well satisfied with a very broad topic such as 'Let's not get serious now'. This may especially be the case if the invited guest has thrown caution to the wind and joined in with the conviviality. In such a situation even banalities and truisms can be greeted with howls of laughter.
The proclivities of after dinner speakers will influence what topics may be suggested. What some may consider 'great' may cause others to scratch their heads. When orators worth their salt are invited there will almost certainly be requests for details about the context of the speech, the audience and suggested topics.
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