Dear ladies and gentlemen, toasting to health, wealth, love, friendship, etc has been practised for many centuries. If you want to acknowledge an event or compliment an important visitor: be sure to know how. Polish your toasting skills with me!
1- Don’t go unprepared
Write your speech in advance and practice. Shouldn’t be longer than 3 minutes. Make the toast fun and amusing while describing an honouree, speak from the heart. Let’s suppose you are a host of a business dinner.
1. Make the quick & simple introduction of yourself.
2. Tell a short story about the individual or individuals you are toasting to. It can be from your experience with them or a story that you found out about while talking with others.
3. Refer to the purpose of the event. Congratulate the person or people that you are giving the toast to.
4. Thank the guests / host (if returning the toast).
5. Offer the last wish.
2- Don’t offer a toast at a wrong time
Traditionally, the first toast is offered by the host as a welcome to guests. A toast to the guest of honour is offered by others at the dessert course. The guest of honour would then reciprocate by proposing a toast to the host.
3- Don’t propose a toast if all the glasses aren’t filled
Make sure everybody has some beverage ( tea, juice, champagne…) for taking part in it. Misfortunately, if someone doesn’t have, that person should behave like it has and join a toast.
4- Don’t use your flatware or glasses to get people’s attention
Rather alert key people in the room to help and get their table and area quite allowing you to easily get their attention. Start with loud “May I have your attention please” or “Will you join me in toasting to a guest of honour”. Then keep the silence for about 30 seconds while looking through the whole room and having eye contact with the audience. It’s time for your speech!
5- Don’t have a poor toasting posture
When delivering a toast do raise your glass to a shoulder level in front of you and make eye contact with the honouree and everyone else. When it comes to sitting or standing, use your common sense. At the dinner table if the group is fairly small you can remain seated, otherwise, stand up. The honouree will remain seated while receiving a toast.
6- Don’t have a monotonous voice
During a speech, you should control your voice. There are 5 p to take care of :
Pace – slow / fast
Power – loud / soft
Pitch – high / deep
Pause
Passion
Remember you want to control your audience, make them feel entertained while giving a gift (your toast) to the honouree.
7- Don’t apologise
In case you are late, or nervous or you spilt something on your shirt before, don’t mention any of that! Most probably no one will notice. By mentioning something about you, you distract the audience away from the purpose of your toast.
8- Don’t forget about eye contact
While delivering a toast maintain eye contact with the audience not only with the person being toasted. If you are having a card (avoid big paper) with bullets as a reminder of what you should say, don’t make a too long break while reading.
9- Don’t mandatorily clink your glass
The tradition of clinking comes from a time when people believed they have to clink to expel the evil spirits. Nowadays, if you see people clinking you should join as well. However, clink only with the closest people.
10- Don’t forget to take a sip
Without taking a sip of your beverage you have not fully completed the toast nor honoured to a person being toasted. The ones receiving the toast shouldn’t drink to themselves, can’t take that sip!
Dear all, do you have any other concerns regarding this topic? Share them in the comments below.
Thank you for your attention, we wish you a lot of successful toasts in future, cheers!
