Kevin P. McDonald - Cheers!: 1,024 Toasts & Sentiments for Every Occasion

Cheers! 1,024 Toasts & Sentiments for Every Occasion Kevin P. McDonald Dedication To my family and friends, who give me so many reasons to toast them. And to my wonderful editor, Kylie Foxx, without whom this book would still be just an idea. Contents How to Use This Book Unless you are a seasoned motivational speaker or are otherwise used to addressing large groups of people, you may feel nervous about talking in front of a crowd, not to mention having to sound intelligent, witty, and warm, too. But your anxieties are completely natural and can be overcome if you are well prepared for the task at hand. This book will give you all the tools you need to pull off your toast like a pro; use it wisely, and it will give your words wings.

Flipping through the many toasts and quotes gathered in these pages, you may feel the urge to simply pick one that seems appropriate and then recite it. While running off a quick quote is a great way to raise glasses some of the time, there are certain occasions where youll want the words to be more personal, and this book is an excellent resource for those times, too. Think of it as a springboard from which to create a toast that incorporates your experience, wit, and wisdom with meaningful quotes as well. If you take the time to really work out your thoughts and prepare your words, youll find an endless stream of ideas and inspiration from the thousand or so quotes herein. Trust me, by the time youre done, youll be a true toastmaster! Searching the Sayings (and Your Soul) This book is divided into sections that correspond with some of the most common toasting occasions. While each quote has been placed under what seems to be its most logical heading, youll find that many toasts can be used (or at least adapted) to fit a variety of situations.

As I mentioned earlier, some occasions may call for simply looking up a quote, copying it down, and reading it with your glass aloft. But other times creating a meaningful toast calls for a bit more work, and its well worth it. When you first begin to build your toast, go straight to the most obvious section for your occasion (so if youre preparing to laud a recent grad, go to the Graduation section) and pick out a couple of your favorite quotes. Once youre in the section, youll notice that theres a brief introduction followed by a list of cross-referencesI urge you to check out other sections until you find something that suits your needs. Finally, refer to the table of contents for any additional sections where an apropos quote might lurk. Using the graduation speech as an example, after selecting some Graduation quotes you might turn to the Coming of Age section if youd like to talk about how the graduate is getting older.

Or you could search the New Beginnings section if you want to discuss the new path your grad is setting out on. By scouring these different topics, youll be sure to find words that help express all you want to say, and that dont limit you to talking about the act of graduation itself. Pulling It All Together The most moving toasts are often personal accounts punctuated by well-chosen quotes. But dont become so bogged down in finding the perfect quote that you forget the most important partpersonal experience. The key is striking a balance between anecdote and quote. Here are some general guidelines: First: Sit down with a pen and paper and brainstorm some anecdotes about the subject of the toast.

When youre done, sift through the stories and pick out a few that are either really funny or really telling, or hopefully both. But be carefulnot all stories are appropriate for all occasions. The tale about your sloppy-drunk friend flashing old ladies might be great at a bachelor party but less than laughable in a toast to his new promotion. As always, use your best judgment. Second: Think about what the stories youve chosen illustrate. Do they show the honorees sensitive side? Do they talk about his or her unflagging loyalty or adventurous spirit? Try to find a theme that runs through each anecdote, and use it to guide your choice of quotes.

The words you choose should complement the stories youre about to share, so that the whole toast is cohesive and has a logical flow. Third: Pull it all together. Youll want to begin by introducing yourself and filling in a little background about how you know the person youre toasting. Then you might fold in a quote to set up your story; or you could regale your audience with an anecdote and sum it up with a quote. However you feel most comfortable organizing your toast is finejust keep it short (under five minutes) and sweet, and itll be swell! Heres to You (and that doesnt mean you)! One of the challenges of toast writing is to inject personal anecdotes and experiences into the speech without injecting yourself. Keep in mind that although youre giving the toast, the toast is not about you! When youve completed your masterpiece, be sure to read it over.

If you notice the words I and me every other sentence, you may need to do some serious slashing. You want the toast to be about the wonderful person youre honoring, about all the fantastic things he or she has done and plans to do. Even if you were present at (or responsible for!) lots of those fantastic things, bite your lip and, within reason, keep yourself out of it. The Perfect Delivery Toasting Dos and Donts Tailoring Your Toast This may sound obvious, but its important to be mindful of your honoree and your audience when giving a toast. A good example of this is in the case of the best man at a wedding. Its possible that hell have to deliver three or more different toasts to very different groups during the course of his careerfor instance, at the bachelor party, rehearsal dinner, and wedding reception.

While the bachelor-party toast should be irreverent (its just the best man and the boys), the rehearsal-dinner toast should be more sentimental and intimate (since the audience is the couples closest friends and relatives). And the wedding toast should be nearest in tone to the rehearsal-dinner toast but should assume less familiarity on the part of the audience, which will likely include some peripheral characters who wont know the honorees as well. Tailoring a toast doesnt end with tweaking it to fit the audience. It can also mean changing the language of the quotes to suit the occasion. This may be necessary if you are combining ideas from different quotes, or if you choose a quote that expresses your feelings but sounds a little out of place. Imagine our best man again.

Hes found the perfect quote to quip at his best buds Vegas bachelor party, but he might not feel comfortable delivering it in its original Old English. Instead he might prefer to translate the quote into his own vernacular, since hell likely be dressed as Elvis and speaking to a crowd knee deep in tequila shooters. Last but not least, make sure that when you do use a quote, you cite its author in some way. Its not quite fair to claim responsibility for someone elses beautiful turn of phrase, and if that doesnt deter you, theres always the risk of exposure. Think of our poor best manhe delivers a lovely line by the Bard only to be exposed by the exotic dancer who daylights as a Shakespearean scholar. Hey, you never know! The Two RsWrite It Down, but Dont Read It Look, if youre going to read your toast from a piece of paper, you might as well just print out enough copies for everyone and let them read it on their own time.