Preparing To Speak At A Jewish Funeral Home

If your family asks you to speak at a Jewish funeral home in Edison, NJ, or a trusted friend wants you to speak on their family’s behalf when they lose someone, that can be a big honor, but also a lot of pressure. You want whatever you say to be something that everyone will remember and appreciate. You also want to honor the person who has passed on in all the right ways. Here are a few ways to help yourself prepare for this effort.

Read or Listen To Examples

It’s smart to sit down at the computer and read through some examples or perhaps listen to some speeches that were given at funerals. If you aren’t sure where to look, call the funeral home and they can give you advice as to where you can find such resources. They might even have some on hand that they can pass off to you to help give you a good start. These will help you see the length and tone that people generally take at these events.

Ask Family For Things To Include

While you knew the person who passed on, you might not be the one closest to them and you might be short on ideas and stories about them. Talk to the family members who are going to be too emotional to speak, but who are happy to share stories and memories with you at other times. You can use those memories and personality traits and weave them into your own recollections to make it more special for everyone.

Keep It Short And Sweet

The most memorial speeches at funeral homes are those that are short and sweet. You don’t want to talk more than ten minutes, if you can help it, or you risk losing attention. You want everyone to hear and appreciate what you said and you want no one to wish for it to have been a shorter talk. Remember that you can always share more with individuals at the reception later.

Practice It Lots

Before you walk into the funeral home to give the speech, you need to practice it a lot, even alone at home, so you are comfortable with what you want to say. The more you practice it, the better you know it and the easier it will be to get the words out when you have to say them in front of everyone.

Keep A Written Copy

Even if you practice enough to have the speech memorized, take a written copy with you in case you get nervous or emotional yourself and have to resort to reading from the copy. There’s nothing wrong with that at all.

If you need more help and tips on writing something up for a service at a Jewish funeral home in Edison, NJ, the professionals at Mount Sinai Memorial Chapels are happy to speak to you at any time. Give us a call and we can talk you through some methods.