How to write a eulogy

Question

One of my lifelong best friends passed away, and even though I’ve dealt with several deaths throughout my life, this one has been particularly difficult. I was asked to talk at the funeral, which I’m honored to do, but I’m very nervous to talk in front of so many people about something this emotional and important. Writing a eulogy for your best friend’s funeral is a lot more pressure than something like an acceptance speech. Does anyone know how to write a eulogy?

Answer 1

Funerals are one of the most personal services we have, so you want to appeal to that personal side of things. To write a eulogy, you should definitely start with a short introduction of yourself and proceed with stories from your particular relationship with the deceased. An introduction is always appropriate so that everyone there knows how you knew the person and what kind of relationship you had, especially if you’re not a family member. Picking what stories to tell can seem like an impossible task. When people are in mourning, they want to hear happy stories, but they also want to hear stories that really show the qualities of the person they loved so much. So a good mixture of different tones is a good idea to touch all these aspects.

Answer 2

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to begin when you have to write a personal speech because you have so many emotions building up. So the best way to write a eulogy is to start with the body of the speech that shares the stories you want to tell about your passed friend. These stories should show why that person was unique and what made them the way they were, but don’t go into too much detail, or else you’ll run out of time. Just give the basics. Then think about what all of this means to you and what all of this says about the person. From there you can write the introduction and conclusion once your ideas have been laid out and structured.

Comments

Thanks for the idea on how to write a eulogy, it enlightened me.

Answer 3

Funeral speeches are difficult to write because there is so much to be said with not enough time to say it. You should remain respectful at all times but adjust the tone to the type of person they were. In order to write a eulogy, it might be helpful to interview or talk to some of their other friends and family members to get a full picture of that person. You don’t have to focus on other people’s opinions and stories, but you can weave in what they had to say here and there to highlight your own ideas.