How to Choose Speakers at a Funeral

Choosing a Funeral Speaker

When you are planning a funeral for a lost loved one, or when you are pre-planning your own funeral, there are dozens of decisions to be made. If it’s someone else’s funeral, you are likely making many of these decisions under duress, while grieving the death of a friend of family member. But learning how to choose speakers at a funeral can help you later in life, when you might be asked to plan another funeral.

Delivering eulogies for a friend or relative isn’t easy, so the people you choose should be emotionally and physically able to do so. But before we get into what that exactly means, there are other things to consider.

How Many Speakers at a Funeral Should There Be?

Not too long ago, it was common to just have one person give the eulogy. But in recent years, it has become common to have multiple speakers at a funeral. This allows for multiple perspectives on how they believe the person touched the lives of others.

However, too many speakers can cause the service to last much too long, and the stories about the lost loved one will fall on the deaf ears of weary well-wishers.

Some friends might want to share a story about the deceased that they believe the audience would enjoy, but most likely, there are just too many stories to share.

Aim for 15-minutes worth of stories to be shared by speakers at a funeral, which could be split by a couple speakers or even three speakers.

If it’s difficult to pare down how many speakers want to say something, then maybe it’s smart to just choose one person to deliver the whole eulogy.

How to Choose Speakers at a Funeral

Hopefully, you can choose a family member to share points that affected the family, and then a close friend, who can talk about how that person touched the lives of friends.

Usually, the people speaking at a funeral are funeral conductors, clergy members, relatives and/or close friends. Among those that don’t do this professionally (unlike the funeral conductors and clergy), who will be able to rise to the occasion to speak at such an emotional time, while also making poignant comments?

Also, remember that whoever you choose still must agree to be a speaker at the funeral. It’s very possible that, while it’s a great privilege, they just prefer to take part as an audience member, rather than a speaker.

Make sure it’s someone that won’t offend the listeners or one that might become too emotional to talk. You want someone that can convey a thoughtful message and share good memories of the lost loved one that will touch the hearts of the listeners.

If you’re planning or preplanning a funeral in the South Florida area, The Gardens of Boca Raton Cemetery & Funeral Services can help you decide how many speakers at a funeral to have. They can also help guide you on how to choose those to give the eulogies.