How To Write A Eulogy - A Few Simple Tips - By: Gen Wright, Posted on: 2008-10-03

If you find that you have been honored with a request to deliver a Eulogy, your first task will be to write it. Understandably, you will want to do the best job that you can not only to honor the person who has passed, but also to help the people remember the person who has passed on.

It is not uncommon when writing something emotional and/or of great importance to find you have many thoughts and emotions going through your mind. This can even cause you some difficulty in getting started on the process.

Here are a few simple tips to help you get through the process.

Firstly, get yourself comfortable and in a “writing” frame of mind. If you normally find that you write best when you have a few comforts in place, then take the time to get those in place. Maybe this is a hot cup of tea or a cold soda. Maybe it is a couple of cookies and a glass of milk. Maybe it is reorganizing your desk space so that you feel that you have room to write. Whatever gets you comfortable for writing. Take care of that so that you feel like you can focus.

Now think about your task: How can you write an inspirational eulogy? What does an inspirational eulogy look like? While there is no rote system or exacting methodology for a eulogy, there is still such as thing as good writing and bad writing—good speech delivery will depend upon good writing.

Thus, make sure you get the fundamentals in place. You’ll want a decent format for the overall speech, with proper grammar. A properly formatted speech, with proper grammar will help with the overall presentation and delivery. You want your eulogy to have a cohesiveness, balance and flow.

Let's take a look at how that breaks down:

Foremost in your mind is the overall purpose of the eulogy you want to deliver. What is your goal in delivering this eulogy? Write that down.

Then we will move into the format of the speech itself. You’ll need the basic components of an introduction, a few sub topics, and a conclusion.

In the introduction of the speech, state your goal or the goal of the eulogy. This is relatively simple:

--- Sara was my best friend. She was a dear friend to all of us. (In this case, the goal of your speech was to convey the friendship that you all shared).

--- Andrew may have left us, but his spirit and the spirit of his family is as alive today as it was before he departed. (goal: to make sure that all those who are missing Andrew see that he still lives).

You may also wish to tell everyone how you get the ideas for the speech. Give as much background information as you can about the deceased.

--- Sara and I were friends since Kindergarten. There was nothing that we didn’t share. And many of us in this room today have shared so many good times together. It was because of all our years of friendship that I knew it was important for me to talk about the real friend that Sara was to all of us.

In essence, try to help them understand where you are coming from. That will lead you nicely into the sub topics of the speech.

The organization of your speech comes from being able to stay on track. After the introduction, you are going to use sub topics that better support the introduction, and of course that introduction has lead to those sub topics naturally. That’s your balance and cohesiveness, which leads right back to the main theme or goal that you stated above.

Use real life examples and stories in your eulogy. It will help your audience to relate and connect. to make your speech interesting. Use simple words to convey your thoughts – People don’t need to be bedazzled with language. They need to be communicated to.

Conclude your speech by repeating quickly the key message. Highlight the important ones if you want to. Use this conclusion to also offer a final moment for the deceased, or a final meaningful and sincere statement about the deceased which leaves the audience able to remember the deceased in a way that he or she wants to be remembered.

As a person close to the deceased, this is something that require a bit of sensitivity. You may not know how the person wanted to be remembered in some instances. If you don’t, review their actions in life to give you an idea of this. Talk with others before you write the eulogy if necessary to help address this point. Ultimately, you will get the correct message across because it is for very special reasons that you have been chosen to speak. Something about you and the deceased will be a strong connection that will allow you to help portray this for the audience.

Finally, if you are dealing with your own loss and wish to glorify the person, this is understood, but do not let untruths enter in. A simple speech from the heart is the best. Remember, the primary purpose of a eulogy is to help others to remember the deceased, to help them celebrate their life and be remembered as the person who lived their life the way they wanted.

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