This page is about the practical side: getting the words you have written onto cards you can read steadily at the front of a room. If you have not written the eulogy yet, start with a few memories that show who the person was, then come back here.
Write it out in full
For most speeches, cue cards hold short prompts. A eulogy is the exception. Emotion can make it hard to remember even familiar words, so most people are better off with the whole text written out exactly as they want to say it. Names, dates and places should always be written in full and checked with the family.
Paste the finished text into the editor and it is split into cards at sentence boundaries, so no card ends halfway through a thought. Adjust any break that falls in an awkward place.
Cards that are easy to read
- Use large cue cards. Two cards per A4 or Letter page gives room for big type without a crowded card.
- Make the text bigger than feels necessary. Tears, glasses and dim chapel lighting all make small print harder to read.
- Keep each paragraph short, with space between them, so your eyes can find the next line when you look back down.
- Number the cards and use one side only.
A plain font such as the editor's default reads more easily than a decorative one. Save any special styling for the order of service.
Planning for emotion
Mark the places where you might need a moment. A [BREATHE] or [PAUSE] after a hard sentence gives you permission to stop, and the audience will wait. Many speakers find the end of a card is a natural place to take a breath and steady themselves before moving on.
Read the eulogy aloud several times before the day, ideally to someone else. The parts that catch you in rehearsal are likely to catch you on the day too; it can help to put them in the middle of a card rather than at the top. Reading slowly is fine. At a slow pace, a 500-word eulogy takes around four and a half minutes; the speech timer calculator will check yours.
On the day
- Bring two copies Keep one with you and give one to the celebrant or a family member who can read it if you cannot finish.
- Check the space beforehand Find out whether there is a lectern and a microphone, and whether you will stand or be seated before you speak.
- Have water and tissues close Put them where you can reach them without leaving the lectern.
- Take your time Start when you are ready, and look up when you can. Nobody is timing you.
If you would like a simple structure to follow, the speech outline builder has a special occasion layout: a welcome, a few stories and what they show, thanks, and final words.