text: I've made five BM speeches, and each one gets better.  The first one was short and terrible, so I understand your friends situation.  An excerpt from a Best Man speech I wrote.  I used this last year:\n\n"The origins of Best Man go back to medieval times, when a man would actually STEAL his bride from a neighboring village.  The best man was a trusted friend, chosen for his superior fighting skills to slay off an attack from the bride's understandably angry family during what they considered to be an abduction, but which the groom preferred to call "the courtship."  During the ceremony, the Best Man stood to the right of the groom so that his fighting hand would be free to fight anyone who still objected to the wedding.  These were dark times indeed - for a left-handed Best Man."\n\nSeeing how this is his first, his best bet is to keep it short and sweet.  Pick an anecdote which many know about, but everyone will get, and by which no one will be offended.   If he feels the crowd is diggin' it, perhaps he can throw in another joke, but if he feels like he's losing the crowd, cut to the toast.