1. Decide How Long The Eulogy Should Be
The first thing you should decide is how long to make the eulogy. A eulogy can be anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes long, depending on how much you want to say about the deceased. Less than 3 minutes is not usually long enough to say everything you will want to see. But, the closer you get to 10 minutes, the more bored and fidgety your audience will get. Remember that you are not the star of the funeral. There are other processes to get through, such as viewing the deceased for the last time and a graveside service. Funeral services are usually conducted according to a tight schedule, and the last thing you want to do is throw it off with an overlong eulogy.
2. Create An Outline
After you determine how much time you have for your eulogy, you can create an outline. An outline will help you get down on paper what you want to say and in what order you want to say it. It will also give you a roadmap during your speech in case you lose track of where you’re at. For example, in the first part of the eulogy, you may want to talk about how you first met the deceased. Label this part with the heading, “How We Met.” In the second part, you could talk about their greatest accomplishments and label that section accordingly. And so on.
3. Fill In The Details
Now that you have your outline, you can begin filling in the details. Under “How We Met,” for example, you should describe in your own words your memory of meeting the deceased. You should do the same for each section of your eulogy. You may have to go through several drafts before it reads the way you want it to. That’s perfectly fine. Drafts and rewriting are normal and necessary parts of the writing process.
4. Close By Saying How You Will Honor Their Memory
The most challenging part of constructing a eulogy is finding an appropriate way to end it. One meaningful way you can close your speech is by saying how you will honor the memory of the deceased. For example, you may want to make a donation to their favorite charity, or tell their story to the next generation, or carry on their values. Whatever you decide, this portion of the eulogy will show your audience how special the person was and how big of an impact they had on your life.
5. Rehearse And Time The Eulogy
Your final step to writing a eulogy is to rehearse and time it. This way, you know before the funeral if you need to make any changes, such as making a different word choice here and there or cutting words to make the eulogy less long winded.
Conclusion
No one wants to be put in the position of having to write a eulogy. But when death inevitably knocks on the door of a family member, a friend, or a member of your community, following our 5 steps for how to write a eulogy will smooth the process and help you remember the deceased with bittersweet joy. Our directors at Stark Funeral Professionals in Michigan are also available to help. If you need extra tips or advice for writing and speaking your eulogy, contact us here.
