How to Avoid Becoming Emotional When Delivering a Eulogy

If you are delivering a eulogy, it is likely that you were quite close to the person who died. This can make it difficult to deliver the eulogy without being overcome by emotion. Of course, some measure of emotion is expected, but if you become too emotional, you may be unable to finish the eulogy, and may regret this down the road.

While there is no way to avoid feeling the pain that goes along with such an occasion, there are steps that you can take to help prevent becoming so emotional that you cannot deliver the entire eulogy.

• Read it Over and Over

One of the best tips to avoid becoming overly emotional is to read your eulogy over and over again. Read it out loud several times prior to the funeral. The reason for this is that doing so will help you to become a bit numb to the words.

Most eulogies contain phrasing that will stir up emotions, especially when heard for the first time. If you can read the eulogy out loud several times, the words may lose a bit of their impact and make it easier for you to get through the entire eulogy without breaking down.

• Avoid Eye Contact

While public speaking classes will teach that you should make eye contact, if you are trying to avoid becoming emotional, it is best to avoid this. Just look at the audience in general, while avoiding eye contact with any one person.

Of course, this advice is intended for those who are concerned they will become overly emotional. If this is not a problem for you then it is perfectly appropriate to make eye contact with those in attendance.

• Speak Slowly

When you concentrate on speaking slowly, that can help to lessen the chances that you will become terribly emotional. The reason is simply that you are focusing on your speech patterns rather than on the actual words that you are saying.

Funerals are an emotional time. There are no tips that will help every single person to avoid becoming emotional when delivering a eulogy. Just remember that the words that you will say are with the intent to honor the person that you have lost. For that reason, it is important that you do all that you can to be able to deliver the entire eulogy in a way that those in attendance can understand.

Use the above tips to save your emotions for the time after the eulogy has been delivered. This is not always easy, but it is worth it in order to be able to deliver the eulogy and in that way pay your respects to the one you have lost.
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