Deliver A Non Traditional Eulogy
Writing An Appropriate And Meaningful Funeral Speech
The eulogy you write and deliver should work with your character and that of your subject. This means that if you are delivering a eulogy for a loved one who was vibrant and full of life, your funeral speech should reflect that. Your audience will see the incongruities, and you will feel unnatural yourself if you choose to honor the dead with a eulogy that is sad, somber, and mournful, if this does not match his or her true essence.
The Non Traditional Eulogy
In order to identify the meaning of a non traditional eulogy, it is important to understand what a traditional eulogy is. A traditional funeral speech is a short speech given to honor a friend or loved one who has passed away. Usually given at a funeral service or a wake, a eulogy often includes some short biographical information, a couple of anecdotes, possibly a few personal observations, and a conclusion. You can write a eulogy according to this formula, almost in a fill-in-the-blank style. However, if it is not in your character to do this, or if it does not match the personality of the person being mourned, it will sound canned and uninteresting.
Incorporate Music
If music was an important part of your loved one’s life, it is natural to include an audio track in your eulogy. You might play music that was composed or recorded by the deceased, or you may choose music in his favorite genre or by his favorite artists. You can use it as a background to your speech, or you could play snippets at the beginning and the end while the mourners listen in a moment of silence. You can pull in the theme during your eulogy by quoting a favorite song with particularly fitting lyrics.
Photo Images
A slide show is a great way to move through a eulogy. You can include pictures of your dead family member or friend doing some of his favorite things or pictures of the two of you together. This is a great way to support your speech and provide yourself with very natural speaking prompts. It also gives you a natural reason to turn your back on your listeners if necessary.
Choose a Focal Point
If you are still stuck, sit down and make a list of the things your loved one enjoyed. If he or she loved gardening, you can incorporate flowers, using a bouquet of flowers to represent the variety of talents and characteristics that you admired and loved about your friend. Encourage mourners to take a flower as they leave.
If the deceased loved to read, you can talk about the chapters of his life, even giving each one a title and a plot of its own. The key is to create a eulogy that you and those listening to you can use to help all of you feel closer to the deceased through your words. Be sure to leave out elements that your friend would not have appreciated. If he was not religious, leave religion out your speech, but if he was a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, or of another faith, and that faith was important to him, it should be an integral part of your eulogy.
