The host of the party or event should always be the first one to start the toast. This person should also be the one to make sure that everyone's glass is full before the toast is performed. For a wedding toast, it is still very traditional for the best man to perform the toast. Many people tend to think that the disc jockey or band is responsible for the toast, but this has never been true.
When you give a toast, you should be standing. Make short, simple and sincere comments.
If there is a large group of people, it is not mandatory to clink your glasses when the toast is made. Instead, just raise your glass and take a sip. If it is a small group of people, you should always look the person in the eyes when you clink their glass. As you clink your glasses you can say something like "Cheers, Prost (German), Skoal", or whatever your nationality is.
Take some time to prepare yourself for the toast.
Keep it simple. It's best to just be yourself and talk as you would any other time. For a wedding an easy way to start off is by thanking the bride and groom for allowing everyone to be a part of their special day. A simple closing would be something like: to the bride and groom (raises glass) may they always be as happy as they are today.
Speak to "everyone" and not just a small group of people. Try to look at the entire group of people.
Speak loud enough so everyone can hear you.
If you are nervous about giving a toast, practicing your toast over and over will give you more confidence. If it helps, try practicing in front of a friend.
Jokes can be great as long as they are not inside jokes. Don't tell jokes that only a few people will understand.
Talk about something appropriate. Talking about how you have lost your girl chasing buddy isn't funny - especially to family members. Remember, this is not about you, it's about the bride and groom. Your toast could be on video for many years.
Use proper toasting etiquette. Sip instead of guzzling. If your toasting glasses are expensive crystal, clink gently.
Try to stay sober. It can get a little difficult if you are tipsy not to mention that you may be an embarrassment.
When you are finished, let everyone know that you are. Raise your glass and close your toast with something like, join me in congratulating the bride and groom, etc., or you can end it with the meaning of the word "to toast" in their heritage. For example, if it is a German wedding, you would say "Prost" as you raise your glass.
In the end, if you know you just won't feel comfortable giving a toast, then don't be afraid to decline. Let the bride and groom know ahead of time so they won't be expecting you to do something you are not ready to do.
After the toast, the recipient, if there is one, SHOULD NOT DRINK (this would be like patting yourself on your own back if you do). Instead, he or she should stand and respond with thanks or by offering another toast. During the toast, if the recipient is already sitting, there is no need to stand unless the recipient would like to return the toast.
Although traditional, alcohol is not necessary to perform the toast. Sparkling fruit juice, punch or even pop may be used. It is your choice.
Flash Tricks And Tips
Additionally, a common mistake of individuals optimizing their web page is to believe it all has to do with specific keyword densities and the placement of the keywords within the page. There is much more to effectively optimizing a web site for search engines than keyword density, and this article will describe a few strategies and tips to help increase the number of visitors to your site.
Your first step to effective search engine optimization strategy is to understand exactly who your target market is. If you don't understand the people who would buy from your website or want the information you provide on your site, you can't optimize a page to increase your revenue. You should know whether your site targets other businesses, or whether you are targeting consumers as this will determine the tone of the site.
To effectively optimize a web site with your target market in mind, start by creating an extremely detailed list of who your target consumer would be. Provide their age range, gender, income range, and any other specifics that make up your potential customers. You should even consider writing down overly specific attributes to help you get a picture of your target market. For instance, a web site selling upscale baby clothes could describe their target consumer as: working mothers with an income of $60,000 or more annually, who drive a mini-van and have a live-in nanny.
Once you have a clear image of the people who are most likely to want the items you sell or the service you provide, you can then select keywords and phrases that these people might type into Google and other search engines in order to find your web site.
Make a list of related words and phrases, something you know your site is about. In the example above, you could say "baby clothes". You might want to use a keyword-picking tool such as Yahoo's to help you, or Google's Adwords Tool.
Once you've developed a list of keywords and key phrases that your target market might use when searching for information on the internet, use a service like Wordtracker or an SEO firm to check popularity and competitive factors for your phrases.
Armed with your target market information and a list of useable keywords, you can write (or re-write) the content for your web site in order to optimize it both for search engines and for the site audience. A good rule of thumb is to use pages that are between 400 and 500 words in length, and have 2 or 3 keywords in the text. Use each keyword one or two times throughout the text and you should have a decent keyword density. Make sure the pages read normally, however, there is nothing more sure to lose potential customers than having site visitors show up only to close your site when the information presented doesn't make any sense!
After your pages are written, you can use the meta tags of your page's source code to further optimize for search engines:
Meta Description Tag: Should provide a brief description of what the page is about, and ideally be under 150 words. Use one or two of your keywords if possible.
Meta Keywords Tag: This tag is actually rarely used by the largest search engines, but if you can gain visitors from any of the smaller search engines that do make use of this particular tag, you may as well make use of it. List the keywords your site is optimized for here, separated by a comma.
Title Tag: Likely the most important aspect of optimizing the source code of your page is the Title Tag. This is the phrase that is displayed in the search engine results as the link people can click to come to your site. See what your competitors are using, and try to make your title tag more compelling than theirs! Whenever possible, place your keyword at the end of your title. Google will make it bold and since most everyone else uses their keyword at the front of the title, yours will stand out in the search engine results!
Using these tips and strategies for search engine optimization will increase the number of targeted web site visitors you have, therefore increasing your web site revenue.
Both Evelyn Whitaker & Phoebe Tiangson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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