How Long Should a Best Man Speech Be?

A best man speech should be three to five minutes long. At a relaxed speaking pace of about 125 words per minute, that works out to roughly 375 to 625 words.

That's the honest answer to how long a best man speech should be, and it holds up whether you're funny, sentimental, or somewhere in between. Under three minutes is fine if it's good. Over five and you're competing with dinner, the open bar, and a DJ who keeps looking at his watch. Below is a word count table, what to cut when you're over, how to time yourself properly, and how your best man speech length compares to the other speeches of the night.

Best man speech length: words vs. minutes

Most people speak faster in conversation than they should at a wedding. With a microphone, an echoey room, and a crowd that needs a beat to laugh, about 125 words per minute is the pace to plan for. Use this table to check your draft.

So how many words is a 5 minute speech? About 625 if you take your time, which you should. Your draft will also run longer out loud than you expect, because laughs and pauses add 15 to 30 seconds to almost any speech.

Why three to five minutes works

It isn't an arbitrary number. Three minutes is about how long it takes to introduce yourself, tell one story properly, turn to the couple, and give a toast. Five minutes is about how long a room full of people holding forks will give you full attention. Past that, attention drops off, and the best part of your speech, the sincere ending, gets heard by the fewest people.

There's also the schedule. Most receptions have two to four speeches stacked together. If each one runs long, the first dance slides, the kitchen gets nervous, and the couple loses time with their guests.

What to cut when you're over

• Extra stories. If you have three, keep the best one and tell it well. This one cut usually saves two minutes.
• The throat-clearing. "I wasn't sure what to say" and "I've been dreading this" add nothing. Start with your hook.
• Long thank-you lists. The couple or the hosts usually cover these. A single line is plenty.
• Backstory for inside jokes. If a joke needs a paragraph of setup, cut the joke.
• Repeated praise. Saying he's loyal three different ways is one way too many. One example beats three adjectives.
• A second ending. Plenty of drafts toast, then keep talking, then toast again. Pick one.

If you need a lot of trimming, our short best man speech page walks through cutting a long draft step by step, with short examples.

How to time yourself

1. Read it out loud, standing up. Silent reading is roughly twice as fast as speaking. Standing changes your breathing and your pace.
2. Use the voice you'll use at the reception. Louder and slower than talking at a table.
3. Pause where the laughs go. Count to two at each joke. That's what the room will need.
4. Time it on your phone three times. Take the average. Nerves will speed you up on the day, so if you land at four and a half minutes in practice, you're in good shape.
5. Do a word count as a gut check. Paste the draft into any word processor. Over 650 words means it's almost certainly over five minutes.

How it compares to the other wedding speeches

• Maid of honor speech: about the same, three to five minutes. Coordinate with the maid of honor so you're close in length. Her side of things is covered in our maid of honor speech guide.
• Father or mother of the bride: often a little longer, four to six minutes, since parents usually welcome guests and thank people.
• Parents of the groom: usually two to four minutes, especially if they gave a toast at the rehearsal dinner.
• The couple's own speech: can run five minutes or so because of thank-yous.
• A guest or rehearsal dinner toast: one to two minutes. See our wedding toast ideas.

The best man often speaks last, so you're the one standing between the crowd and the dance floor. That's a good reason to stay on the shorter side of the range.

A best man speech at the ideal length

Why it works: at about 400 words, it runs a little over three minutes, closer to three and a half with laughs, and it still has room for a hook, a story, the partner, and a toast.

More help with your best man speech

For structure, more examples, and opening lines, start with the full best man speech guide. If you'd like jokes that fit inside four minutes, try our funny best man speech examples. And if you'd rather hit the right length on the first try, the Speechfolk wedding speech writer lets you pick your target length and drafts a speech to fit it.