How to Write a Funny Speech...: for a Wedding, Bar Mitzvah, Graduation & Every Other Event You Didn't Want to Go to in the First Place

by Carol Leifer, Rick Mitchell

Learn how to write and give a flawlessly funny speech for any occasion with Emmy-winning comedy writers Carol Leifer and Rick Mitchell. With a foreword by Carol Burnett.

Giving a speech about someone is hard. Giving a funny speech that people are actually going to pay attention to is even harder. In How to Write a Funny Speech for a Wedding, Bar Mitzvah, Graduation & Every Other Event You Didn’t Want to Go to in the First Place, Leifer and Mitchell will teach you how to write the perfect speech so you can look awesome, make some people laugh, and get it over with.

Quick and easy to use, this book is broken into short chapters full of priceless tips and advice. Leifer and Mitchell will walk you through how write, phrase, and deliver your speech so you not only flatter your subject but also keep the rest of the audience interested (and maybe you’ll even get a standing ovation, but we can’t guarantee that—that would be cool, though, right?).Nail down how to get started so people actually pay attention to you (in a good way).Figure out how to deliver and perfect comedic nuances with a crash course in what you should and shouldn't say so you don't scare the compression socks off grandma.
Hear from these seasoned comedy writers as they dish out public speaking advice that will make you look like you totally do this all the time. Take a closer look at a handful of successful real‑life speeches from real‑life people, annotated for a better understanding of why other people were better than you so you can be better than them. Enjoy bonus content like Carmela's retirement toast to Tony Soprano and Homer Simpson’s speech at Bart’s graduation. And if, in the end, you still have no idea what to say about your niece at her Bat Mitzvah, there’s a handy fill-in speech template at the back so you can spend more time figuring out what you’re going to wear.
 
Happy writing!

EXPERT As a successful comedy writer, Carol Leifer has been Emmy‑nominated for her writing on such classics as Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show, Saturday Night Live, and the Oscars, and won a Writer’s Guild Award for her work on Modern Family, among many other accolades. She is a writer/co‑executive producer for the Emmy‑winning HBO show Hacks and a writer/consulting producer for HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. Rick Mitchell has written for TMZ and had a six‑season stint writing for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, winning him five Daytime Emmys. Delivering speeches at countless organization benefits, weddings, and more, the pair are seasoned speech-givers ready to help you successfully write and deliver your own.

EASY TO This practical book on writing and delivering a funny speech is divided into short, easy-to-read sections with plenty of tips, advice, and templates, making the task much less daunting for anyone and everyone.    

HANDY PUBLIC SPEAKING REFERENCE A timeless aid for writing and delivering a speech at any point in life, How to Write a Funny Speech ... is a useful book to give, receive, and keep.

Perfect who needs to write a speech celebrating a friend, family member, or couple     Best men and maids/matrons of honor for weddings or vow renewals Family and fri

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Business

144 pages, Hardcover

Published March 11, 2025

About the author

Carol Leifer is an American comedian, writer, producer and actor whose career as a stand-up comedian started in the 1970s when she was in college.

David Letterman discovered her performing in a comedy club in the 1980s and she has since been a guest on Late Night With David Letterman over twenty-five times as well as numerous other shows and venues.

She has written many television scripts including for The Larry Sanders Show, Saturday Night Live, and most notably, Seinfeld.

Leifer's "inner monologue" observational style is often autobiographical encompassing subjects about her Jewish ancestry and upbringing, coming out, same-sex marriage, relationships (having been married previously to a man and now partnered with a woman) and parenting.

Leifer recently became vegan, saying "I recently became vegan because I felt that as a Jewish lesbian, I wasn’t part of a small enough minority. So now I’m a Jewish lesbian vegan."

Reviews

[Angélica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Corto, útil y práctico. Así como deberían ser esos discursos.

[Ellen Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is like Goldilocks. It’s not too is not too long or too short, but just the right length. It has good tips for delivering speeches which are pithy and thoughtful. I particularly appreciated the ancillary templates for the speaker’s ease.
I recommend you keep this book on your shelf because you never know when you may be called upon to speak if someone is wed or dead which are basically the same things.

[Sheila Ajjie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny + Helpful! My favorite combo :)

I love this book so much. Not only did it give me such a helpful framework for writing speeches and being funny it is also extremely funny that I couldn’t put it down!!! You’ll come for the advice but stay for the humor, relatability and overall fun of it all.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a three to three-and-a-half star read for me. (I got it as a gift, and appreciate that the giver who saw this and thought of me bc I teach public speaking - having someone see and buying me a book that reminds them of me is one of my favorite things!)

This book is a quick and easy read. It's also a decent guide to crafting a passable speech. I don't agree with all the advice, and don't love everything about their sample speeches, but they were still 'funny speeches' in the objective sense. (The authors are big on including semi-insulting jokes about the person the speech is about - I'm not a huge fan, but I know others are.) They also include mad-libs style scripts that you can personalize to fit your subject-matter and occasion; again, I'm not a huge fan - but I see the practical benefit and imagine these mad-libs set many about-to-be-speech-givers at ease, so I'll allow it.

Overall- while not perfect, this is a useful and accessible guide to speech giving.

[R Mmm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a really good book! It gave a lot of helpful tips on public speaking but in a fun, lighthearted way. I learned a ton — not just about writing a great speech without feeling super intimidated, but also about how to keep casual conversations going, like at dinner with new people. The icebreaker ideas were a nice bonus too. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who struggles with or feels intimidated by speaking in front of a crowd.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for the free advanced copy! I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

[Chelsey Cosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title and concept for this book is great and authors Carol Leifer and Rick Mitchell are charming as ever, especially in their intro. However, if seeking this book out for actual advice, I think it may be a tough sell. It's hard to teach someone to be funny, and accomplishing that in such a small volume is just not feasible. For those who just can't crack it (and let's face it - there's only so many Carol Burnetts in this world), there's some handy templates to fake it through that toast. For its limited utility, I kept it at a neutral 3 stars.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Write a Funny Speech is a great guide to simplifying the writing of speeches for weddings, funerals and other important events. Divided into chapters detailing the framework for a good speech and templates for speeches, this is a detailed guide to hone the skill of writing funny speeches.

[Steven Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I now know how to write the best speech of all time! Really though, this was a very short & sweet guide to the beginnings, middles, and ends of a fun speech. It broke down a couple of different ways to craft a speech and did so in a very loose, casual manner.

[Ambrose R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, funny, potentially very helpful. Wish it had come out before I gave a too-serious speech at my sister’s wedding. I love her a lot and was nervous what can I say!! Maybe I’ll get another try when they renew their vows someday.

[Jed Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better “How To” books out there. Clear, concise, and immensely practical. Filled with genuine examples.

Even includes writing templates. Brilliant.

[Thomas Holderness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very short but with some good ideas. And pretty funny at times.

[Amanda (Tholke) Hollenkamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice quick informative funny read

[A. Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how simple they made the speech writing process. I'm not sure about the jokes because that's subjective, but they definitely laid out a good blueprint from getting it done.

[Sue Mosher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Making fun of people and insulting them is NOT funny, especially when you’re supposed to be honouring them.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled of fun and also making some ideas about a lot of things that come to us over day.

[Jen Godzwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mildly funny book that contains helpful tips to amateur speech-givers. I listened to it in a hour. Short and sweet.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

good advice if you're planning to write or give a speech at, say a wedding

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good tips and templates. If you want some clarity for writing a short speech, this is helpful.

[Cooper Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10 - funny read, ready for my speech I guess?

[Kelley · Rating 2 out of 5]

2+

[Annika Reno · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, I wanted to like this. A book that could have been a pamphlet . . .