Giving a speech can be a daunting task even for the most confident public speaker. But thankfully at weddings, speechgivers usually get months of notice to prepare what they want to say. However, impromptu public speaking is where things can get a little bit trickier. What happens when you're called on out of the blue to give a toast and say a few words. Toasts can often be spontaneous, and irregardless of whether it's to a small or large group, it's easy for your mind to go blank or even to ramble on a little too long. But fear not, we've found a pretty magic formula that you are going to love, on how to give the perfect toast, every time, even when you're not expecting it.

Common Mistakes People Make When Giving a Toast

First off, it's worth pointing out the most common things that can make for a bad toast so that you can avoid making these mistakes. They include:

• Talking for too long
• Being too specific
• The stories or information are vailable only for people with inside knowledge to understand or enjoy
• The speech-giver talks more about themselves than the person or occasion
• Saying something inappropriate for the occasion

The Forumla to Give the Perfect Toast

Stanford University lecturer Matt Abrahams is author of Think Faster, Talk Smarter and he has a very easy-to-follow formula that will help even the most nervous speaker to feel at ease. Matt uses a handy acronym that he calls "the W.H.A.T structure". Believe us when we say, if you follow this your toast will be relevant, clear and concise, and appropriate. Sounds good, right? Let's get started.

W- Why

The first step is to tell everyone why you are here. At a wedding that's pretty obvious of course, but you can also mention how lovely the day has been so far.

"We're all here to celebrate Mary and John, and hasn't it been the most wonderful day."

H - How

How you are connected to the event, and the happy couple, explain your relationship to each other.

"I've known the bride for 20 years."

A - Anecdote

These are short stories that are accessible to everyone, and most importantly appropriate to the situation. Try to think of something funny or kind that the person or couple did.

"Anyone who knows John and Mary, will know about their love of X, well I remember one time when they X..."

T - Toast or Thank You

Toast to or thank the couple, the people involved or indeed the audience, and ask them to raise a glass.

"Thank you for being here and thank you to John and Mary for bringing us all together. Please join me in raising a glass to the newlyweds to wish them many, happy years together."

Love this advice? We have lots more tips on speeches here including our favourite opening lines.