Public Speaking : Toasts

Having a toast on hand is like a good joke; they’re never expected and always appreciated. A public speaking professional will do well to have a few toasts they use in case a situation warrants. If you decide to venture into a local bookstore, you’ll find a number of sources that provide a variety of toasts. Many of the sources provide situation-specific advice. Pick out a few and make them part of your repertoire. As a public speaking professional, you never know when you’ll be called on to make a speech! Here are a few of my favorite toasts:
Birthdays:

** To your birthday, glass held high. Glad it's you that's older not I.Here’s to you. No matter how old you are, you don't look it.
** Here’s to you. No matter how old you are, you don't look it.

Christmas:

** · 'Twas the month after Christmas, and Santa had flit; Came there tidings in the mail, which read: Please remit.Here's to the Holly with its bright red berry.
** Here's to Christmas, let's make it merry.

Meals:

** Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you diet.
** A full belly, a heavy purse, and a light heart.

Friendship:

** Here's to a friend who knows me well and likes me anyway.
** May the friends of our youth be the companions of our old age.
** Banquet speech ending:
** Good day, good health, good cheer, good night!

Health:

**Here's to your health. You make age curious, time furious, and all of us envious.

Luck:

**As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never face the wrong way.
** May your luck be like the capital of Ireland. Always Dublin.

New Year:

** May all our troubles in the coming year be as short as our New Year's resolutions.
** In the year ahead may we treat our friends with kindness and our enemies with generosity.

Marriage:

** Marriage is an institution, but who wants to live in an institution. Groucho Marx
** May for 'better or worse' be far better than worse.