Making a wedding speech can be very daunting for anyone. Delivering a speech in his role as ‘Man of Honour’ at age 13 at his big sister’s wedding, Oisín Dooley rose to the occasion seeing it as a privilege, a true honour. Even though he had never done anything like this before, he succeeded in delivering a very sincere, humorous and memorable speech to over 200 people.

In this episode it is a real pleasure to chat with Oisín about his experience. We will learn how it felt for a 13 year old to present such a wonderful, well-thought-through wedding speech. Oisín, now 17, claims that he was always quiet (except to family) but knew that if he put his mind to it and time into the preparation for this speech, that he would see results. This is a wonderful example of self-efficacy in action. In addition, he showed leadership by stepping forward to present memories and stories on behalf of his younger siblings with such sincerity, humility and empathy.

Oisín shares with us how he prepared and practiced for the big occasion down to how he anticipated the audience’s reactions and how he managed and overcame his nerves. He also mentions the benefits he now sees of public speaking in school and beyond.

Here are just a few of the nuggets of wisdom and inspiration he shares with us:

“I knew I had to deal with the fear and pressure and use it as a way to motivate me”

“Yes, I’m doing the speech but all of us care”,

“no matter how much anxiety fills you, if you can focus on doing your best at presenting it, people aren’t going to notice the small things you may notice”.

“If I put my mind to it, I can do it and if I try and put time into this, I’ll see results”. #weddingspeeches

You can watch Oisín’s ‘Best Little Brother’s Wedding Speech’ at:

https://youtu.be/vqhWPJ4__Fk