Eulogy - The Final Tribute.

So, there you are. Standing in the chapel, your friend or loved one lies lifeless in the coffin at the front, some people are crying and a sombre mood engulfs the congregation.

After the usual prayers and offerings someone is called up to the pulpit to deliver the time honoured funeral ritual, the eulogy.

Now this is where the emotion really starts to spill over. The people who were crying now start to wail and those who were only just holding back the tears break out into a sob. Why is this so?

The eulogy is a key part of most funerals where the “what a great person he or she was” story gets told at the height of the emotional peak which comes with a death of a friend or loved one.

When the person delivering this most important sermon rings out the life of the loved one in front of the family and friends and just before the coffin is buried or cremated emotions totally overflow and there can be no holding back.

If you are ever called upon to deliver such an important ritual then please please make sure you do your homework and rehearse rehearse rehearse. There can be no greater bungle than to stuff up the last speech to a person who means so much to the people gathered at the funeral.

Pragmatically it is nothing more or less than an excersise in public speaking. You need facts, you need time, you need structure and you need presentation. If you are not a public speaker then fear not. Seeing as this may be the only time you will speak in front of a crowd you can simply write out the eulogy in an easy to read format and get up there and simply read it. Tape yourself a few times to make sure the presentation is acceptable and never ever worry about how your voice sounds to you.

For examples of how people have written about the dearly departed go to . A eulogy may also be added an existing funeral notice after the service.