Wow - a 10-15 minute speech that was filled with humor and got that much practice! What's interesting is that you forgot to mention that being funny in a speech is HARD. Hat's off to your client who seems to have pulled this off. The rewards can be great; however, the risks can be even greater. One point that we public speakers always seem to forget is that what happens before we speak may have a huge impact on how funny we appear to our audience. Your customer was celebrating a significant birthday and can you just imagine what would have happened if someone had asked for a moment of silence to remember a friend who had not made it to their significant birthday just BEFORE your customer had gone on stage? That's why all comedians have an opening act. The opening act's role in life is to get the audience started laughing. This way it's going to be easier for them to laugh at whatever the main act says! If at all possible, when you plan on delivering a humorous speech, do your best to control what happens before you go on stage! - Dr. Jim Anderson Blue Elephant Consulting - The Accidental Communicator Blog