Wedding season is here. Which that means while both brides and grooms worry about whether the other one will show up, men everywhere are waking in cold sweats over the thought of giving a best man’s speech. And no, it’s not just you – every best man gets the pre-speech jitters.

The question is: what makes a great best man’s speech?

Should it be funny or sentimental? Does it need to be just about the groom, or will that upset the bride? How long should it be? What’s a safe amount of tequila to drink before? What stories can you tell without giving an elderly great-aunt a heart attack?

For some proper advice (by which we mean, from a professional who knows what they’re talking about – not the lads’ WhatsApp group), we turned to Kye Harman from online resource Simply The Best Man.

“Keep your speech well timed and sincere,” says Kye. “Mix the jokes with kind comments, but most of all make it fun, everyone is looking to you for some light relief in what can often be a drawn out part of the wedding, they’re on your side and what you to be good so relax and enjoy it.”

In case you’re still panicking, here’s a more detailed guide to making a great (and stress-free) best man’s speech.

Keep It Short and Sweet

It’s no secret that for the average non-immediate family guest, weddings can be a slog – half an hour of standing outside the church, an hour of the vicar droning on, father of the bride boring everyone to death, and more faffing about before you can get stuck into the free booze, food and disco.

There’s no need for you to drag it out any longer. In fact, the best man’s speech is your chance to perk things up.

“A good speech should run for around seven minutes,” says Kye. “That’s plenty of time to give the groom the comedy roast he deserves, land a few blows, give some sincere words and fit in the embarrassing story of how he got that tattoo without boring people. It is just a speech, not a stand-up comedy routine. To get the timing right practise saying your speech out loud and leave pauses for the laughs and standing ovation.”