How To Write And Deliver A Eulogy Step 3 of 6 - Gather Material - Collect Building Blocks

This step of this eulogy video tutorial series is about the material that will be in your funeral speech. Rather than trying to assembling the eulogy speech "finished" right from the start, in one go, we take time instead to gather raw information.

What is the raw information, or "building blocks"? It can be anything. Really, anything. For example, a memory from the past,
your feelings for the person, the quality of the person, a quote the person liked to repeat, your experiences growing up, what the person was like in their prime, the people the person loved, a
memento, a funny experience involving the person, how the person made a difference in people's lives, what the person said that made a difference to you, and so on.

We want to write all these down, regardless of the order in which they'll be placed in the final speech. Or whether we think we can use the material or not. We want to collect as many of these
points as possible. Write it down. You may remember it now, but may soon forget, and know you've forgotten something important. Ask me how I know!

This step of the video series involves just gathering all the facts, feelings, memories etc in the form of lots of notes. The next step in this video series is the arranging of this information into a proper funeral speech, but that's not the goal in this step.

It will help if we spend some time in quiet contemplation about the deceased. Find a place where you won't be disturbed. Then close your eyes, relax, and bring yourself back to an earlier time, when the person was alive. Commune with the memories of the past. Spend quiet time in contemplation. Then, as the ideas come to you for the funeral speech, write it all down.

An important point is to talk to family members, or close friends, about their memories. Involve them in the process. This will enrich the material with which you have to work with. Get on the phone and talk, or better still, have a face to face meeting.

By the end of this process you should have gathered a lot of material. The next step of this video series is crafting this material into a good funeral speech.