“Here’s to you!”
What is it?
A toast is a speech given in praise of someone else. Toasts can be made at
many different events, but all essentially achieve the same goal: to honor
someone. The person giving the toast should, therefore, follow some specific
rules of etiquette. Because we are not at any specific event (everyday in speech
class is an event!) you are going to have a little room to be creative.
Guidelines:
Each of you will choose a person to toast. You may choose a family
member, friend, or schoolmate (with their permission). You may give an
engagement toast, a wedding toast, an anniversary toast, a retirement toast, a
birthday toast, or a dinner party toast. Each of these will follow the same general
format, but will be different in style. Remember that although you can make up
this person’s future (if necessary), you may not embarrass the person in any way.
If you choose another student, the person about whom you are speaking will have
the chance to proof your outline before you present your speech.
What TO do:
Do have fun with this—toasts often have a comical nature even though
they are mostly sincere.
Do use as much real information as possible—you cannot predict the
future, but you can make an educated guess.
Do ask permission to use the names of other people in your speech.
Do practice—practice makes perfect!
What NOT to do:
Don’t roast anyone—that is not the point of this speech.
Don’t forget the purpose of the speech—to honor the other person.
Don’t forget organization.
Don’t worry about the drinks; I will provide them. 
Outline:
Naturally you must write an outline for this speech as well. The format of
this outline will be different from the rest, so make sure you are paying attention!
Stories are going to be an important part of this speech, so you may want to bullet
point details in the story that you don’t want to forget. Remember, even if this is
fiction, it should be based on fact.