You may find our "Useful Information for Writing a Eulogy" form helpful in organizing the many details needed for preparing the eulogy.
Before getting started, consider reading or listening to some of the famous eulogies that have been given delivered for inspiration and examples of ways to organize a eulogy.
Start by looking for common topics in the information and stories that you have uncovered. See if there is a logical order that develops with the information such as a chronological, tributes or special theme. Often time some way of organizing the material will become apparent.
Then look over the common ways of organizing a eulogy and see which style appeals to you the most or best fits the information you have.
Finally, take a looks that the parts of a eulogy to get starting on writing.
Common Ways of Organizing a Eulogy
1. Chronological or Life HistoryEulogies given in this type of organization often reveals interesting parts and aspects of the person's life that friends and family may not have been aware of such as early work experience, military history, personal readings from the deceased person's letters, diaries, journals, articles etc.
- Chronological is organizing the speech based on the person's life history, beginning with childhood and working through their life.
- Reverse Chronological is still based on the person's life history but begins with the present and works back through the past.
If you choose this approach, remember that you still only have a total of 3 - 5 minutes for the entire speech.
2. Shared Memories
Sharing memories or your personal recollections about the deceased is a very moving way of organizing a eulogy. This type of eulogy is one of the easier ones to do, because it is based on your own memories of the deceased, rather than a lot of researched details about the person's life history.
3. Tribute or Legacy
The tribute theme is the common form for newspaper obituaries. The tribute eulogy draws attention to the highlights, accomplishments and awards in the person's life.
The legacy theme is similar to the tribute theme focusing on what the person leaves behind as their legacy. This eulogy may highlight the person's achievements, projects, publications, successes, profession and endeavors. The legacy eulogy may also look at the person's personal legacy--the family and children left behind.
4. Three points
Three points is a common way of organizing speeches. Decide on three major points that you want to make about the deceased or key things that you want to say, then focus the speech around these three points. Include the points in the beginning of the speech, go through each point in the middle of the speech and conclude by summarizing the three points. (See Parts of a Eulogy below)
5. Develop a Special Theme
When listening to stories and recollections from family, friends and co-workers, a theme may develop. The eulogy might be organized around how the person loved a challenge or was always there for a friend, about what a great hostess she was, a listing of the person's favorite expressions, some of the anecdotes about the practical joker, what a great humanitarian the person was or the various roles the person played in life.
Parts of a Eulogy
After deciding on a theme the next step is to begin the writing process. A typical eulogy is arranged into three parts:- Beginning: Establishes the theme for the speech, starts with a quote, a story or a statement
Middle: Makes up the bulk of the eulogy
End: Final thoughts, favorite reading, poem, verse, religious text passages, song or other memorable ending.
More information on writing the eulogy after deciding on the organization can be found in "How to Write a Eulogy?"
Final Thoughts
How you choose to organize the eulogy will depend on the person, your relationship with the person the nature of the death and the occasion for the eulogy. A formal religious funeral will necessitate a different eulogy than one given at a celebration of life service.According to Poet Laureate, Andrew Morton:
- A good eulogy doesn't just tell the audience about the person--in a sense it brings the person to life in their imagination and gives them something by which to remember them.
Remember that a eulogy is a final farewell gift for a family member, friend or colleague; it is also a way of expressing sorrow and celebrating the life of the person who has died. The most memorable and meaningful eulogies are ones that are written from the heart.
More on How to Write a Eulogy
