What is a Eulogy?

Wondering What a Eulogy Actually Is? We’ve Got You.

We know you may be short on time right now. So, our Quick Guide on What is a Eulogy will hopefully be of help to you. We break it down to the basics.

Is a eulogy a speech?

A eulogy is a speech.

But, it is a very particular type of speech. It is focused on paying tribute to or honoring the life of someone who has died. It isn’t intended to be the person’s life story, but rather highlights and acknowledgement of the person’s gifts, contributions, and meaningful life roles.

How is it different from an obituary?

An obituary is not a speech to honor the deceased's life.

Rather, it often serves to announce the death, frequently showing up in newspapers and funeral home websites. It is often much shorter, and typically focuses on providing basic facts about the person, such as occupation, family member names, etc.

A eulogy on the other hand, may provide some of the information shared in the obituary, but is generally longer and focused on a different goal. The goal is to capture and share the essence of the deceased with the audience as part of honoring their life.

How long should a eulogy be?

I am a believer in creative freedom.

Eulogy speeches fall into this category for me. However, the audience members (the speaker too) likely only have so much emotional and mental energy. Therefore, it can be helpful to aim for somewhere between 5-7 minutes, as it is enough to highlight key aspects of their life while also ensuring the audience can remain engaged.

It can be tempting to try to include as much history and information as possible in the eulogy, but that can quickly become overwhelming. After all, we are all complex human beings so there is often a lot to say and reflect on. However, approaching it this way can create significant stress for the eulogy writer and make it difficult to write an effective eulogy. Instead, the eulogy writer should aim to start in a more focused way. Is there something that absolutely can't be missed? Start there. Think small and manageable. You can always add more later.

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Wishing you comfort.