What to say at a celebration of life
You've been asked to say something, or you want to, and now there's a blank page. There's no perfect speech, but there is a shape that works.
Start with one specific thing
Not "she was a wonderful person". Everyone says that, and it tells the room nothing. Start with something only you would know: how she answered the phone, what he kept in the glovebox. Specifics make people nod, then laugh, then cry.
A shape that works
Two to three minutes is plenty. Four parts:
Things worth skipping
Skip the chronology of dates and jobs, and stories that need context the room doesn't have. If a story makes you cry every time you rehearse it, keep a shorter version ready.
If you'd rather not stand up
You don't have to speak. Write something and ask someone else to read it. Or write the honest, unpolished version privately and let it become a narrated tribute over their photos, in a voice that isn't yours. Nothing is invented; the script comes only from what you write.