Awards Features

Be prepared: Jason DeSanto, speechwriter and senior lecturer at Northwestern U.'s School of Communication stresses the importance of being ready for the big moment: "You need to prepare, and you can do this by knowing there are three things you'd like to say and do it in an improvisational style. Or, there is no harm in writing it down."

Toastmasters Intl. professional speaker Lance Miller, agrees: "It's important to know what you want to say and have a clear idea of the message you want to get across."

Keep it short: Granted there are a lot of people to thank, but as Ben Stein, a former speech writer for Richard Nixon and current host of "America's Most Smartest Model," warns, "Don't thank everyone on Earth." The thank-you's can certainly become quite the balancing act. You don't want to leave anyone out, but you don't want to put people to sleep rattling off a who's-who-in-Hollywood. Anyone in a pinch could take a line out of Maureen Stapleton's acceptance speech for "Reds" in 1982 when she simply said, "I want to thank everybody I have ever met in my entire life."

Almost all kidding aside: A stab at humor never hurts, unless it's not funny. Sacha Baron Cohen's Golden Globes acceptance speech for "Borat" is a great example of someone who went for the laugh and got it. But Stein warns nominees to stay away from humor "unless they are naturally funny." DeSanto concurs but adds that "self-deprecating humor works because it pierces pomposity. It is likable. It is a good way of putting the audience on your side."

Reality check: DeSanto says the most important factor in any acceptance speech is to keep it personal and be sincere. He points to Forest Whitaker's speech at last year's Oscars as a great example. "Every speech should be different no matter who you are, and it should be tailored to your personality. The best speeches are about revealing something about yourself and providing some meaning to the occasion."