How to Write a Eulogy: A Simple Structure That Holds Up

To write a eulogy, pick two or three true stories that show who the person was, say the specific things people recognized in them, and close with what they leave behind. Keep it to two to five minutes if others are speaking too, and seven to ten if you're the only speaker, the guideline published on the National Funeral Directors Association's Remembering A Life site.^[1]

At an average speaking pace of about 150 words a minute,^[2] five minutes is roughly 750 words. Then practice it out loud. That's the whole method, and the rest of this page is the detail.

If you'd rather answer four prompts and edit a draft, the free eulogy builder does that in your browser and prints in large type. If you also need to write the death notice, that's a different job; see how to write an obituary.

Write a eulogy by choosing two or three specific memories that capture what the person was really like, connecting them with what those stories say about who they were, and closing with what they meant to the people in the room. Start by jotting down moments, phrases they always said, and things only you would know, then shape the best of them into a short talk. Concrete beats grand every time.

Write it the way you actually talk. Skip the funeral language. If a sentence sounds like a greeting card, cut it or say the real thing instead.

A eulogy should include specific stories, the person's real character (including their quirks and flaws, told with warmth), a sense of what they loved and how they treated people, and what they leave behind in the people who knew them. Small, exact details, the way they laughed, a phrase they overused, what they did when no one was watching, land harder than a summary of accomplishments.

You don't have to cover their whole life. A few vivid moments beat a full timeline.

The guideline published by the National Funeral Directors Association's Remembering A Life site: two to five minutes if you're not the only speaker, enough to say how you knew the person and tell one to three stories, and seven to ten minutes if you are the sole speaker.^[1] Word counts follow from speaking pace. The average English speaker runs about 150 words a minute,^[2] and grief slows most people down, so plan on the lower end of each range.

If several people are speaking, coordinate so you aren’t all telling the same story.

When in doubt, shorter is kinder. A tight, honest five minutes is remembered; a rambling fifteen is endured.

Start a eulogy by telling people who you are and how you knew the person, then drop straight into a specific story or a true line about them. You don’t need a grand opening. "I'm Dana, Frank's youngest. I want to tell you about the time he..." works better than anything abstract, because it puts the person in the room immediately.

Skip the dictionary-definition opener and the long throat-clearing. Begin with the person.

Five parts, in order. This outline for a eulogy fits about five minutes of speaking and works for almost anyone. The time split is MORTL's suggestion for a five-minute slot; stretch the story if you're the only speaker.

Write it out in full, even if you plan to speak from notes. Grief takes working memory, and a written page is the backup your voice needs.

A eulogy is a spoken tribute delivered at the funeral or memorial, personal and story-driven, meant to be heard. An obituary is a written death notice, usually published in a newspaper or online, that announces the death, lists key facts and surviving family, and gives service details. One is a speech about who they were; the other is a public record that they died.

You may need both, and they shouldn’t be the same text. For the written notice, see how to write an obituary.

Practice it out loud several times, print it in large type, and mark where to breathe. Bring water, speak slowly, and pause when you need to; the room expects emotion and will wait for you. It's completely fine to cry, and it's fine to ask someone to stand beside you or to be ready to finish reading it if you can’t. Having a backup reader lined up removes most of the fear.

If you break down, take a breath and keep going. Nobody in that room is grading your delivery; they're grateful you spoke.

Leave out inside jokes only a few people get, old family grievances, anything the person would have been mortified to have shared, and long lists of dates and titles. Avoid clichés that could describe anyone, and don’t use the eulogy to settle scores or to gloss the person into a saint they weren’t. Honest and affectionate beats flawless and generic.

If you're unsure whether a story belongs, ask whether it honors the person and whether the closest mourners can bear to hear it. If both answers are yes, keep it.

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This is a guide; the best eulogy is the honest one only you could give. For more on marking a life, see our Sources and Methodology and the funeral guides linked above.