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The art of the New Year’s Eve toast

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By Robin McMacken, Staff Writer 6:43 PM Friday, December 30, 2011

Even the most garrulous revelers may feel at loss this evening when called upon to make a New Year’s toast.

Hesitation, fear or anxiety could very well spoil the festivities, and these poor folks likely will:

Spit out some charming yet overused one-word wonder, like “Cheers.”

Go polysyllabic with such easy phrases as “Bottoms up” or “À votre santé.”

Pull a cliched “Casablanca,” especially during a romantic rendezvous, and repeat Rick’s toast to Ilsa during the classic film starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman: “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

Or attempt to warble Scottish poet Robert Burns’ “Auld Lang Syne.” (Nice choice, but it’s doubtful the entire crowd will be able to join in with the song fully memorized.)

If you are scheduled to deliver a New Year’s Eve message today, then rest assured you will lift your glass of Champagne or wine – or mug of mulled cider or hot cocoa – and usher in 2012 with taste and eloquence.

All that is required is a little prep work.

A Google search of “New Year’s Eve toasts” will deliver a host of websites that offer toasts– from naughty to nice and historic to humorous.

One of our favorite toasts on Paul Dickson’s website (www.toastsbook.com), for instance, is from Britain’s poet laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson, who wrote:

“Ring out the old, ring in the new, ring happy bells across the snow; the year is going, let him go.”

Dickson, who has written more than 55 nonfiction books on a wide variety of subjects, also wrote “Toasts: Over 1,500 of the Best Toasts, Sentiments, Blessings, and Graces,” which was published in 2009.

Here are some other New Year’s Eve-worthy toasts we rounded up that hopefully will make you sparkle as much as the bubbly tonight:

“Be at war with your voices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” – Benjamin Franklin

“In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, but never in want.” – Irish toast

“As you slide down the banisters of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way.” – Anonymous

“May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions!” – Joey Adams

“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” – Bill Vaughan

“In the year ahead, may we treat our friends with kindness and our enemies with generosity.” – Anonymous

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“Let us resolve to do the best we can with what we’ve got.” – William Feather

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” – T.S. Eliot

How to deliver a memorable toast tonight

Speaking from the heart is the key to a great toast, according to Daniel Rex, the executive director of Toastmasters International.

“The toast can begin with a theme, a joke, a hook or anything that will resonate with the audience,” he explains, and also recognizes the reason for the gathering.

Consider sharing a personal anecdote or story that resonates with the audience.

You should speak in a conversational tone, according to Rex, and make eye contact with fellow partygoers.

“Be bold. Be strong. Stand proud and speak loud. You want control of the room,” he adds, keeping in mind the toast, to some extent, is a form of entertainment.

In that vein, take center stage. Position yourself so no one is facing your back.

Be concise — ideally, a toast should last no longer than one-and-a-half minutes — and customize your comments for the occasion.

For instance, share a few words on what makes the holiday or event special to you and the others assembled.

Here are more toasting tips from Toastmasters International, a nonprofit organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs:

• Be prepared. Become acquainted with the room and the audience.

• If you’re certain you will be delivering a toast this evening, according to Rex, pull a friend aside and practice the toast in advance.

• Humor is always an ice-breaker, but beware of bawdy humor. Don’t say anything that could possibly offend or embarrass anyone.

And avoid the inside jokes.

• Steer clear of alcohol until after the toast.

• When it’s time to make the toast, stand, lift your filled glass by the stem and say, “I’d like to propose a toast.”

Pause to allow others to shift their attention toward you and lift their glasses. (When you start speaking, lower your glass so it’s at your waist.)

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