{"id":5950,"date":"2011-01-14T16:44:32","date_gmt":"2011-01-15T00:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=5950"},"modified":"2011-01-14T16:44:32","modified_gmt":"2011-01-15T00:44:32","slug":"admissions-essays-and-wedding-speeches-what-do-they-have-in-common","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/admissions-essays-and-wedding-speeches-what-do-they-have-in-common\/","title":{"rendered":"Admissions Essays and Wedding Speeches: What Do They Have In Common?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Think back for a minute and consider the last few weddings you\u2019ve been to. If you\u2019re lucky, you only have witnessed great wedding speeches and toasts, but odds are that you\u2019ve sat through at least one or two bombs. What accounts for the difference?<\/p>\n

While your first answer might understandably be, \u201cIt\u2019s how comfortable the person is about delivering speeches in front of large groups,\u201d I don\u2019t really think that\u2019s the case. Yes, no one wants to watch the poor guy stand up there and sweat bullets as he fumbles with a piece of paper covered in smeared ink, fumfering<\/a> into the microphone for what seems like 20 minutes. Delivery absolutely matters.<\/p>\n

But content outshines delivery almost every time. Here\u2019s one common culprit that\u2019s made more than a few wedding toasts bad: The speaker just focused on cracking jokes, and left you scratching your head as to who he is, what he has to do with all of this, and why he chose to tell that story of what he saw the groom do in New Orleans back in 2007. He didn\u2019t connect with you, and you ended up caring about him or his relationship with the lucky couple no more than when he started.<\/p>\n

Now think about the ones that you have enjoyed. Even the Nervous Nellies deliver good toasts when they are personal. The good speakers reveal a little bit about themselves, and in doing so they help you get to know them a bit better. They share a vulnerability or concern that we\u2019ve all felt at some point, and everyone shares a small appreciative chuckle. They present a side of the bride and groom that you\u2019ve never seen before (and actually want to see). They connect with you.<\/p>\n

A great speaker \u2014 just like a great admissions essay writer \u2014 doesn\u2019t need to leave them rolling in the aisles. Humor helps, but only to the extent that it helps to present and accentuate personal stories that make you feel like you now know the person on more than a superficial level.<\/p>\n

A great admissions essay works in the same way. It doesn\u2019t focus on devices and gimmicks; it just delivers a message that the reader will leave the reader saying, \u201cI really enjoyed that. He seems like someone I\u2019d like to get to know more.\u201d Whether you\u2019re talking about what matters most to you (\u2026 and why), or discussing a time when you failed as part of a team, or discussing where you see yourself in your career ten years from now, this same yardstick applies. Putting a little bit of your self out there \u2014 even though it seems risky\u2026 no, especially<\/em> when it seems risky! \u2014 is the difference between a bore of an essay and a terrific one.<\/p>\n

Ready to sign up for a GMAT course? Enroll through GMAT Club and save up to $180 (use discount code GMATC10)!\u00a0 Take a look at our course options in some of our most popular cities: New York<\/a>, Chicago <\/a>and Los Angeles. <\/a> And make sure to subscribe to our blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Think back for a minute and consider the last few weddings you\u2019ve been to. If you\u2019re lucky, you only have witnessed great wedding speeches and toasts, but odds are that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5950"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5950\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5953,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5950\/revisions\/5953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}