Hi, I’m Roger Love, celebrity verbal strategist, top-selling author, and founder of The Voice of Success Live. I’m working to make the world a better place, one speaking voice at a time, starting with yours.

In honor of Memorial Day, I want to help you find the right verbal strategy for when you commemorate and remember others.

Memorials are a special time to reflect, offer our respect, and celebrate a loved one. While the “guest of honor,” isn’t physically present to hear your words, what you say can bring so much comfort, honor and joy to those around you. Your speech may be the healing they need or the memories they reflect on in coming years. So having the right verbal strategy is important.

Today, I’ll help you sculpt a verbal strategy to achieve the perfect voice for this occasion. I’ll be using my Building Blocks of Voice and 1-to-10 scales from my Perfect Voice programs to describe each building block. Log in to your Perfect Voice profile if you need a refresher.

Now, let’s start with pitch. Remember that the environment may be filled with a sense of sadness and loss, so I recommend that your overall voice during a eulogy or memorial speech be uplifting. Try to be a little on the higher side, maybe a 5 or 6, and avoid going too low. The higher pitch will make others feel more joyful and hopeful. It’ll also help you create an uplifting atmosphere and reduce the sorrow surrounding the service.

Next, your pace should stay around a 5. Make sure to be consistent and don’t drag it out by slowing down. Life has a beginning, middle and end and each is important. We don’t rush through any of those three parts of life, so we shouldn’t rush through the eulogy. Going too slow invites the audience to sink into their sadness or mentally wonder away into their own thoughts, leaving you alone at the microphone.

Moving on to melody, you should have a great deal of melody, around a 7. You are celebrating a life well lived and a person much loved. You are positive about the fact that love never dies and that the person is in a happy place now. This level of melody will communicate that and help keep everyone’s spirits up.

Next, let’s talk about tone. Aim for about a 5-6. I don’t want you to be airy and light and sound like you’re blowing in the wind. I want people to get strength from your voice and a bit more edgy tone will help with that. Your voice will ring out with hope and consistency that makes people feel good about the person you’re honoring. An airy voice can’t effectively lead people who are mourning. They need strength to be pulled toward hope and a more edgy voice can do that for you.

Finally, volume. Stay around a 6 here. This delivers a strong, confident impression that shows others your strength and encourages them to summon their own.

This Memorial Day, take time to remember and pay respect to those who mean so much to you, no matter where they are now. If you are attending and speaking at a memorial service, use the verbal strategy I provided here to fill everyone in attendance with faith and belief that the person we’re gathering for will live on in our hearts.

Personally, I’ll be using the holiday to remember all the great times I’ve had with my loved ones and remind them–wherever they are now–how much I appreciate them.

And know that I appreciate you! Thanks for spending this time with me and I wish you all a wonderful Memorial Day.