Celebrant training: Are you reading or are you officiating?
Anyone who is certified as a Heart-led Celebrant has been taught the importance of getting the script ‘off the page’. They appreciate that a captivated audience is one which has been engaged on several levels. Here are a few of the ways a Heart-led Celebrant practises their craft:
Meaningful and Sustained Eye Contact
A Heart-led Celebrant recognises that there’s a huge difference between reading a script and officiating. Well before the ceremony they’ve rehearsed the script many times so that it feels like a second skin. This isn’t about learning it off by rote like times tables but rather it’s about ‘living’ the script so that they are familiar with the words, the tone, the feel and are so fluent that they are able to making meaningful eye contact rather than just a cursory glance.
The script might be beautifully written and crafted with excellence but to engage the audience they must connect both with the sound of their voice and with looking at their audience.
Kirsten is a certified Heart-led Celebrant in the USA
Image-based Scripts
Each Heart-led Celebrant-in-Training is guided through writing well-crafted scripts. They learn to understand that a quality script isn’t about regurgitating facts from clients but creating imagery and meaning through storytelling. This is both a skill and an art. They learn that writing and speaking use different parts of the brain, and both must be employed for excellence in celebrancy.
Emotional Intelligence
Authenticity and emotional fluency are the cornerstones of Heart-led Celebrancy. This then shines through all of our work and is highlighted when we officiate. Our scripts are alive with nuance, meaning, purpose and intention, and our ability to deliver this comes from our inner state of being.
Pace, pitch, pause
The judicious use of punctuation, sentence structure, word choices, as well as emotional fluency, and eye contact all come together beautifully here.
We work one-to-one with each student to fully develop their skills and amplify their qualities. Certification as a Heart-led Celebrant is based on aptitude and not attendance. If a celebrant-in-training is willing to put in the work required to be a Heart-led Celebrant then they can be assured of a wonderful vocation where they feel fully equipped to be of service.
Veronika Robinson has had the immense privilege of being a celebrant, internationally, since 1995, and has officiated across all rites of passage. Her passion for ceremony, ritual and excellence in the craft and practice of celebrancy extends to her role as co-founder and co-tutor at Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training and as editor of The Celebrant magazine. She is also an author, novelist and workshop facilitator. Veronika earned her Masters Degree in Creative Writing from University of Cumbria which she uses to benefit her students and their script writing.
Paul Robinson is the vocal and presentation coach for Celebrant Training UK, and teaches our Heart-led Celebrants proven and valuable techniques for their celebrant role. He is an expert in his field, with decades of experience, and offers unparalleled tuition.
