Taking care with the wedding speech: How firms tell employees about mergers

The wedding speeches that precede the toast to the bride and groom fill many of the people who have to deliver them with fear. And many end up saying something quite trite such as “Don’t they make a great couple? Thanks to everyone for coming” and other ill‐thought‐out or unrehearsed comments. Not that it matters. After all, everyone is among friends and relatives. It is a happy occasion and few top‐table guests at a wedding reception are accomplished public speakers. But what if the “marriage” is not of the husband and wife variety, but a merger of companies?