Here’s to Deft Toasts : * Paying tribute with a raised glass is more than tipsy patter. It should be treated as a mini-speech.

The opulent Oscar Wilde advised following the Three Bs when making a toast: “Begin, Be Brief and Be Seated.�

Good advice, but maybe not enough advice when considering making an actual toast. The holidays, particularly New Year’s, seem to be a time of wishing well for the future, of proposing a toast. So how do you do it? It’s more than standing up and loudly declaring, “Here’s mud in yer eye!�

Some outgoing types approach toasting with zest (and sometimes turn the toast into a dissertation), while others begrudgingly carry it out as a requirement for their role in a wedding or other formal event, quickly completing the task, red-faced.

But a toast also can be less public, as informal as one person toasting another at an intimate dinner or lunch.

First, a little history: An article in the June, 1990, issue of The Toastmaster magazine states that the term toast came from the 17th-Century practice of adding croutons to alcoholic beverages to absorb impurities. Drinking to one’s heath or happiness soon became known as a “toast.� The olive in the cocktail is said to be the contemporary replacement for toast in the alcohol.

The clinking of glasses also has some history. Judith Martin’s “Miss Manners’ Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior� states that the purpose of the custom supposedly was to have one person’s wine spilled into the glass of another, ensuring that no one (or everyone) would be poisoned. The clinking sound was also believed to drive away spirits.

Rules of proper toasting have been written up in scores of etiquette manuals. For those who want to do it right, these books are a good place to start.

Some basic rules for toasting come from Letitia Baldridge’s “Complete Guide to a Great Social Life� and “Complete Guide to Executive Manners�:

* A toast should be light and short--one to three minutes.

* All guests should have wine or champagne or another drink in their glasses before the toast is proposed. If you get caught without liquid in your glass, raise the glass and pretend to drink anyway.

* Hosts have the prerogative of making the first toast.

* Don’t offer a toast if you’re tipsy.

* If you’re making a toast, rise in your place. To get the group’s attention, ask others to help you quiet the room or tap on a glass for silence.

* Don’t toast yourself or drink after someone offers a toast to you.

* To get expert opinion on delivering a toast, the masters were consulted--Toastmasters, that is, the international organization devoted to public speaking.

Several Toastmaster members said their club name is somewhat of a misnomer, considering that the subject of toasting is rarely covered in their sessions. Yet since Toastmaster meetings require extemporaneous as well as prepared speaking, some members had thoughts on preparing for and delivering toasts.

Beth Wuest, a member of Successmasters Toastmasters in Canoga Park, said a few sessions of Toastmasters would help. “We offer a supportive atmosphere for people who want to overcome their fear of speaking in public.�

If someone specifically wanted to concentrate on toasts, the sessions would offer critiques.

“A toast should be treated as a mini-speech,� Wuest said. “It should have an introduction, a solid, meaty middle and a clear closing. And a toast time is not a roast time. It is an expression of goodwill and appreciation for a person or an occasion.�

Wuest and Successmasters Toastmasters President Evan Gordon agree that the tradition of toasting seems to have fallen by the wayside over the years. These days, it is seen mostly at weddings.

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An informal toast at a small gathering or between friends should be less rehearsed and more spontaneous, Gordon added.

“For an informal toast, just get an idea of what you want to say beforehand and go with it. The more rehearsed it is, the more rehearsed it sounds,� he said.

For semiformal or formal occasions, more preparation is necessary.

“You should have some kind of notes to refer to, so that you’re not stumbling your way through it,� he said. “You can’t just wing it.�