# Eulogy for Grandma: How to Write One and What to Say > Write a calm, short eulogy for your grandmother from a few true memories: how long to speak, what to say, what to leave out, and how HidenGPT drafts it. Source: https://hidengpt.com/write/eulogy-for-grandma # I have to give a eulogy for my grandma, and I don't know where to start. Start with four or five true things about her: a habit, a place, something she said, a memory that is yours. HidenGPT's Speech format, set to Eulogy / memorial, turns them into about 520 words for four minutes, calm and plain. It leaves a placeholder where a memory is missing. You read and change every line. Updated October 10, 2026 · by the HidenGPT team Try it with your own details Enter to send · Shift+Enter for a new line ## How to do it in HidenGPT - 01 Before you open anything, write down four or five true things about her: where she lived, what her hands were always doing, a sentence she repeated, one memory that is yours alone, and what you learned from her without being told. - 02 Pick Speech under “Use it for”, set Occasion to Eulogy / memorial, Minutes to 4 and Your role to something like “her granddaughter”, and keep Tone on Heartfelt. - 03 Type your notes into the main box in plain sentences, add anything that must stay out, such as an illness or a family quarrel, and send. - 04 Replace every [add a short memory] with something true, cut any detail you can't vouch for, and ask a relative to check names, dates and places. - 05 Read it aloud with a timer, once to someone in the family, and mark the lines where your voice may catch so you know where to stop and breathe. [Speech & Toast](https://hidengpt.com/tools/speech): Weddings, graduations, keynotes: timed to the minute and written to be read aloud. ## How long to speak, and how to spend the time Three to five minutes is a common length for a eulogy, but the service sets the real limit. Ask the officiant, celebrant or funeral director how many minutes you have, and whether other people are speaking before or after you. If you are one of several, two or three minutes is kinder to everyone. At about 130 words a minute, the pace HidenGPT plans for in English, two minutes is roughly 260 words, three is 390, four is 520 and five is 650. Grief tends to slow people down, so aim a little under. Here is one way to split 520 words for four minutes: Opening, who you are and who she was to you: about 60 words. A picture of her, what she was like day to day: about 120. Two memories, told in full: about 200, so 100 each. What she left you and the family: about 90. A short close and goodbye: about 50. That adds up to 520. If you only have a minute, keep the opening, one memory and the goodbye. A short eulogy with one real memory beats a long one made of adjectives. ## What to say about your grandmother, and what to leave out Say who you are in the first sentence, because some guests will know her from church, work or the street and not know you. Then be specific. “She was a kind, loving woman who always put family first” could be about anyone. “She kept butterscotch candies in her coat pocket, and every child on Alder Street knew which one” can only be about her. One memory told properly, with a place, a season and something she said, does more than five memories listed. A grandchild stands in a particular spot in the room. Tell it from there: her kitchen, her phone calls, the summer you stayed with her. Mention her children and say you know this day is theirs too, but do not speak for them. Close with a plain line, such as “Thank you, Grandma. We will bring a sweater.” What to leave out: how she died, unless the family wants it said; medical detail; old quarrels, money and who got what; a long list of relatives' names; and any story you would hesitate to tell with her children sitting in the front row. Stock lines go too. “A beacon of love” and “she will be deeply missed” are the kind of phrases people stop hearing. Humor is fine if it is her kind of humor and her family would smile, so run it past one of them. On faith: ask the family what they want. Add a prayer, reading or verse in your own words if they do, and leave it out if they do not. The officiant can often place one for you. ## What the Speech format does for a eulogy With Occasion set to Eulogy / memorial, the draft is calm, respectful and plain. It is built on her concrete traits and the mark she left, and it makes no religious or ideological assumptions. Minutes runs from 1 to 15. At 4 it aims for about 520 words and warns you if the result lands more than 30% off. If you want cues such as [pause] where you will need to breathe, switch on Stage cues under More details. They do not count as words. It works from what you give it and is told not to invent anecdotes, names or events. Where it needs a memory you did not supply, it leaves [add a short memory]. Read it line by line anyway, and cut any small detail, like a street, a year or a nickname, that is not true. A light red pen pass cuts stock phrases such as “a testament to” and “serves as a reminder”, and the draft stays in short paragraphs so you can find your place. On Pro or Pro Max, a saved voice built from your own writing (at least 300 characters, 2 to 5 pieces works best) brings the wording nearer to how you talk. A letter or card you once wrote to her is good material for that. ## The day before and the day of A checklist, since the draft is only part of the job. Print it in a large font with wide spacing, one paragraph per block, and bring paper rather than a phone. Number the pages. Mark pauses with a slash. Read it aloud twice with a timer, once alone and once to a relative. Choose a backup, someone who has read it and will step up and finish if you cannot. Bring water. Plan to speak a little slower than feels natural and to look up at the end of each paragraph. If you cry, stop, breathe and wait. Nobody in that room is grading you. A shorter eulogy is easier to get through, so if you are unsure, cut a memory rather than hurry. ## Not the right tool if - A person whose life you do not know. It will not make up memories; ask her children, her friends or her neighbors for one each and use those. - An obituary or death notice. This writes something to be spoken aloud, not a printed announcement. - Carrying the loss for you. It is a writing tool. If the day feels too heavy, a relative, the officiant or a counselor can help in ways a draft cannot. ## Other ways to do it Writing it by hand over a few evenings Costs nothing and is often the most personal version. Start from a list of memories and write the way you would talk; it is slower and harder to begin. Asking relatives for one memory each Gives you material you do not have and often the one sentence the room will remember. Works with or without a drafting tool. The officiant, celebrant or funeral director They have seen many services and can tell you the time slot, the order and what fits the family's customs. Some will help shape a tribute. ChatGPT or another chatbot Quick, but expect stock lines and details that never happened, which you will need to find and cut. ## Questions ### How long should a eulogy for my grandmother be? Three to five minutes is common, but ask the officiant how long you have. At about 130 words a minute, that is roughly 390 to 650 words; read it aloud with a timer, because pauses add time. ### What do I say in a eulogy for my grandma? Say who you are, then show who she was with specific habits and one or two full memories, then say what she left you and the family. End with a short, plain goodbye. Keep to things you know are true. ### How do I write a eulogy from a granddaughter or grandson? Tell it from where you stood: her kitchen, her phone calls, the summers with her. Put “her granddaughter” or “her grandson” in Your role and say it in your first line. Mention her children, and do not speak for them. ### Can I include humor in a eulogy? Yes, a little, if it is her kind of humor and her family would smile at it. A small, true story she would have laughed at works better than a joke. Check it with one of her children first. ### What if I cry while I am reading it? Stop, breathe and wait; people will wait with you. Print the eulogy in a large font, keep it short, and ask someone who has read it to stand by in case you need them to finish. ### Can I make it short, one or two minutes? Yes. Set Minutes to 2 and it aims for about 260 words; set it to 1 for about 130. Keep the opening, one real memory and the goodbye. ### Does the eulogy include religious words? No. The Eulogy / memorial setting makes no religious or ideological assumptions. If the family wants a prayer, reading or verse, add it yourself or ask the officiant where it fits. ### Can I try it before I subscribe? Yes. You can try 2 drafts a day on the homepage without an account. 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