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How many blondes
does it take to change a light bulb?
Tell that joke during your next business
presentation and you'll either win your
audience or lose them. Maybe forever. Most
jokes are suitable for some occasions and
unsuitable for others. Few things are as
painful as listening to a speaker tell a bad
or tasteless joke. The speaker suffers, and
so does the audience.
And yet nothing is better than humour for
grabbing the attention of an audience and
winning them to your point of view. A good
laugh relaxes an audience. That's why so
many experienced speakers open their talks
with a funny story or humourous line. And
salt their remarks with witticisms or funny
anecdotes.
The secret to succeeding with humour in the
boardroom is to be funny and appropriate at
the same time.
Some topics are always off limits, of
course. Jokes about race and ethnicity are
always wrong. So are sexist jokes, and jokes
about people with disabilities. Other themes
to avoid are sarcasm and irony, two
boomerangs that tend to sail over the
audience and return to the stage to hit the
speaker in the temple.
The safest kind of humour to use in a
business presentation is a joke about you.
If you're like me, you have plenty of
material to draw upon. Self-deprecating
humour is effective for two good reasons. It
doesn't make fun of anyone important. And it
helps you make a point without pointing the
finger at anyone.
The best kind of humour comes from your own
well. Stories from your childhood, your
marriage, your family life and your career
are sure to get a laugh if they are original
and well told. Here are some tips on
delivery to make your jokes winners.
Keep your jokes
short
A one-liner gets just as loud a laugh as a
long story but requires less of the speaker
(and the audience) to work well. When
telling a story, keep it relevant to your
topic by including relevant details only
(time and place, names, sequence of events
and so on).
Don't apologize
Don't apologize for not being a comedian
before you deliver a joke, and don't
apologize for a joke that falls flat.
Don't talk over
laughter
The better your humour, the harder and
longer your audience will laugh. So pause
after you've delivered the punchline, and
pause while the audience laughs. Look about
your audience with a smile (or a smirk). Let
them enjoy the joke. Don't sabotage the
effect you created. Start speaking again
only when the room is quiet enough to
continue.
If you aren't
hilarious, at least be witty
If you lack confidence in recounting
humourous stories or telling funny jokes,
try to express yourself in a funny way a few
times during your presentation. Even mundane
topics become entertaining when you discuss
them with some wit. Did you know, for
example, that the IRS has the perfect gift
for the man who has everything? An audit.
Humour relaxes your audience and helps them
connect with you. Audiences want to laugh.
They want to have fun and be entertained. So
take courage and use original humour that's
appropriate for your audience and your
topic.
By the way, have you guessed yet how many
blondes it takes to change a light bulb?
One.
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About the author
Alan Sharpe is an executive speech
coach and business writing trainer.
On-site, online and over the phone,
Alan teaches executives and managers
how to express themselves clearly,
concisely and convincingly using the
written and spoken word. Receive a
free tip like this each week by
subscribing to his
public speaking and
business writing column, The
Confident Communicator.
© 2007
Alan Sharpe. You may reprint this
article online and in print provided
the links remain live and the
content remains unaltered (including
the "About the author" message). |
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