Incorporate Humour in your
next Presentation
Some speakers say, “I
could never use humour
in my speech; I just
don’t feel comfortable
with it.” I believe
that anyone can use
humour and that it is a
valuable tool in
speaking. Appropriate
humour relaxes an
audience and makes it
feel more comfortable
with you as the speaker;
humour can bring
attention to the point
you are making; and
humour will help the
audience better remember
your point. It can
break down barriers so
that the audience is
more receptive to your
ideas.
First, let me make it
easy for you to use
humour. The best and
most comfortable place
to find humour for a
speech is from your own
personal experience.
Think back on an
embarrassing moment that
you might have thought
not funny at the time.
Now that you can laugh
at the experience, you
understand the old adage
"Humour is simply
tragedy separated by
time and space." Or
think of a conversation
that was funny.
Remember the punch line
and use it in your
speech. Probably the
least risky use of
humour is a cartoon.
The cartoon is separate
from you and if people
don't laugh, you don't
feel responsible. (Be
sure to secure
permission to use it.)
You're not trying to be
a comedian; you just
want to make it easy for
people to pay attention
and to help them
remember your point.
Here are some
suggestions on using
humor to make your next
speech have more
impact.
1. Make sure
the humour is funny to
you. If you
don’t laugh or smile at
the cartoon, joke, pun,
one-liner, story, or
other forms of humour,
then you certainly
cannot expect an
audience to do so. A
key to using humour is
only using humour that
makes you laugh or
smile.
2. Before using
humour in your speech,
try it out with small
groups of people.
Do they seem to enjoy
it? Even if your
experimental group does
not laugh or smile
initially, don’t give up
on the humour, because
the problem might be in
the way you are
delivering the joke or
quip. I often use this
line in talking about
the importance of
listening. “We are
geared to a talk
society. Someone said,
‘The only reason we
listen is so we can talk
next!'” When I first
tried that line, people
did not smile; but I
worked on the timing so
that I paused and smiled
after “listen” and that
seemed to work. I was
rushing through the
punch line and did not
give people time to be
prepared for the
humorous part. It took
practice to get
comfortable with the
piece of humour. Only
use humour in a speech
after you are
comfortable telling it
from memory and have
tested it.
3. Make sure
the humour relates to
the point you are
making. Do not
use humour that is
simply there to make the
audience laugh. The
humour should tie in
with some aspect of your
speech. For example, I
tell about my experience
of getting braces at age
46 and how difficult it
was for me to get used
to the wires and rubber
bands in my mouth.
After I tell the story I
make the point that you
may have not had the
braces problem I had,
but we all have
challenges in
communicating well, and
what we want to look at
today are ways of making
it easier for us to be
more effective in
speaking. The audience
enjoys the story but
also remembers the point
that I'm making. If you
don’t tie your humour to
your presentation, the
audience may like the
humour, but will wonder
what point you are
attempting to make.
4. Begin with
something short.
A starting point might
be to summarize a
cartoon and give the
caption as your humour.
A thought-provoking yet
clever line about a
point you are making is
another way to get
started. For example,
when I talk about
creativity and getting
out of your comfort
zone, a line I found
that worked well was,
“Orville Wright did not
have a pilot’s
license.” In your
reading, look for lines
that make you smile;
consider how they might
be used in your next
speech. Be careful
about launching into a
long humorous
story--audiences are
quick to forgive a
single line that may not
be funny, but they do
not have much patience
with a long anecdote
that isn’t worth the
time. So start out with
brief bits of humour.
5. When
possible, choose humour
that comes from people
you interact with.
You do not have to worry
about people having
heard it before, and you
will feel more
comfortable with what
has happened to you.
Find such experiences by
looking for a humorous
line or situation. For
example, I was making a
bank deposit recently at
a drive-in window. When
I asked to make a second
deposit, the teller said
solemnly, “I’m sorry,
sir, but you’ll have to
go around the bank a
second time to make a
second deposit.” We
both laughed and I may
have a line to work into
a speech. If you have
small children, listen
for something they say
that might be funny to
an audience as well.
Art Linkletter made a
great living on the
notion that “Kids say
the darndest things.”
6. Don’t
preview by saying, “Let
me tell you a funny
story.” Let
the audience decide for
themselves. Look
pleasant and smile as
you launch into your
funny line, but if no
one smiles or laughs
then just move on as
though you meant for it
to be serious. This
approach takes the
pressure off as you
relate the humour.
Remember you are not a
comedian entertaining
the audience; you are a
serious speaker seeking
to help the audience
remember and pay
attention by using
humour as a tool.
Humour is simply another
way of making a point
with your audience, and
it can help you be a
more effective speaker.
Look at humour as a tool
in improving your speech
in the manner of
attention devices,
smooth transitions, and
solid structure.
Remember, “A smile is a
curve that straightens
out a lot of things.”
Stephen D. Boyd, Ph.D.,
CSP, is a professor of
speech communication at
Northern Kentucky
University in Highland
Heights, Kentucky. He
works with organizations
that want to speak and
listen more effectively
to increase personal and
professional
performance. He can be
reached at 800-727-6520
or visit
http://www.sboyd.com
for free articles and
resources to improve
your communication
skills.
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