How to Use Humor in a Speech

• 00:04 So what's the best way to use humor in a presentation?
• 00:09 The good news is unless you're a stand up comic nobody is expecting to get laughs
• 00:14 from you.
• 00:14 So if you can deliver some humor, some laughs people generally loved that.
• 00:19 They appreciate that but be careful.
• 00:23 We've all seen too many speakers start off with a speech with an obviously canned
• 00:29 joke that they got out of a book somewhere and it's like hi, look at me, I'm funny.
• 00:34 They're trying too hard.
• 00:37 And it's almost as if they're trying to force the audience to laugh with them and
• 00:41 everyone's kind of like, it's too obvious, people see it coming.
• 00:47 It seems canned and it seems a little phony.
• 00:49 I do recommend if you're going to use humor, you don't necessarily want to do it
• 00:54 in the first 30 seconds, in a way that's obviously a scripted joke.
• 00:58 The best humor for most speakers, business presenters,
• 01:03 people in other aspects of civic live is if it seems authentic,
• 01:08 if it seems specific to you, especially if it seems spontaneous.
• 01:13 I wouldn't just reuse jokes from old joke books.
• 01:19 Try to think of it as it relates to you.
• 01:21 Anytime you make fun of yourself, you probably in good shape.
• 01:25 You gotta be careful making fun of other people.
• 01:28 It can seem mean, harsh be very, very careful of that.
• 01:35 Here's the big thing, if you're never naturally funny, if people aren't
• 01:40 naturally laughing at what you say, don't try to all of a sudden create a whole new
• 01:44 persona for yourself when you're giving speeches or presentations.
• 01:48 Just be really interesting and memorable and people will still love you.
• 01:52 Even if they don't laugh once.
• 01:55 But if you are humorous, if you enjoy humor,
• 01:58 if you're good at it by all means incorporate it into your presentation.
• 02:04 Because here's the thing, if someone in the audience is laughing
• 02:08 while you're speaking and they're laughing with you.
• 02:12 We know several things, they're paying attention.
• 02:16 That's a good sign.
• 02:17 They're understanding you.
• 02:20 That's a good sign.
• 02:22 They're reacting to you.
• 02:23 That's a good sign.
• 02:25 All of these mean you're really engaging an audience.
• 02:30 I've never once heard an audience say, I hated the way that that person was so
• 02:35 funny and interesting.
• 02:37 I never heard an audience say that.
• 02:40 Make sure you're jokes are relevant to what you're talking about or
• 02:44 at least don't distract.
• 02:45 Obviously you don't want to be using off color jokes that half the audience likes,
• 02:49 but the other half thinks is wildly offensive.
• 02:53 Give some thought to your humor if it is planned.
• 02:58 But part of having humor in a presentation is being so
• 03:02 comfortable with your material, comfortable with what you're doing and
• 03:07 being able to think and talk at the same time so that you can react.
• 03:13 And if someones cell phone goes off or
• 03:16 someone drops a glass of water or you knocked over a glass of water,
• 03:21 being able to react to it with a lot of humor in a way that's obviously planned.
• 03:28 See right there, you make a mistake react to it have a little fun with it.
• 03:32 Have fun with your mistakes, that's a good way of using humor.
• 03:37 It makes you seem real.
• 03:39 It makes you seem like a little bit more down to Earth.
• 03:44 And if your audience likes you more, they are more likely to listen to you and
• 03:49 not instantly shut you down and check out their email.
• 03:53 So think of those ways of using humor.
• 03:56 Also if you say something that gets a laugh in front of one audience,
• 04:01 use it for the next audience.
• 04:02 If the message still works and if it’s a different audience,
• 04:05 don’t be afraid to recycle your jokes.
• 04:09 The best comedians do it.
• 04:11 But they do it in a way where doesn’t sound like they’re regurgitating something
• 04:15 if memorized.
• 04:17 Good luck and good humor.

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