Using Humor in Speeches and Presentations

How to Connect With an Audience Through Humor

Apr 20, 2009

Use Humor Carefully in Speeches and Presentations, MS Office online

Humor in speeches and presentations can be a risky proposition. But when used appropriately, the pay-off can be huge. The key is to think "human," not "hilarious."

Contrary to what many speakers and presenters seem to believe, there is no law that says every speech or presentation should start with a joke to “loosen up the crowd.” While that may be true for a roast or stand-up comedy routine, in business situations there are many good reasons to avoid jokes, including:

First impressions. Remember that first impressions are lasting impressions. There’s a lot of credibility on the line with a business speech or presentation, and it’s extremely difficult to recover gracefully from a joke that bombs.
Credibility. Using an inappropriate joke or humorous story calls into question the speaker’s judgment. This may even cause the audience to question the validity of the information being presented, thereby undermining the entire message.
Differentiation. The fact that so many speakers and presenters open with a joke is a good reason to avoid doing so. A different tactic- such a provocative question or a surprising statistic- might help the speaker stand out from crowd and make the message more memorable.

While there are plenty of compelling reasons not to use jokes in a speech or presentation, there’s no denying that humor is one of the most effective ways to build rapport with an audience. But it must be used correctly. Here are a few suggestions on how to do so.

Go for the grin, not the guffaw. Professional comedians know how difficult it is to get an honest-to-goodness laugh out of an audience. A quote attributed to a number of different comedians and humorists on their death beds puts it this way:, “Dying is easy; comedy is hard.” Going for a smile is safer than attempting to pull off a side-splitter. .
Link the humor to the topic. Use the joke or story as a way of introducing the main point of the speech. A joke for joke’s sake belongs in another setting. For example, a presentation on getting organized might include a humorous story about how the speaker lost (but then quickly found) his or her notes for the event.
Use self-deprecating humor. Self-deprecating humor is the safest and friendliest type of humor. It helps the speaker avoid coming across as arrogant or self-important, and speed up the process of making a more human connection with the audience.
Be PC. There’s nothing wrong with being “politically correct” in certain situations. A speech or presentation is one of them. Avoid all jokes that target an individual or group or minority. Avoid all off-color jokes. None of this kind of humor reflects well on the speaker. Usually, it just offends some or all of the audience.
Don’t be obvious. Humor works because it surprises. Effective speakers don’t “warn” their audiences that a joke or funny story is on the way. They avoid using such over-used phrasing as, “A funny thing happened to me on the way here today,…” or “That reminds me of a funny story about…” Just tell the story, pause to let the audience react, and enjoy the pleasant and reassuring sight of smiling faces… and perhaps even the sweet sound of laughter.

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