Humor in Public Speaking

Janet Chua asked:




Humor in public speaking has different levels. As a speaker, you have to be extra aware of what your particular level is. A dash of deviousness can help a speaker cover up lack of preparation or limited knowledge about his topic. With humor, what they hear is what you’ve got. Fun that falls flat will indeed deflate any speaker in a flash. You need to be a born comedian to reach the hilarious stage. True comedians only need to look at an audience to have them burst into laughter. Next to them are those who can tell a story superbly. Storytellers have the ability to make even mundane subjects come to life.

Don’t lose heart. Even if you’re not a born comedian, you can still inject humor in your presentation. The average speaker can tell a very acceptable joke or story that puts spice and spark into his speech. It is the below average humorist who bugs most of us. If a speaker begins with a tasteless or badly told joke, his chance of overall acceptance gets off to a poor start. Ethnic, sexist, and sleazy jokes are out. So is a joke where the ending lacks a punch.

As a tip, try out your jokes or stories to your friends. See how they relate. Do they seem embarrassed, or do they laugh? Practice until you can confidently tell about a funny incident or a particular joke easily and with vitality. The next time you speak in public, try out your skill. If it works, you’ll know you’re on your way to becoming the entertaining speaker we all long to be.

One more pitfall that we should avoid is trying to speak the written words. Speaking written words is fine, provided your written words have been prepared for speech. If they have been put into written language designed for the eye, then it’s impossible to deliver them with the ease and flowing style needed for voice. You will end up sounding awkward and funny. On the written page we often write long, complicated sentences, but if we try to speak them, we can run into all sorts of problems. Beware of tongue twisters, words that trip us up.

For instance, words like participate, anticipate, and endeavor are written style ones. Could you imagine going home and saying to your family, “I’ll endeavor to paint the fence tomorrow”? Of course not, they’ll think you were crazy. You’re more likely to say “I’ll try to paint the fence tomorrow.”

Study your script for any hint of formality. Speak it aloud over and over again. This is the only way you’ll get the feel of the spoken word. Become your own editor, but be a tough one.