November 28, 2010
Edward Hope asked:
You need never again suffer the indignity of delivering a boring speaker. By adding humor to your speech you can instantly add sparkle to your public speaking. The best speakers know how to use it. Many new and part time speaker’s either don’t use it or don’t know how to use it.
Humor is a very powerful tool for even the occasional public speaker or presenter. It can:
- Instantly attract the attention of the audience
- Be used to illustrate the points in your speech
- Break up your speech into more manageable chunks and give the audience a breather
- Increase your likeability factor with the audience
- Be used to transition from one point to the next
- Be used as a planned response when the unexpected happens
Of course, for some people humor comes easy. For others, it can be a struggle and they doubt whether they should employ it. The advantages to the public speaker from using humor, mean that it is well worth learning the techniques of humor, and with a little application anyone can use it effectively.
Here are 8 tips you can use to spice up your public speaking:-
- Build up a storehouse of stories and quips that you can use. You can find these by being a keen observer of every day life. Other sources of humour newspapers, books, magazines, conversation, films, TV etc.Make a written note of these stories and utilize a filing system to categorize them under appropriate headings.
- Observe other successful public speakers. Analyse how they use humor in their speeches. Do they start with humor? How do they use it in their speech? What gestures, facial expressions, body language etc do the employ?
- Memorize the story especially the punch line. This is crucial to the success of the story. If you happen to stumble over the punch line the opportunity for humor is lost.
- Practice and rehearse in front of a mirror, so you can see your facial expression, gestures movements etc. Also practice your timing and pauses. The more times you tell a joke the better you will become at telling it.
- Make the stories relevant to your speech. When using humor it should illuminate the point you are making. Stories and jokes that do not relate to your speech will detract from the main body and will confuse your message and the audience?
- Use humor like it is used in every day in great conversation – it is effortless and natural
- Know your audience. The humor used should match the audience. Humor that is appropriate at convention of sales people may not be suitable at a religious event.
- Don’t milk the joke for more than one laugh and if it falls flat, move swiftly on as if you did not expect them to laugh anyway.
By adding the spice of humor the right way you will instantly improve the audience’s perception of you and your speech. Why not take the time and apply the above tips in your next speech?
You need never again suffer the indignity of delivering a boring speaker. By adding humor to your speech you can instantly add sparkle to your public speaking. The best speakers know how to use it. Many new and part time speaker’s either don’t use it or don’t know how to use it.
Humor is a very powerful tool for even the occasional public speaker or presenter. It can:
- Instantly attract the attention of the audience
- Be used to illustrate the points in your speech
- Break up your speech into more manageable chunks and give the audience a breather
- Increase your likeability factor with the audience
- Be used to transition from one point to the next
- Be used as a planned response when the unexpected happens
Of course, for some people humor comes easy. For others, it can be a struggle and they doubt whether they should employ it. The advantages to the public speaker from using humor, mean that it is well worth learning the techniques of humor, and with a little application anyone can use it effectively.
Here are 8 tips you can use to spice up your public speaking:-
- Build up a storehouse of stories and quips that you can use. You can find these by being a keen observer of every day life. Other sources of humour newspapers, books, magazines, conversation, films, TV etc.Make a written note of these stories and utilize a filing system to categorize them under appropriate headings.
- Observe other successful public speakers. Analyse how they use humor in their speeches. Do they start with humor? How do they use it in their speech? What gestures, facial expressions, body language etc do the employ?
- Memorize the story especially the punch line. This is crucial to the success of the story. If you happen to stumble over the punch line the opportunity for humor is lost.
- Practice and rehearse in front of a mirror, so you can see your facial expression, gestures movements etc. Also practice your timing and pauses. The more times you tell a joke the better you will become at telling it.
- Make the stories relevant to your speech. When using humor it should illuminate the point you are making. Stories and jokes that do not relate to your speech will detract from the main body and will confuse your message and the audience?
- Use humor like it is used in every day in great conversation – it is effortless and natural
- Know your audience. The humor used should match the audience. Humor that is appropriate at convention of sales people may not be suitable at a religious event.
- Don’t milk the joke for more than one laugh and if it falls flat, move swiftly on as if you did not expect them to laugh anyway.
By adding the spice of humor the right way you will instantly improve the audience’s perception of you and your speech. Why not take the time and apply the above tips in your next speech?
Filed under Speaking by on Nov 28th, 2010. Comment. 
September 1, 2010
Keith Longmire asked:
Most of us are familiar with using visual aids in our public speaking. Even if you are not an active public speaker yourself it is pretty certain that you have suffered from the odd day or two of ‘death by PowerPoint’. There are alternatives.
One of the most memorable presentations I ever saw used a child’s toy as a prop. Jon was a project team leader. He had to give an update on his project to a group of team leaders, project managers and support staff. An audience of twenty five to thirty in all.
On the face of it his subject matter was not that great. He was responsible for the implementation of a payroll outsourcing service. The client was a pubic service works company. They were particularly well known as refuse collectors in the London area though the services they offered were much more wide ranging.
All in all, the client employed around 20,000 monthly paid staff and almost 10,000 weekly paid workers. At $2.00 a payslip this deal was worth just short of $1.5m per year. No small matter for a relatively junior project leader.
I was a bit surprised that Jon didn’t prepare any slides. Instead he turned up with a large plastic supermarket bag. When it came to his turn to present Jon stood up with his bag in his hand. He outlined the basic details above. And then reached into his bag and pulled out a pretty well used and abused child’s toy. It was a battered refuse truck.
Jon then proceeded to use features of the toy to illustrate his project.
To start with Jon pointed out that the two characters in the cab of the truck were not looking at each other. He used this to describe the relationship between the client’s project manager and their existing payroll manager. They didn’t get on, weren’t communicating with each other or him.
He then spun one of the wheels – it was distinctly wonky (does that translate in American?). When pushed the truck moved reluctantly and erratically. Again Jon used this to describe the difficulties in maintaining progress, directions and momentum.
The presentation continued in this vein for some time. Each quirk of the truck was used to illustrate some feature of the project. All delivered with wit and controlled humour.
Once we understood the difficulties Jon then explained what he had done to correct each problem. The wheels were aligned and balanced, the headlight fixed, the suspension greased.
At the end Jon pulled out a new toy refuse truck. It was bright and shiny and in the client’s corporate colours. Jon then removed the 2 figures from the cab of the first toy and placed them in the cab of the new one. Both figures were still rigidly facing in opposite directions. It seems he had fixed all he could but he couldn’t get these two protagonists talking.
Now, I can’t remember all the points that Jon made – it was more than five years ago. The fact that I remember the presentation at all is truly remarkable. How much of your public speaking is as memorable?
Next time you are tempted to base your public speaking on a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation you might just consider if you could use a prop instead.
Most of us are familiar with using visual aids in our public speaking. Even if you are not an active public speaker yourself it is pretty certain that you have suffered from the odd day or two of ‘death by PowerPoint’. There are alternatives.
One of the most memorable presentations I ever saw used a child’s toy as a prop. Jon was a project team leader. He had to give an update on his project to a group of team leaders, project managers and support staff. An audience of twenty five to thirty in all.
On the face of it his subject matter was not that great. He was responsible for the implementation of a payroll outsourcing service. The client was a pubic service works company. They were particularly well known as refuse collectors in the London area though the services they offered were much more wide ranging.
All in all, the client employed around 20,000 monthly paid staff and almost 10,000 weekly paid workers. At $2.00 a payslip this deal was worth just short of $1.5m per year. No small matter for a relatively junior project leader.
I was a bit surprised that Jon didn’t prepare any slides. Instead he turned up with a large plastic supermarket bag. When it came to his turn to present Jon stood up with his bag in his hand. He outlined the basic details above. And then reached into his bag and pulled out a pretty well used and abused child’s toy. It was a battered refuse truck.
Jon then proceeded to use features of the toy to illustrate his project.
To start with Jon pointed out that the two characters in the cab of the truck were not looking at each other. He used this to describe the relationship between the client’s project manager and their existing payroll manager. They didn’t get on, weren’t communicating with each other or him.
He then spun one of the wheels – it was distinctly wonky (does that translate in American?). When pushed the truck moved reluctantly and erratically. Again Jon used this to describe the difficulties in maintaining progress, directions and momentum.
The presentation continued in this vein for some time. Each quirk of the truck was used to illustrate some feature of the project. All delivered with wit and controlled humour.
Once we understood the difficulties Jon then explained what he had done to correct each problem. The wheels were aligned and balanced, the headlight fixed, the suspension greased.
At the end Jon pulled out a new toy refuse truck. It was bright and shiny and in the client’s corporate colours. Jon then removed the 2 figures from the cab of the first toy and placed them in the cab of the new one. Both figures were still rigidly facing in opposite directions. It seems he had fixed all he could but he couldn’t get these two protagonists talking.
Now, I can’t remember all the points that Jon made – it was more than five years ago. The fact that I remember the presentation at all is truly remarkable. How much of your public speaking is as memorable?
Next time you are tempted to base your public speaking on a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation you might just consider if you could use a prop instead.
Filed under Speaking Nothing To Fear by on Sep 1st, 2010. Comment.
August 25, 2010
SpeechTime asked:
Elmer Fudd isn’t the best public speaker. But he makes a great public speaking teacher!
Filed under Comedy by on Aug 25th, 2010. 25 Comments.