Very often, people shy away from using humour in their speeches and presentations because they think that they are required to be stand-up comics. This is just not the case. Here's the difference between the two: Comical is causing or meant to cause laughter. Humour is more like using wit to create a state of amusement or a relaxed mood.
funny memes
In other words, you can be humourous without being comical. And yes you want to add humour to your speeches because it plays an important role in relating to and uniting people. It really is a universal language.
Moreover, making a serious point on a "vehicle of humour" helps people to remember and recall the point. I can testify to this, I use it in my training as standard practice.
So how do you "do humour"?
1. Just have a sense of humour. You don't have to be able to tell jokes. Understand the difference between humour and jokes. Humour can be found in the context of your presentation. It might be the way you say something or your facial expression as you say something. Jokes demand an immediate response.
2. Make your humour relevant to your speech and your audience. This is one of those times when you will really appreciate the value of audience analysis. While humour is universal your audience might be diverse.
3. It is pretty much established that the best humour comes from anecdotes from your personal experiences. This should be easy for you because you've lived the experiences and they are usually something that your audience can relate to.
4. In telling you anecdotes and stories, don't forget to use good body language and vocal variety.
5. Avoid offensive humour. Examples are: racist, sexist, religious, ethnic and especially off-colour.
How not to "do humour"
1. Don't buy into the popular belief that once you use some humour in your speech that you move into the realms of the "can't wait to hear" speakers. If you don't use humour effectively, it can backfire.
2. Don't tell a joke for the sake of telling a joke. People tend to resist when they think that all you're doing is trying to make them laugh. When you tell a joke that is totally unrelated to the speech topic, your audience will spend the rest of the time trying to make the connection between the joke and the substance of the presentation.
3. Don't declare how funny you're going to be. Don't you just hate those jokes that you receive by e-mail that begins with "This is so funny!" or "this will make you laugh until you cry"? My immediate response and perhaps yours too, is to decide not to find it funny. That is the effect your declaration is likely to have on your audience.
4. Don't laugh at your own humour. And while you're at it, don't explain it, don't apologise if the audience doesn't get it and above all, don't repeat it!
So go ahead, take these tips and add humour to you next presentation and watch how the audience will react to you. And if you really want to improve your public speaking really quickly, then visit me in my Purchase Zone at [http://www.itds-training.com]. You'll be glad you did!
funny memes
In other words, you can be humourous without being comical. And yes you want to add humour to your speeches because it plays an important role in relating to and uniting people. It really is a universal language.
Moreover, making a serious point on a "vehicle of humour" helps people to remember and recall the point. I can testify to this, I use it in my training as standard practice.
So how do you "do humour"?
1. Just have a sense of humour. You don't have to be able to tell jokes. Understand the difference between humour and jokes. Humour can be found in the context of your presentation. It might be the way you say something or your facial expression as you say something. Jokes demand an immediate response.
2. Make your humour relevant to your speech and your audience. This is one of those times when you will really appreciate the value of audience analysis. While humour is universal your audience might be diverse.
3. It is pretty much established that the best humour comes from anecdotes from your personal experiences. This should be easy for you because you've lived the experiences and they are usually something that your audience can relate to.
4. In telling you anecdotes and stories, don't forget to use good body language and vocal variety.
5. Avoid offensive humour. Examples are: racist, sexist, religious, ethnic and especially off-colour.
How not to "do humour"
1. Don't buy into the popular belief that once you use some humour in your speech that you move into the realms of the "can't wait to hear" speakers. If you don't use humour effectively, it can backfire.
2. Don't tell a joke for the sake of telling a joke. People tend to resist when they think that all you're doing is trying to make them laugh. When you tell a joke that is totally unrelated to the speech topic, your audience will spend the rest of the time trying to make the connection between the joke and the substance of the presentation.
3. Don't declare how funny you're going to be. Don't you just hate those jokes that you receive by e-mail that begins with "This is so funny!" or "this will make you laugh until you cry"? My immediate response and perhaps yours too, is to decide not to find it funny. That is the effect your declaration is likely to have on your audience.
4. Don't laugh at your own humour. And while you're at it, don't explain it, don't apologise if the audience doesn't get it and above all, don't repeat it!
So go ahead, take these tips and add humour to you next presentation and watch how the audience will react to you. And if you really want to improve your public speaking really quickly, then visit me in my Purchase Zone at [http://www.itds-training.com]. You'll be glad you did!
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