Let’s face it. Humor is hard! Even experienced speakers struggle with knowing how to (appropriately) tickle their audience’s funny bones. That’s why Toastmasters meetings are the perfect place to practice being funny.
Incorporating humor into your presentations has many benefits. It can:
Help establish a bond with the audience
Make your speech more engaging
Win over a hostile audience
Emphasize or illustrate a point in an entertaining way
Help people remember you
With that in mind, here are some Toastmasters tips to keep you improving as a humorous speaker:
1. Be yourself. Think about what types of humor you appreciate, then create a library of such items. Don’t like jokes? Try a humorous anecdote or a witty observation from your own life.
2. It’s okay to be mildly amusing rather than outlandishly funny. Keep your expectations realistic and your style authentic.
3. Use humor sparingly, like a spice. At first, try using a humorous opener to your speech. A quote or offhand observation can be a good icebreaker.
4 Keep it relevant to your speech topic. Try to intertwine the humor with your subject matter.
5. Keep it clean! Humor is supposed to make people feel good – not embarrassed, insulted or offended.
6 Make it clear that it’s humor. But in case no one laughs, prepare a comment in advance to use when you get that reaction, or just move on.
7. Self-effacing humor is safe and effective. Making fun of yourself bonds you with the audience. They would rather hear about the time you fell on your face than who won the race.
8. Work on your delivery. Practice using vocal variety and gestures.
9. Timing is everything! Remember to pause before the punch line.
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