Public Speaking - 8 Simple Tips to Make Humor Work For You

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 humor 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. Analyze 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?

by Edward Hope