{"id":26967,"date":"2014-08-08T20:00:11","date_gmt":"2014-08-09T04:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=26967"},"modified":"2014-08-12T21:51:29","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T05:51:29","slug":"5-serious-pointers-adding-humor-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-serious-pointers-adding-humor-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Serious Pointers in Adding Humor to Your Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What makes one speaker better than the rest? It\u2019s the wit and humor, most of the time. And it\u2019s something that we all want to achieve \u2013 having the perfect dash of laughter to bring flavor to our speech. Whether it\u2019s a business presentation or a best man\u2019s toast \u2013 and yes, even a eulogy, we usually remember the one that humored us over the one that didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But how do you really accomplish that? Here are five pointers you should seriously consider when adding some lighthearted moments the next time you face an audience.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Know yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Like a product that you need to sell to people, before anything else, you need to establish your brand\u2013 your brand of humor, that is.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Know what makes you laugh and get ideas from there. It makes you laugh, because you can relate to it. And chances are, these are the same things that will sound naturally funny coming from you \u2013 although not guaranteed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Learn how to relax and be comfortable with yourself. Often, you mess up with the punch line, because of your nerves overpowering your whole act. You\u2019ll also see that those who can pull off anything silly in front of a crowd are those who really don\u2019t seem to care about any crowd, at least to a certain extent. One example is one of Australia\u2019s best-known hosts, <a title=\"Larry Emdur\" href=\"http:\/\/www.platinumspeakers.com.au\/Speakers\/Larry-Emdur.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Larry Emdur, who, at one time, rapped with Vanilla Ice<\/a> in his morning show even while knowing about the awkwardness that was to happen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>2. Know your audience.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There\u2019s something you have to understand, too: everyone has their own kind of humor. Different personalities mean different kinds of humor. It\u2019s as simple as that. And you have to accept that what\u2019s funny to you may not be outright funny to the person next to you. So you have to make a bit of effort there.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>You can start bridging the gap by knowing who you\u2019ll be talking to \u2013 parents, students, showbiz enthusiasts, political activists, etc. Then take it from there.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Remember that something\u2019s funny because people can relate to them; the funniest things are those that people could imagine happening or those that they\u2019ve already experienced. Simply put \u2013 you can\u2019t joke about business and finance to teenagers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>3. Learn a trick or two.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Choose a style that you really like and you think you can deliver. There are various ways to inject humor into your speech like puns, coining words or making a surprise twist in the end.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>You can read books by great speakers, comedians, speech writers, etc. to help give you ideas and find what type of humor works for you and would work for your audience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>You can also borrow what Conan O\u2019Brien, David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon and the other show hosts in America do \u2013 <a title=\"Making fun of news\" href=\"http:\/\/teamcoco.com\/jokes\/politics\" target=\"_blank\">making fun of what\u2019s in the news or who\u2019s in the news<\/a>. Just be careful not to offend someone in the audience; or be ready to take the negative reaction, at least.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>Another version of \u201ccruel humor\u201d is <a title=\"self-deprecation\" href=\"http:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/Sample\/Self-Deprecating-Humor\" target=\"_blank\">self-deprecation<\/a>. Just make fun of yourself, your family, or your culture, if you wish. It\u2019s surely something you can use when you host your cousin\u2019s wedding or your school\u2019s homecoming. Again, please be sure that it will more likely bring fun than feud.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>4. Practice, practice, practice.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Try slipping in a couple of lines or styles that you want to use when talking to friends. Don\u2019t mention that you\u2019re practicing to see the real reaction. In this particular case, I don\u2019t think practicing in front of a mirror will do, since it will just make you self-conscious \u2013 something that we really want to get rid of (see number 1).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Timing is the one that can make or break your whole plan. So learn how to pace your speech; learn when and how to pause and to just speak continuously.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">All these usually go together with being comfortable with yourself. Going around in circles and fast often happens when you\u2019re too nervous. You want to get it over with, leaving you and your audience not enjoying any minute of it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>5. Don\u2019t push it.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If you think it isn\u2019t funny, then it probably isn\u2019t. Go back to number 1, and you\u2019ll perhaps find the answer there. Usually it\u2019s because the brand of humor isn\u2019t really you. Although, of course, there are times that the wild laughter comes because it\u2019s totally unexpected. But that\u2019s another story. Just make sure that the wit isn\u2019t forced. It has to come naturally.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also check number 2. Not just a few stand-up comics don\u2019t get the crowd reaction they want, simply because they\u2019re just pushing it too hard \u2013 or on the wrong people. So talk to your audience, understand their reactions, and be ready to improvise if you think it\u2019s going nowhere.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One last thing: don\u2019t put too much. A little spice is nice, but a whole bunch won\u2019t give it the needed punch. Yes, even if humor is your only vice, it\u2019s still best to have it in moderation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>About the Author &#8211; <a title=\"Raquel Aldiosa Kato\" href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/+RaquelAldiosaKato\" target=\"_blank\">Raquel Aldiosa Kato<\/a> contributes articles on personal development and corporate subjects for various companies including Australia\u2019s resource for international speakers and entertainers,\u00a0<a title=\"Platinum Speakers\" href=\"http:\/\/www.platinumspeakers.com.au\/\" target=\"_blank\">Platinum Speakers<\/a>. She writes to earn her keep and to keep her sanity.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>And it\u2019s something that we all want to achieve \u2013 having the perfect dash of laughter to bring flavor to our speech. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-serious-pointers-adding-humor-speech\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":27053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[205,6],"tags":[4653,3760,884,2111,66,3637],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Serious Pointers in Adding Humor to Your Speech - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Six pointers you should seriously consider when adding some light-hearted moments the next time you face an audience.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-serious-pointers-adding-humor-speech\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Serious Pointers in Adding Humor to Your Speech - 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