Involving Humor In Public Speaking

Humor is contagious and almost everyone responds to it positively. It is everywhere, in everyday happenings and in lifetime achievements. The easiest way to include humor in a speech is to share experiences with your audience. When used correctly, it can be the most effective tool in public speaking, making your speech educational, informational and most importantly, entertaining.

Public speeches usually include one or two run-of-the-mill jokes, sometimes even a knock-knock joke. Telling simple jokes at any time during a speech is a bad idea. They never translate well with the audience. They will assume that you are as uncommitted and insincere as your joke. These corny and flat jokes usually backfire and you are left with an audience that is no longer interested or inspired by your comments, if they are even still listening. People are smart, and most can tell when your humor is insincere. Most public speakers think this route is the way to go but there are many different ways to entertain and gain attention during your speech by using things other than simple jokes.

There are two different types of jokes in these circumstances. A joke, when told, is a short laugh in return and inattentiveness for the remainder of your speech. And a joke, when told, is relevant to your story or main point and is both funny and keeps all eyes and minds on you. When you use humor that is unrelated to your purpose, this only distracts your audience from the rest of your speech.

Humor, when used correctly, with enhance the effectiveness of your speech. If you are using storytelling as a part of your speech then use a life experience that was both humorous and educational. It is important to think about the importance of that experience and if it is going to be beneficial to your speech. Irony is a great tool to use in speeches as they are not apparent until the very end. It is a great way to keep your audience's attention. Some stories are not obviously humorous, it is up to you to find one that is significant, and find the humor in it.

Humor doesn't only sprout from what you say but by how it is said or even simply, by your facial expressions. If you lack the ability of telling a sincere joke or even an ironic story then let your hands, posture and facial expressions do all the work. Humor is much more than what is said but works in conjunction with physical movements and moments.

Humor can be a method of overcoming your fear. It can also be used as a method of keeping your audience interested in your speech. Most crowds are not fond of listening to public speakers. Use your humor to make them feel comfortable and rid them of their negative or neutral expectations of you. It is also very useful when wanting to appear personable with co-workers, employees and potential clients. Using humor in your public speaking will make you both entertaining and relevant.

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