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So you want
to have some humor in your presentations. The good news is
that anyone can be funny.
If you don’t
believe it, ask Jeff Justice, a professional humor coach that
has made even the dullest people funny.
“Anyone can
be funny,” says Justice, who has coached over 1,000 students
to do stand-up comedy through Jeff Justice’s Comedy
Workshoppe. “You just have to be willing to poke fun at
yourself.”
Here are
some tips on how to make sure that your humor connects with
your audience.
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Make fun of yourself and people will love you:
“Study after study concludes that if you’re able to take
yourself lightly and poke fun at what you do, it makes
people think you are extremely confident,” says Humor Guru
Justice. Charles Brewer, founder of Mindspring, which is
now Earthlink, tells hilarious self-deprecating stories
about his adventures trying to start his internet service
provider. The stories poke fun at his early stumbling as an
entrepreneur.
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Never make fun of other people:
You may
make some people laugh but you’ll also make some enemies.
And even the people that laugh may start to think that
you’re a jerk.
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Don’t start your presentation with a joke:
Jokes at the beginning of presentations usually flop and set
a bad precedent for the rest of the presentation. Better to
weave some self-deprecating humor into the presentation.
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Use humor to make a relevant point:
It’s
safer. If a relevant joke flops, at least you make the
point. For example, when someone asks if someone can
actually improve their communication skills, one of our
coaches says “The answer to that question is like the joke
that goes: “How many psychologists does it take to screw in
a lightbulb? Just one psychologist, but the light bulb has
to want to change." So yes, you can improve, but only if
you want to improve.” Even if you don’t laugh at the joke,
you get the point.
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Don’t preview the joke:
“Avoid announcing that the joke is going to be hysterical,”
says Julia Sweeney of Saturday Night Live. Just tell the
joke and hope for the best.
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Rehearse the joke: Too many people
get halfway into a joke and say “No, wait a second, let me
back up. I forgot to tell you . . . .” Don’t tell a joke
unless you know it cold.
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Shorter jokes are better:
George Burns gave the following tip for creating a
joke: “Make the beginning quick, the end quick and put the
two of them as close together as possible.” If you draw out
a joke, the audience begins to expect something truly
hilarious. If you come up short, then they’re disappointed.
At
Speechworks we help our clients learn how to give
presentations that connect with the audience. If you’re
interested in becoming a great communicator give us a call at
404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net |
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