Many people equate the ability of being funny with the telling of jokes. This is not the case as you do not need to learn to be humorous in order to deliver effectively a joke. But I am going to look at some pointers on specifically how to handle jokes. I’m not going to give you public speaking jokes, but I will help you select ones appropriate for your situation.
Where people fall down with jokes is in their initial selection, their remembering of the joke and their delivery of the punchline.
First of all you have to consider the situation that you’re going to be delivery your jokes in. If you’re out with friends, in a social environment then, presumably, you will know what types of jokes are appropriate to tell to this particular friend and what aren’t.
Get on to your favourite search engine and look for some jokes that might be suitable for your circumstance.
If you are to deliver a presentation in a business situation, then the rules are going to be completely different. Here’s a quick snapshot of the subjects that I would avoid:
1.Racial. I think this pretty much goes without saying, but I wanted to be as explicit as I can and not leave any stone unturned.
2.Sexist. Again I think this goes without saying. Using this sort of humour can offend over half your audience. Why that much? Well, anti-women jokes will alienate the women and you may even have married couples present which means you’ll alienate some guys too.
3.Disability. Humour that mocks any sort of disability is also a no-no.
4.Sexual in nature. Avoid humour that is sexually explicit that could cause potential embarrassment.
5.Political. This seems innocuous compared to the other topics, but why run the risk of dividing your audience or offending the person who pays you?
6. Religion. You might be a Believer, but what if you speak to a room full of people who aren’t? Or vice versa. Mocking any sort of religion is a big no-no. Even the Jedi Faith.
I would also avoid making derogatory comments about the organisation that you’re speaking for, unless you don’t mind not getting paid.
When using street jokes, it is best if you are able to tell the joke in your own words. That way it will help reduce the possibility of you forgetting it. Go over it several times so you get used to the important elements that will feature in the set-up part of the joke.
Say the joke out loud and change words that you wouldn’t normally say. The closer the joke is to your own natural speech rhythm, the easier it will be for you to tell it and the easier it will be for your to remember it.
By editing the joke you are able to get to the punchline a lot quicker. Being succinct in this way is ideal for humour.
This will also help you remember the punchline, which is one of the elements that people can forget. The punchline is very important as it allows you to generate the laughter.
That said, it is not more important than the set-up line. The set-up line is all the information that occurs before the punchline. Without that information to establish the situation and story of the joke, the punchline will fail.
As an example here’s a punchline from Gilbert Gottfried:”Is it hot in here, or am I crazy?” Hilarious, right? Not unless you already know the joke. Which means that you need to recall the information provided by the set-up.
Let me put you out of your misery and give you the set-up line: “Last night I was having dinner with Charles Manson, and in the middle of dinner he turned to me and said…” Now you’ve got the final piece of the jigsaw the humour makes sense.
So select a joke, make sure that it’s not going to offend anybody. Practise saying the joke out loud which will allow you to edit it to fit your own way of speaking. Practise saying the joke several times as this will also allow you to remember it.
Jason Peck is a Humorist, Speaker and Consultant based in London, England. For public speaking tips and to learn how to add humor to your speeches and presentations to win over your listeners visit: Pro Humorist.
Tag: public speaking jokes
One of the simplest ways to learn to be humorous, when public speaking, is to use an introductory joke story. The opening of your presentation should actually comprise of two parts a pre-introduction and then an introduction.
Pre-Introduction Tips
The pre-introduction is for grabbing your audience’s attention. The introduction is then for introducing the topic of your speech. So technically, when public speaking, you need to start with your pre-introductory joke story.
Everything has to relate to the overall objective of presentation in order for it to be truly effective. The point of the story has to relate directly or indirectly to your main point.
Are there often stories that you tell at work related to what you do, that are clean and make people laugh? If so then as long as it’s succinct then you should absolutely use it.
“But I don’t have any funny stories”
Okay, here’s an alternative, use a street joke. You know those jokes that begin something like “two guys walk into a bar…” or “a Grandfather finds a magic watch” or a “Man goes into a store with an Alligator under his arm…” those are known as street jokes. Essentially they are jokes without an author, which people tell in social situations.
Professional Joke-Telling Secrets
The quick down and dirty little secret with these is to find short ones that relate to your content. Make sure that the fantastical element is restricted, so talking animals or objects, anything magical or fantastical needs to be avoided. The audience will feel like they’re being joked, you don’t want that. You want your audience to feel as though you’re being conversational.
The next thing you want to do is to adapt that street joke and make it personal to you. So instead of saying “this guy worked in this bar” you would say “I was working in this bar”
Be very careful over the nature of your street joke and the humour you use in your entire presentation. Make sure that no one’s going to be offended. Don’t target nay particular groups. The best person to laugh at is yourself!
Not only that, but you also want to make sure that the street joke that you’re going to use is authorless and doesn’t belong to a comedian. Don’t steal another comedian’s material as that’s immoral and illegal. Street jokes aren’t difficult to find if you set your mind to it.
Once you have delivered your introductory joke story you must then go into your introduction and inform your audience about the nature of your presentation. However, make sure you don’t give too much away. You want them to remain interested enough to stick around for the ending of your presentation.
Jason Peck is a Humorist, Speaker and Consultant based in London, England. For public speaking tips and to learn how to add humor to your speeches and presentations to win over your listeners visit: Pro Humorist.