One of the most fundamentally important aspects of public speaking is humor. Humor can disarm an audience, engage their attention and create connection. In many ways, it’s what warms your audience up to you and makes your presentation and memorable one. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that it is one of the most effective and important tools in a speaker’s arsenal.
Because of how important humor is, the importance of mastering it for a professional or inspiring public speaker cannot be overstated. That’s why, in this article, we’ll go over why humor is so important and why you shouldn’t feel like you “aren’t funny,” along with techniques and guidelines that are guaranteed to improve your humor on stage. So without further ado, let’s dive right in.
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Why Is Humor So Important?
Think about the most engaging and captivating speakers you’ve heard. Chances are they knew exactly how to effectively weave humor into their presentation to make it fun. Take stand-up comedians as an example. They’re naturally effective public speakers because they’ve mastered holding their audience’s attention for an extended period of time. They understand that laughter creates an instant bond between speaker and audience. If a comedian’s audience is leaning back and disengaged, their jokes are bombing big time.
When you use humor correctly, you’re accomplishing several important things at once. You’re capturing their attention, earning their trust by being relatable, and helping them relax, which makes them more receptive to your message. Most importantly, you’re “getting them on your side,” so to speak, creating a positive atmosphere that will persist beyond the funny parts of your speech.
You Don’t Need to Be a Comedian
When many aspiring speakers wonder how to make a presentation funny and hear about how important humor is to successful public speaking, it can be intimidating. Many people believe they aren’t naturally very funny or humorous. But here’s the truth: you don’t need to be a professional comedian to effectively use humor in your presentations. The challenge of “being funny” often holds speakers back, but humor in presentations doesn’t always require telling traditional jokes.
You don’t have to be a master of comedic timing or stand-up to effectively utilize humor in your public speaking. You can share funny stories from your own experience, use clever one-liners that relate to your topic, or even incorporate humorous images or videos that support your message. The key is finding what works for your style and comfort level.
However, confidence is extremely important. If you believe you aren’t funny and that your jokes won’t land, you’ll probably prove yourself right with a shaky delivery that the audience will pick up on. Don’t be afraid if a joke doesn’t land. You can use that as an opportunity to learn what works and even play it off as a joke in itself.
Remember, when you get an audience to laugh, you’ve already won them over. That moment of shared laughter creates a connection that can sustain your presentation even when you move into more serious territory. But how exactly do you make your presentation fun and make your audience laugh? Let’s explore some of the most important humor techniques.
Tried and Tested Humor Techniques
The Power of Self-Deprecation
One of the safest and most effective ways to add humor to your presentation is through self-deprecating jokes. This approach is both easy to execute and relatively risk-free since you’re making fun of yourself rather than potentially offending someone else in the room.
Self-deprecating humor works because it shows humility and makes you more relatable to your audience. It demonstrates that you don’t take yourself too seriously and can laugh at your own mistakes or quirks. This vulnerability creates an instant connection with your listeners.
However, like all humor, self-deprecating jokes should serve a purpose beyond just getting laughs. They should move your presentation forward and support your main message. Frame your humor within the context of the questions “So what?” and “Now what?” from your audience’s perspective. Don’t tell a joke just for the sake of being funny. Instead, make sure it proves your point or transitions smoothly into your next topic.
Situational Comedy
Much of the best presentation humor comes from being observant about your surroundings and circumstances. Many successful speakers start with variations of “Have you ever noticed…?” This approach works because it draws from shared experiences and common observations that resonate with audiences.
Keep your radar up at all times and pay attention to the small details that could strike you as funny. What do comedians do when they’re developing new material? They watch the world around them and take note of the absurdities and ironies they encounter. You can do the same thing.
The key is to watch for moments that make you think, “That’s weird” or “That’s funny.” These observations often translate well into presentation humor because they’re relatable and help audiences see familiar things in new ways.
Take an Unexpected Detour
Sometimes, the funniest jokes come from surprising your audience with the unexpected. This involves setting up what seems serious or straightforward and then pivoting to a punchline. One example Grant Baldwin gives in his book, The Successful Speaker, is when he was delivering a talk and said “Here’s an important thing I want you to catch – not Ebola.”
The humor works because it completely subverts what the audience is expecting to hear and catches them off guard. This technique requires careful attention to context and timing. What makes it funny is the shared understanding between you and your audience.
Important Tips and Guidelines for a Funny Presentation
Pay Attention to Context
Context is everything in humor. A joke that works perfectly in one setting might bomb completely in another. Consider your audience, the venue, the current events, and the overall atmosphere of your presentation.
To use an outlandish example, if you’re speaking at a high-security summit with world leaders and media present, you might joke about the tight security or the formal atmosphere. But that same joke would sound ridiculous at a casual workshop in a small town.
The shared context is what makes humor land. Your audience needs to understand the references, the setting, and the circumstances that make your joke relevant and funny.
Trust Your Instincts
Some of your best material might come to you spontaneously, right in the moment. Don’t be afraid to trust your instincts when inspiration strikes during your presentation. Sometimes the most memorable jokes happen when you’re on stage and something occurs to you that feels perfectly timed.
These “off-the-cuff” moments can be incredibly powerful because they feel authentic and immediate. Your audience can sense when something is spontaneous as opposed to being rehearsed, and there’s something special about sharing that moment with them.
However, remember that not every spontaneous idea will work. If something doesn’t feel right or doesn’t get the response you expected, don’t dwell on it. Move on quickly and smoothly.
Never Telegraph Your Jokes
One of the biggest mistakes speakers make is announcing their humor before delivering it. Never tell an audience “This will be funny” or “Here’s a joke you’ll love.” As we’ve established, many examples of humor use subversion and the unexpected. And even for those that don’t, you’re setting your audience’s expectations pretty high, which might result in your joke failing to meet them.
When you telegraph humor, you’re essentially asking permission to be funny, which undermines the natural flow of your presentation. The best jokes sneak up on people. They work precisely because the audience isn’t expecting them.
Timing is Everything
If you rush through a joke, it won’t be funny. Good humor requires intricate pacing and timing. Allow your audience to process what you’re saying as you say it so the punchline will have the desired effect.
After delivering a punchline, pause. Give people time to get the joke and respond. If you keep talking through their laughter, they’ll miss whatever you say next, and you’ll lose the momentum that the humor created.
This is particularly important in large venues or when presenting virtually, where there might be slight delays in audience reactions.
Always Be Appropriate
While humor is incredibly effective, it should always be completely appropriate for your audience and setting. Be especially careful not to offend the decision makers or event planners. If you make everyone else laugh but alienate the person who hired you, that’s not a win.
Consider your audience’s demographics, cultural background, professional context, and the overall tone of the event. What might be hilarious to one group could be offensive or inappropriate to another. When in doubt, err on the side of caution. It’s better to skip a potentially risky joke than to damage your credibility or relationships.
Practice and Learn
Humor is a skill that improves exponentially with practice and observation. When you’re presenting, pay attention to which jokes work and which don’t. Take note of why certain jokes or funny images seem to work and others don’t. Keep track of your timing, your delivery, and the audience’s response. This information will help you refine your humor and build a repertoire of reliable material.
Testing Your Material
Sometimes, before you try out new jokes in higher-stakes settings such as keynote talks, it can be a good idea to test them in lower-pressure environments. This might mean jokes in team meetings, relaxed workshops or casual conversations with friends.
Just like professional comedians who test new material at small clubs before taking it to major venues, you should experiment with your humor in safe spaces first. This gives you a chance to refine your delivery, adjust your timing, and build confidence in your material.
Also remember that humor is best when it sounds natural. What seems funny in writing might need adjustment when you actually deliver it to a live audience. Be prepared to adapt and modify your approach based on the way things feel with the audience.
When Humor Doesn’t Work
Everyone who regularly uses humor in presentations has experienced it at least once. You say the joke and expect uproarious laughter, and instead you’re met with blank stares, confused faces and a few small chuckles.
Jokes falling flat can feel like the worst thing possible for a public speaker, but the truth is, it happens all the time. What’s important is knowing how to handle those moments with grace and confidently moving on.
If a joke falls flat, don’t explain it or try to make it work. Simply move on. Attempting to salvage a failed joke often makes things more awkward for everyone involved. You want to make your presentation memorable, but not like that.
Sometimes, you can even make light of the situation with self-deprecating humor: “Well, that joke didn’t work. Don’t use that one again.” This approach shows that you’re not taking yourself too seriously and can actually get a laugh from the audience.
The Role of the Audience
Remember that your audience plays a crucial role in how well your humor works. Some crowds are naturally more receptive to jokes, while others might be more reserved. The type of audience you’re speaking to, and their thoughts on the subject you plan to present, will have huge impacts on what kind of jokes work most effectively. Factors like time of day, room setup, audience size, and situational context can also affect how people respond to humor.
A fun idea for a joke that gets huge laughs in one venue might receive only polite chuckles in another. This doesn’t necessarily mean your material is bad or that you’re bad at making your presentation humorous. It might just mean the context is different.
Learn to read your audience and adjust accordingly. If you sense that humor isn’t landing well, don’t force it. You can always dial back the jokes and focus more on other engagement techniques to get your audience involved.
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Conclusion: Making Humor Work for You
The ultimate goal of a humorous presentation isn’t just to get some laughs. It’s to make your message more effective and memorable, while getting more connection and engagement from your audience. When done well, humor becomes an invaluable tool that enhances every aspect of your presentation.
Start small and build your confidence gradually. Begin with safe, self-deprecating humor or simple observational jokes. As you become more comfortable, you can experiment with more sophisticated jokes and techniques.
Remember that humor is highly personal. What works for one speaker might not work for another. Find your own voice and style, and don’t try to imitate someone else’s comedic approach.
Most importantly, keep working with your material. The more you practice and refine your humor, the more natural and effective it will become. With time and experience, you’ll develop an intuitive sense of what works and what doesn’t, making you a more engaging and memorable speaker.
Humor can transform your presentations from ordinary to extraordinary, but it requires thoughtful planning, careful execution, and ongoing refinement. When you master the art of making your audience laugh, you’ll find that every other aspect of your presentation becomes more effective and impactful.
