How to use humor to become an effective public speaker

Many people have to speak in public whether in their personal or professional lives. Managers, bosses, presenters and more often need to address groups of people to explain a change in the company, changes in policy, a new discovery, etc. Others might have to give a speech at a wedding, a birthday, or another special occasion. How can anyone become an effective speaker and get people to listen and enjoy their speech?

Think back to your favorite teacher in school, or the best speech you ever heard. Likely, the common thread is humor. The lessons we are taught and the speeches we hear make a lasting impression if they make us laugh.

Why is humor an important part of public speaking?

For one, humor helps put you and your listeners at ease. The tension can be high when you are in front of a room full of people. Think of humor as a simple way to break the tension. A sigh of relief that you and the listeners are waiting for. To master this technique and give memorable speeches, you need to do five things.

Be observant
Include your audience
Start strong
Be decisive
Be confident

Style can vary depending on personality and experience level, but all great public speakers excel in those five areas and then some. We put so much pressure on ourselves to be a funny person and we get discouraged when we think it’s not a natural talent of ours. It doesn’t have to be. You can master the fundamentals of humor and use them to become a great public speaker.

The 5 keys to getting people to laugh at you on stage

Be Confident

Confidence is always important when presenting yourself in front of other people. You are presenting yourself when you give a speech or presentation, not clever anecdotes about airline food, or power points about global warming. You have to be confident that what you are saying has value. Even if you’re the only one who appreciates that value.

When preparing to inject some humor into your public speaking, be confident in the joke. Don’t say something funny and wait for the audience to give you permission to think it’s funny. This will never work as there’s nothing more awkward than a comedian that lacks confidence in what he’s doing–or rather saying. Stick to your guns and keep moving forward regardless of how many laughs you get for each quip.

Be Decisive

This one has many applications, but an important area to be decisive in is your style of humor. Choose what best suits your subject matter and your audience. Some subjects lend themselves to well-timed dry humor. Your audience may be full of scholars, so be witty. Whatever it is, choose a path and stick with it. Humor is a valuable tool that should increase the value of what you’re saying. Don’t use it as a cheap intermission between boring bullet points. Unless you want your performance to be a real snooze-fest (but let’s be honest, no one does… right?).

Be Observant

Of course, you should observe how the audience is reacting to what you are saying. This lets you know if you should linger on a bit or keep moving to your next point. Observation is also something that starts long before you get on stage. Use the mundane or outrageous happenings of daily life to add relatable humor to your speaking. Observe what is happening in the lives of your audience to make your material more relatable and thus more humorous.

Start strong

This is just as beneficial to you as it is to the audience. Starting off with humor that gets even a slight chuckle or applause will boost your confidence for the rest of your presentation. As a public speaker, you have a synergetic relationship with the audience. Inject them with good energy at the beginning and they will return the favor. It is almost impossible to start off with low energy and transform from boring to hilarious mid-speech. Start strong so you can finish strong.

Include Your Audience

This is a component of great teaching in general but also applies to using humor successfully during public speaking. People love to be included and it keeps them more engaged in your speech. Look at your audience and find as many people as you can to include in your presentation. Instead of focusing on the person asleep in the front row, hone in on the person eating your every word. Think about how they may respond to something you just said in your speech, and then use that imaginary dialogue. Audience members love this kind of humor because it feels like they are the ones who came up with it.

Conclusion

People often list public speaking as their biggest fear. Yes, some people fear getting on stage and talking more than they fear death. But, by mastering a few basic techniques, anyone can be in full command when public speaking. Using humor will help you become an effective public speaker that audiences won’t forget.