#33 - Humour is no light hearted affair!
Sunday, September 27th 2009 @ 2:08 AM
Mark Twain's quote of 'The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.' is a constant reminder to me about the power good humour has, but this can so easily go wrong. Lets take a look at some simple principles to keep in mind:
1- Set up your stage/meeting place for Laughter
Simple changes to the room can make a great difference; Some lighthearted visuals or playful sounds can set the scene very nicely
2- Props can get a good Laugh
Audiences enjoy and lean from the visual elements from the speaker. So a prop is a great way to do this because it not only makes your message memorable but it can also get a laugh. The more unusal the prop is the better, but dont forget that balloons can also work very well!!
3- Make fun at yourself
Tommy Cooper was a master at this. This could be a simple introduction statement or used throughout your speech. For example, have the introducer tell the audience that I have produced 2 music albums and sold well over 80 singles. Then the person corrects their mistake and says, "Oops, that's 800,000 singles!!
4- The best Humor is in the Stories
Keep your eyes and ears for funny things that happen all the time. This can often be with your family of friends. My 3yr old son Matthew has been play alot of computer games recently and has learned to spell his name because he needs to logon to play the games. Recently I asked him to spell his name and he replied 'M A T T H E W [enter]'
5- Keep some wittty phases in your back pocket
You can't beat a witty phase to kick start your speech. Be careful with the selection and make sure it appeals to your audience.
6 - Understand your audience!!
What are the group's demographics?
What’s the audience’s humor style? an all female audience will laugh much more readily than an all male audience!!
What about the timing of this event? Your speech just before lunch would be very different to first thing in the morning - Talior this to the mood of the audience.
and finally, whatever happens, have a laugh!!
