Method 4 – Use Humor in Your
Speech
Welcome to step in ridding your self of the
fear of public speaking – using
humor in your speeches. This is one of the most powerful ways of
not only getting
and keeping your audience’s attention, but making a connection
with your
audience so that the effects of fear don’t creep into your mind
and ruin your
speech.
How can you use humor in your speeches? One of the easiest and
most
effective ways to use humor in your speeches is to build the
humor into your
stories. There is already humor in your everyday life, in your
experiences, and in
the lessons that you have learned in your life – some of which
you will be sharing
with the audience. All you have to do is look for the humor and
bring it out to get
your audience’s attention.
Many speakers assume that if you are using humor in a speech,
then that
means that you have to tell jokes during your speech. The truth
is, telling jokes is
not a good idea. Your audience will know that you are just
telling jokes for the
sole purpose of getting a laugh. If you do this, they will
perceive you as being
insincere, and will likely stop listening to what you are saying.
How can audiences tell when you are just using a joke solely as
a means to
get a laugh out of the audience? Quite simply, they can tell
because if you are
telling jokes, then you are hijacking your story. Telling jokes
that have nothing to
do with the story or the main point you are trying to get across
diverts your
audience’s attention away from your speech.
The best humor will not only get your audience to laugh, it will
also enhance
your stories. If you are telling a story about an experience
that you have had in
your life for the purpose of making a point, stop and think
about what that
experience felt like. What did your surroundings look like? What
was the irony in
your situation that you can use as a bit of humor in your
speech? Undoubtedly, if
a story is important enough to share with your audience, it is
because it stuck out
in your mind. Use that mental picture to find the humor in that
situation.
Many times, you don’t even have to say anything at all to bring
out the
humor in a particular part of your speech. Your humor can come
from your facial
expressions, your hand gestures, and your posture – don’t forget
the importance
of physical humor in your speech. This is particularly important
because you can
continue making your point without interrupting your speech to
invoke some
humor.
How can using humor in your speech help
you to overcome the fear you may
have of public speaking? Well, there are several ways that
choosing humor can
help you. First, using humor in your speech helps to disarm your
audience – it
dispels any negative expectations that your audience may have
about listening to
a public speaker, particularly if you are giving a speech to
employees of a
company, or other audience attendees that are there because they
are required to
be there, instead of being there by choice.
When you use humor in a speech by integrating it into your
stories, you are
helping people to realize that you are a speaker who is not only
entertaining, but
who has something to say that is relevant to their lives. Using
humor in your own
stories helps them to realize the humor in their own lives.
To find out more about this topic
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