Public Speaking Humor

Humor is a great way to add pizzazz to your speech but it's not everything.

TopComedySecrets.com

Humor and jokes are a great way to complement your public speaking presentations. Humor will make your presentation more interesting and will help keep your audience's attention on your topic. But jokes can also make your speech a disaster. Jokes are both a boon and bane to a speech.

If you feel comfortable with humor, use it. But first make sure it fits, serving as a breaker between sections or emphasizing a certain point.

A humorous line or a comment can help liven up your presentation. It will help people remember the point you were making. But a joke must be related to your topic in some way. If you are not sure about something don't use it. The saying, "When in doubt, leave it out", applies in this case.

You could also use a humorous photo or cartoon (with the permission of the photographer or illustrator, of course) in your slides. Cartoons are some of the best understood humor there is today. People from all walks of life usually get cartoon humor.

Aside from making jokes or humor in your speech, you could improve your public speaking with these other tips.

You should be able to grab your listeners’ attention even right at the start. That is why it is important that you start correctly:

• confident posture
• eloquent speaking style
• controlled voice tonality and impact
• a nice, well-thought speech

The information in your message should be organized clearly and logically, making it easy for your listeners to follow what you are trying to say.

• Keep things easy and simple
• Divide the information into smaller blocks and work from there
• Highlight the points that you want your audience to remember.

Your most crucial point should be the conclusion, bringing the speech to a close. The conclusion sets the tone of the speech, and lets the listeners think about and ponder on the things you have just said.

Literary devices, such as quotes, stories, rhetorical questions, or surprising facts, can be used for concluding a speech, although, these devices should relate well to the topic of your speech.

Deliver your conclusion clearly and slowly. Keep eye contact with your listeners as you speak. Smile at them, thanking them for the time that they have given you.

If you put all these tips into action, in due time, your presentations will improve, your audience will understand you better and your invitations to speak will increase.