Essay Topic:

The significance of humor in general and concrete jokes in particular during presentations.

Essay Questions:

How can humor be the only way to get to the audience? What is the difference between health and unhealthy humor? What jokes are the most appealing for the audience during presentations?

Thesis Statement:

The jokes and humorous stories that are used by the speaker have to relate directly to the topic of his speech, the speaker is not

Humor in presentations Essay

“A little humor goes much farther than you might imagine”

Introduction: Sometimes humor is the only way to deliver a certain point of view to the audience. But one of the main restrictions concerning the usage of humor is its appropriateness. Humor has always to be healthy in the fist place. When we talk about presentations it is vital to consider this factor, too. A presentation always means a large number of people and it is very important to point out – different people with different sense of humor. Using humor during presentations can sometimes be a long shot.

The first thing to know is to distinguish healthy and unhealthy humor. Unhealthy humor usually has a victim. If people laugh at this humor it is likely to be a sign of anxiety. It is based on differences. Healthy humor is taken from our ordinary everyday experiences and it is based on the things people have in common, therefore unites them. This factor is of a great importance when dealing with presentations. Another thing is that a good speaker has to “share” humor with the audience and not to “use” it. When “sharing” humor with the audience a speaker has to take in counts what part of the day it is. The “morning” audience can be really tough, because everyone is just getting into the work day and still have a lot of work ahead, “lunch” audience is better, but the best time for “sharing” humor is dinner-time, because people relax after their working-day and are more likely to feel the speaker. A speaker can use short one-liners and simple jokes to waken up the “morning” audience. There certain rules that strongly advised to be followed.The primary rule is not to offend anybody by a joke. For example: a person without a limb may not think a one-armed paper hanger joke is funny. The jokes and humorous stories that are used by the speaker have to relate directly to the topic of his speech, the speaker is not supposed to laugh at his own story or joke, his goal is to make the story or joke clear and to the point. The jokes are not supposed to relate to the audience and the speaker has to speak audibly.

Conclusion: Once a joke is said it may not be repeated once more. So the speaker must not repeat a story or joke that flops and repeat a story or joke that works. The primary topic of the jokes should be the speaker himself. He can kid about his fame, problems, image etc. however, is does not have to belittle himself or sacrifice his reputation for a laugh. When a speaker “shares” through personal stories he will 100% establish rapport with your audience. A speaker has to think over all the particularities of the audience he is appealing to before starting his presentation speech. And he always has to remember tips that always work: personal jokes, one-liners that go well with the speech, statistics presented in a clever way, good choice of vivid words, appropriate body gestures and humor and smiling while “sharing” it.

Bibliography:

1. "Requirements of a Good Toastmaster :The Complete Toastmaster”/ by Herbert V. Prochnow / Stylus Publishing 2003

2. "How To Write and Give A Speech"/ by Joan Detz / Wiley 1988