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Adding Impact With Humor
Why do we want to use humor in our business presentations? There are probably a lot of reasons, but I want to talk about three of them here:
Let's talk about each of these objectives in turn, and I'll give you some hints and ideas on how to use humor effectively to achieve them.
1. Being Memorable
DON'T: Don't tell jokes No, no, no! This is one of the worst things you can do! Why? Because jokes take time and they are risky. A good joke takes about one or two minutes, and it's all leading up to a five-second punch line. So you'd better be telling a really good joke, and making a really good point, and getting a really good response, to justify spending all that time on it.
DO: Use MAPS
Metaphors and analogies compare things to each other. The humor comes from the contrast between them. For example, Bill Gates used a metaphor when he said, "If the car industry had advanced as fast as the computer industry, our cars would cost $25 and do 1000 miles to the gallon." General Motors continued the analogy by replying: "If Microsoft was running the car industry:
Parables and stories make your presentation more memorable. People remember your stories, and they will then link back to the point you made. What's the difference between a story and a joke? A joke relies on people laughing at the punch line; a story doesn't. A story can just make a point without having to be very funny. Of course, if it is a funny story, that makes it even more memorable.
2. Getting Your Message Across
DON'T: Don't do it just for laughs If you use humor that's not relevant to your message, you waste time. Even worse, you take your audience away from your main message, and now you have to spend even more time bringing them back on track!
DO: Use humor to reinforce your message There are plenty of places to find humorous material, including books, newspapers, magazines, company newsletters, and the Internet (By the way, the St George's Web site has links to many other useful Web sites for speakers, including many humorous sites). So it's not hard to find material, but the key is to make it relevant. And with a bit of practice, you'll find that it's not really that hard to find suitable material that you can adapt. Example: Clifford Stoll said, "I've met dozens of high school students who can proficiently use a word processor, but have never written a thank-you letter". Here are some presentations where this could be used to make a point:
All that from just a single quotation! Of course, you can't adapt every quotation to suit your needs, but it's surprising how easy it is to find something suitable when you start looking. I've talked about external resources for finding humorous material, but the best source is your own experiences. Funny things happen to all of us all the time - we just need to remember them and then find ways to link them with our message.
3. Break Down Barriers
DON'T: Don't offend
DO: Laugh at yourself Remember that even before you start your presentation, people have their own ideas about you, your organization and your industry. If these are positive ideas, wonderful! But if they are negative ideas, you can use humor to change them. Here's an example: Suppose you're a consultant, and you say to your audience,
"One of my clients once told me that a consultant is somebody who borrows your watch, then tells you the time. (Laughter) OK, this may sound a bit corny, but can you see how it works? You're doing four things:
Summary OK, so that's a brief look at ways of using humor effectively. Many speakers are too scared to try humor, because they think it's just about telling jokes. I hope you realize now that there's much more to humor than just telling a joke. I urge you to try it out. It's fun, powerful and very rewarding. Good luck!
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