How Humour Can Backfire Horribly At Your Next Presentation

Is there a way to offend the entire audience?

Or at the very least, a part of the audience?

And how easy is it to get a good deal of people mad at you?

And you can do all of the above, by using humour.

And that's why smart speakers don't depend on humour

Why?

Because what's funny in one country, isn't funny in another.

What was funny a week ago, is gross a week later.

What men find funny, women don't find funny.

What some women find funny, other women find obnoxious.

Humour is, and will always be, subjective

When we speak at conferences, we find that we can literally go from one session to another, and have literally the same demographic, and sometimes they'll laugh at a humourous situation.

And sometimes, they look at you like they want to kill you, because you've just offended the heck out of the audience.

Besides jokes do fall flat

Jokes need timing.

And a very effective delivery of the punchline.

And if you're trying to tell a joke, or create something funny, and it falls flat, well...that's very, very embarrassing for you as a presenter.

It slows you down.

It dents your credibility quite a bit, and isn't worth the trouble at all.

So what do speakers (at least the smart ones do)?

They tell a story. And if the audience laughs, then well and good.

If the audience doesn't laugh, then the story still works. The audience still gets the message.

And if the audience does find it funny--and they often will--well now you've got a double bonus.

You've got your message across, and you've made the audience laugh.

And if the audience laughs, make a mental note of the story

And especially the point at which the audience laughed.

Then make it part of your message, because you can be darned sure that the audience will indeed laugh again.

As you build up story, after story, after story, you'll have a speech that's literally a barrel full of laughs.

And you won't be telling jokes. You won't be using humour. You'll just be telling stories.

So yeah, tell stories.

Leave the laughs to the comedians--and stupid presenters!

©2001-2008 Psychotactics Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wouldn't you love to stumble upon a secret library of small business ideas? Find simple, yet electrifying ideas, on copywriting, public speaking, marketing strategies, sales conversion, psychological tactics and branding. Head down to https://www.psychotactics.com today and judge for yourself.


SecurityMetrics for PCI Compliance, QSA, IDS, Penetration Testing, Forensics, and Vulnerability Assessment

Share/Bookmark


Many of the 1000+ articles on Frugal Fun and Frugal Marketing have been gathered into magazines. If you'd like to read more great content on these topics, please click on the name of the magazine you'd like to visit.

Ethics Articles - Down to Business Magazine - Frugal & Fashionable Living Magazine
Global Travel Review - Global Arts Review - Peace & Politics Magazine
Frugal Marketing Tips - Frugal Fun Tips - Principled Profit
Why The Business Ethics Pledge Campaign
Clean and Green Marketing

Our Privacy Policy



Click here to order Shel's books on cost-effective and ethical marketing

This site is brought to you by Shel Horowitz,
Director of Accurate Writing & More--bringing you marketing,
writing, and career assistance since 1981.
(413) 586-2388

For information on reprinting articles from this site, click here.

You're also invited to visit our sister sites:
https://www.principledprofit.com
(ethical, cooperative, and profitable business success) https://www.frugalfun.com
(How to have more fun and spend a lot less money)
https://www.accuratewriting.com
(marketing, writing, and career services)

Social networking icons by komodomedia.com.

Disclosures of Material Connections:

Site copyright © 2000-2011 by Shel Horowitz