Public speakers want to be liked and accepted.  But sometimes, when speakers are delivering a keynote, they may think it’s safe to force the funny. They may feel that they need to deliberately tell a joke every couple of minutes to get the crowd laughing. News flash: Most speakers aren’t comedians. Comedians are trained assassins when it comes to delivering jokes and storytelling. In a lot of ways a comedian can be looked at as a speaker, but a speaker never should try to aim to be looked at as a comedian. You don’t want to force comedy. You want it to naturally come, which many have failed to realize in the moment. We all have funny stories we can tell. Not only are they funny, but your audience can learn from them as well. Maybe they can learn from them because they are relatable. Or maybe they can learn from them because it’s something that they would never think of, tell or do. But the point is, there is something funny that you’ve witnessed or been through that your audience may find funny and learn from.

I’m simply not the go to person for a joke. If you ask me to tell a joke on the spot, there is a 95% chance that I will likely bomb. When I was younger, I was always the listener and the butt of jokes as my friends would join one another. But as I matured and experienced life more, I realized that just like any human being, I have real-life experiences that are actually quite funny. In actuality, we all have those experiences. When I talk to one of my personal friends from college, he is always telling me about something funny that’s happened to him. He never forces it into our conversations either. It almost feels like he is poking fun of himself, which is a great way to naturally be funny if you feel anxious about it. It can be about the time you tripped and fell in front of your crush or the time you pronounced something loud and wrong. Whatever it may be, it’s also equally important that you incorporate a lesson behind it. It’s always great when you get your audience laughing and learning at the same time.

In Tip #13, I talked about being vulnerable in an attempt to connect with your audience. Truth be told, there can be humor in your pain. When we reflect on a bad time in our life, we naturally may feel sad or frustrated. We may even  avoid reflecting at all. But why? Especially when you made it past that point and now you are in a position to ultimately talk about it. Kevin Hart and his  2011 stand-up special called “Laugh At My Pain” comes to mind. He talked about some funny things as well as real issues that he experienced in his upbringing and his career. Throughout the nearly hour and a half special, it felt like he was poking fun at it all. It’s an example of how talking about one’s life experience (although it may be tough to do) can really be a joy for others. Even if it’s painful, you have to figure out a way to talk about it. It makes you appear human, even if you are on a big stage. It makes you feel relatable.

Before I wrap this tip up, I need you to remember one more thing.  Never say “alright, let me tell you a joke” or “listen up, let me tell you this funny story”. You don’t need to put everyone on alert. Doing that automatically puts pressure on you and raises the stakes. If your joke or story doesn’t turn out to be as funny as you thought it would be, then it can feel like a big disappointment. You are automatically putting a high amount of pressure on yourself to deliver, with little room for mistakes. Instead making a big deal about it, naturally transition into your joke. Make it as smooth as possible, by letting your audience decide if it’s funny or not. That way, if it does bomb, you can move on like nothing happened.. totally unaffected. You can call it humor. You can call it comedy. You can call it incorporating jokes. But whatever you choose, always remember that it’s just a tool to help you get your message across. You aren’t throwing out random one liners. Your content and comedy must be in sync. They must complement one another. If they don’t, then you are in the wrong profession.

Make your next presentation, your best presentation!

Sincerely,

Julian A. Leonard
(Founder of The JLeonard Group LLC)

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