DOWN TO THE WIRE - October 25, 2006
Edited by April I. Torrisi
PLANNER'S TOOLBOX: Show Me the Funny
By Karel Murray, karel@karel.com
Here's how to evaluate different types of humor so it can be used to its best advantage during
presentations.
Jokes embody a short, to-the-point commentary with a punch line. They are delivered quickly and are
geared to generate as much laughter as possible in a short period of time. Humorists utilize anecdotes,
which are stories or parables of life that have humor interjected into the story. Ultimately the story must
offer a moral or life lesson. I consider Bill Cosby a master who delivers his stories with a twinkling calm,
bringing the audience in on the joke with his “I’m one of you” technique. Frequently, his shows have
him sitting on stage for the entire performance, simply having a chat with his closest friends.
The level of energy used by the speaker to elicit a laugh from the audience depends on what type of
response you want.
How do we know when something is funny?
We don’t until we’ve said it or acted it out in front of an audience. Whether something is funny or not
boils down to timing and appropriateness. I’ve heard speakers share an off-color joke, which resulted
in audience members feeling uncomfortable. It’s very important to know your audience and adjust your
material accordingly. A speaker can use the same stories and jokes from keynote to keynote, but relate
them to the world each audience knows. By keeping your comments true and inoffensive, the speaker
will not only win respect, but be rewarded with genuine laughter and audience involvement. It’s a
matter of caring enough to make it special for each group being spoken to.
When is the appropriate time to use humor?
When it’s relevant or moves the talk forward in the direction you wish it to go. Often, spontaneous
remarks from the audience will give a speaker excellent fodder from which to develop genuinely funny
responses. But if the speaker is not fast on his feet, then he should stick to the practiced, well-placed
stories and comments in the material. If he is not comfortable venturing outside of the established
“script” then don’t even ask him to try.
Finally, don't forget gestures. The rueful look, screwed-up eyes, or pouting mouth all project our
feelings and thoughts in a manner that can easily be related to.
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