by Anthony L. Audrieth
The Art of Using Humor in Public Speaking is just that. It is an art, not to be taken lightly, but to be applied with great care. Your audience will judge your presentation, regardless of your use of humor. If you can entertain while teaching, then all the better. If you use humor poorly however, you can do irreparable damage to your cause. In other words, poorly handled humor in a presentation can damage or destroy your credibility.
Using humor in public speaking can be very beneficial, both for the audience and the presenter. Heaven knows how deeply rooted cynicism is today in our culture. We are bombarded by negatives at every turn. A speaker who can effectively use humor to engage and entertain their audience possesses a valuable gift. You will be appreciated for providing heartfelt laughter; laughter that has therapeutic effects on listeners. And you will be remembered, talked about; your reputation as a truly great speaker will be enhanced and spread about.
This article is dedicated to Dr. Charles Jarvis, a man who spent a good part of his life entertaining people with good clean quality humor; humor with a message. Dr. Jarvis is retired now. Over his lifetime as a humorist he studied humor and its nuances. If you have not heard of Dr. Jarvis, then you have missed much when it comes to using humor to educate and entertain. After a successful career as dentist, he left the dental office behind and headed for the podium in 1965 as a professional humorous speaker, entertaining audiences for over 30 years.
Never one to do anything half-way, he studied humor intently and applied his skills nationwide. This dedication to making people laugh brought him membership in the International Speaker's Hall of Fame, Toastmasters International's Golden Gavel Award and the prestigious International Platform Association's Mark Twain Award for Humor. The Silver Bowl presented for the Mark Twain Award for Humor is engraved as follows, "To Charles W. Jarvis, Mark Twain's Successor As America's Most Delightful Depictor of the Virtues and Weaknesses of Humanity with Humor's Paintbrush". His colleagues in the speaking profession include Dr. Kenneth McFarland, Bill Gove and Cavett Robert; they recognize his skills and excellence in the field. I'll refer to Dr. Jarvis' ideas regularly; any serious student of humor should own his entire collection of speeches and workshops cassettes.
One other important point about Dr. Jarvis and his skills. Dr. Jarvis is a humorist, a humorous speaker. not a comedian. The information here is aimed at speakers who want to use humor in public speaking. The skills that Dr. Jarvis demonstrates on his tapes and the information presented in his workshops, while aimed at those interested in being a humorous speaker on the circuit, are still applicable to public speaking. While the purposes are different, the skills apply equally to both types of speaking.
Who is THE ART OF USING HUMOR IN PUBLIC SPEAKING for?
For any person who must speak in public or private, to business or pleasure groups, humor is an invaluable indispensable tool for getting your message across. Why Use Humor? There are several reasons. As already mentioned, people will enjoy what you have to say if it is presented with humor. But more importantly, if you are in a situation where important and perhaps controversial ideas must be presented to less than open minds, humor allows those ideas to be presented in a non-threatening manner. Abraham Lincoln was famous for his ability to relate humorous stories to make a point. Humor used carefully throughout a presentation will keep listener's interest high.
This short monograph is not meant to be a primer for budding stand-up comedians whose goal is 100% entertainment. While they may find valuable information and insights here, stand-up comedy is only one way humor can be used. I would like to see individuals learn to use humor to bolster arguments, support interesting presentations and most of all, entertain in a positive and uplifting way.
The use of off-color, risque or blue humor, humor which derives its "effectiveness" from shock value, sexual content, or relation to bodily functions has no place in the repertoire of the professional speaker.
While popular culture may well embrace questionable humor, it has no place in presentations that are designed to educate and uplift audiences. If your goal is to become a professional stand-up comedian, then you may well be able to use some of the reference materials presented here to expand your skills and sources of humor. To that end I welcome your participation in this study of humor. Hopefully, you will come to appreciate the exceptional difficulty of entertaining an audience with good clean humor.
What exactly is humor?
Humor is defined as "the mental faculty of discovering, expressing or appreciating the ludicrous or absurdly incongruous". Ludicrous is an adjective meaning amusing or laughable through obvious absurdity, incongruity, exaggeration or eccentricity. What is incongruous? It is something lacking congruity, inconsistent within itself. Well, now that you know what humor is, let's just say simply that humor is a form of expression intended to arouse amusement. Wit is defined as, "the power to evoke laughter by remarks showing verbal felicity or ingenuity and swift perception, especially of the incongruous". Synonymous with wit are, humor, irony, sarcasm, satire and repartee, which are all modes of expression intended to arouse amusement. But there is another element to wit which Dr. Jarvis explains by saying, "Wit punctures, humor pictures." A person with wit delivers witticisms which are defined as cleverly witty and often biting or ironic remarks with the ability to relate seemingly disparate things so as to illuminate or amuse.
Who should use humor?
Anyone whose job it is to communicate to groups of individuals, to share information or to motivate, could use humor to invigorate their message and improve the reception of their audience. But on an individual basis, who should use humor? That depends on several things. Does the situation lend itself to a humorous approach? Would humor detract from your credibility with the audience? Perhaps most importantly, can you use humor effectively? I am sure you have met people who could not tell a joke if their lives depended on it. The person who will do well with humor will most likely be a person who sees things in a humorous light. Some people may use props to get a laugh, but the ability to see the humor in life is one of the most important assets you may have as a professional speaker. It takes great skill and not a little natural talent to really apply humor effectively. While you can learn to use humor and do a fairly good job at it, the use of humor is not for everyone.
If deep, deep down, you know that you are a klutz when it comes to delivering the punch line, if you can't seem to get jokes right, then consider carefully your decision to use humor.
I believe that everyone can use humor effectively, once they find the type of humor which fits their speaking style. Remember, we are not necessarily looking for future stand-up comedians here, but for individuals who are willing to study and learn to apply humor in their public speaking. Great damage can be done if you try to use humor in an important situation and fail. Again, your credibility as an expert in whatever field you may be in, may be questioned if you deliver a really dumb joke to an intelligent audience. They may not suffer fools gladly. So, take this material seriously. Practice religiously, overlearn your material and be absolutely sure that your humor is relevant to your subject and appropriate for your audience.
In the following pages I am going to introduce you to the basics. You may get a few laughs out of it, but that is not the purpose. Humor is too serious to be taken lightly, that is why I have put together this primer. You will learn about the psychology of humor, the types of humor, how to apply them and where to find materials. Throughout I will give you the names of different books and different humorists so that you can expand your study to encompass the knowledge of true scholars and experts in the field. I'll cover a lot of ground fairly quickly, leaving you with the basics and enough reference information to give you years of future work to do as you become an outstanding humorous speaker.
to be continued (part 2 and so on)
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