Taking Your Humor To The Next Level

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A dozen ways to improv your humor talents.
Here are some specific things you can do to sharpen your humor skills: To see the humor around you and to deliver it from the platform with punch.

   1. Toastmasters clubs are the best place to work on your observational humor skills. They provide you a weekly laboratory to hone your skills helping you see the funny stuff around you. Give yourself the assignment of always creating at least one piece of observational humor by the end of every meeting. Through practice, I've found that I can normally create about 10 pieces of observational humor in a two-hour meeting.

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Humor and Diversity

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Things to consider when using humor touching on diversity and minority groups.

   1. When is it safe to use humor pointed at diverse groups? There is no clear cut answer. But here are some thoughts on the subject.

   2. Diversity is everywhere you look. Our society is abundantly diverse. And, normally, so are your audiences. Catholics, bi-sexuals, physically challenged, heavy people, tall people, old people, women, Southerners, rich people, Hispanics, blue collar workers. And then there are people who are none of the above. This list reflects only a small portion of the vast diversity in our society.

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A Well-Done Roast

How to prepare a Roast that will be a hit.

Here are some thoughts to ensure success when you're in charge of a roast:
1. Be sure that the guest of honor wants a roast. Don't make it a surprise! Talk to the honoree and ensure that he or she is as excited about the idea of a roast as you are.

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Why Spontaneous Humor Is Powerful

How the magic of fresh humor grabs the audience.

If you have ever used an original piece of humor, something created from an observation in the present moment, you know how powerful that can be. Here are some quick tips on why spontaneous and observational humor has impact.

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Using Spontaneous and Observational Humor

An impromptu quip will hit the target more often than a canned joke.
Imagine this. I arrive at a junior high school auditorium for a teacher inservice program. While setting up my session, I note two unrelated signs posted one above the other. Most of the 300 arriving faculty members had seen those signs many times. But probably none saw them as I did. In my opening remarks, I shared with them, "This is a unique facility. Look at the sign over the back door. 'Restroom_Capacity 475!'" That fresh and creative bit of humor helped me attract interest and build a relationship with the audience.

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Blue Humor—A Comedy Cop Out

Keep your humor clean for long-term success.

I've been studying and using humor from the platform for 30 years. As each year passes, I believe more strongly that keeping your humor clean is the way to go. I've made the mistake in the past, more than once, that I can take more liberties with "this audience"... and have normally been wrong.

Why do people use off-color humor?

First, it's easy. It's much simpler to say a four letter word or tell a sex joke than to use your creative muscle to actually create something that's funny on its own. It's easier to get people to laugh at shock value or by making them uncomfortable than by creating a clever and original humor bit that hits the funnybone. I call it a comedy cop out. The lazy path to humor.

Second, monkey see monkey do. They see comics use off-color material almost all the time, and get laughs. Translation, if you want to get laughs, be blue.

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Developing Original Humor for Your Talk

Most humor in the real-world setting is unplanned. It just happens.

Most humor in the business setting is unplanned. It just happens. Spontaneous events with clients and co-workers create the surprises and uncomfortable situations which call for humor as a coping tool.
We all have differing abilities to recognize, appreciate and create humor. How's your HQ (humor quotient)? Do you work with people who are full of wit?
Regardless of where you are now, you can increase your humor skills. When you study humor, it's obvious there's more to it than just spontaneous laughs. There are times when you may want to deliberately use humor, maybe even plan it in advance. Perhaps you want to spice up a training session or a planning meeting. Maybe you want to lighten up a sales presentation. You can learn ways to administer a dose of laughter to help you connect and communicate.

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Public Speaking Nightmares

Bad speaking situations and lessons learned.

As a speaker and entertainer with over 30 years experience, I've had my share of nightmare speaking and performing conditions. The best thing that can come from a bad situation is that we learn something which will prevent it from happening again! Let me share some of my worst memories...and what I learned.
The Nightmare: Booked to perform 30 minutes of comedy at a New Years Eve Party, I was introduced at 11 pm, one hour before the stroke of midnight. To accommodate my portion of the entertainment, they stopped the dancing. The 300 people at the party were not happy. Then I discovered that the sound system was horrible. Only the people in the first two rows could hear me well. The people in the middle could hear me a little. The people in the back couldn't hear me at all. So the ones in the back of the room started talking amongst themselves! The chatter from the back of the room resulted in the middle of the room not hearing anything I was saying, so they also started talking. You get the picture: A tsunami of indifference was sweeping toward the front of the room. Soon only the front row could hear small portions of my program. Disaster. When it was over, I didn't hang around to meet the audience. And I almost swore I'd never perform again. Almost.

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The Use of Timing to Make Your Humor Connect

Humor is more than just words.

Humor is one of the most effective tools for connecting with an audience. It builds bonds and refreshes the mind. And although the right words can make people laugh, humor is more than just words. As speakers, we learn that the impact of humor is heightened by how you say it, what you do when you say it, and how you use silence...the pause. The pause adds punch to the punchline!
One of the reasons the pause strengthens your laugh lines is that it builds tension. There is a relationship between tension and laughter. It's easier to use comic timing when you understand that relationship. So let's examine the link.

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