Public Speaking : Audience Gags

How do you create unexpected fun in a public speaking presentation and involve the audience? An audience gag will get attention every time and add a different component to the event. The planned gag can be tailored to any event and as creative as you want to make it. Some public speaking experts don’t believe in using audience gags until they see how effective it is for me. Then they are climbing my walls until I give them a tip or two on how to incorporate the technique into their event.

There are a variety of options to choose from, really anything you think is creative and you can tie into the public speaking engagement works. One gag I like to use is to pull aside audience members before the presentation and give them a word to focus on and some paper. When I say the word during the presentation, they throw pieces of paper at me. After this I’ll usually make my main point. What does this accomplish you ask? 1. The audience members with paper are completely focused on me and my public speaking presentation, just waiting for the word. 2. After they throw the paper, I have the attention of every person in the room, and 3. It’s guaranteed that my main points are heard!