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Presentation Skills - Using Humor In Sales

Humor is great for helping you overcome problems that arise during a sales presentation. You certainly don't want your one big chance in front of Megabucks Corporation to be blown because of minor problems.

I'm not suggesting you substitute clever one-liners for solid preparation. I'm suggesting that your ability to use appropriate humor in the face of adversity will send a subtle, but clear, message to your prospect. The message will be that you are polished and unshakable when a problem arises. Some salespeople are afraid of humor because they think they won't be taken seriously. In fact, being able to use appropriate humor makes you more powerful. Most buyers of any substance have been around the business block a few times. They know that good buyer/seller relationships experience unforeseen problems all the time. Your cool, lighthearted demeanor will be giving them the impression you can calmly handle whatever might come up.

Another advantage of humor is that it can help break down the status barrier between the salesperson and the client. It helps build a rapport and a sense of we instead of you and me which makes your point of view, as the salesperson, much more persuasive. David Rich reports in his book How to Stay Motivated on a Daily Basis, that even Las Vegas has learned the power of a smile. David says that black jack dealers who smile while playing consistently bring in 5 percent more revenue than nonsmiling dealers. He says the reason is that people are more likely to play longer when they believe they are playing with the dealer against the house as opposed to playing against the dealer. David's advice:

"Avoid the smiling dealers."

When people are laughing they don't feel like they are being sold. Their resistance to the sales message is greatly reduced. That's why it is important to weave your humor in with the sales message rather than tell a joke at the beginning and then forget about humor.

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Public Speaking - I like Humor. Where Can I Find It?

I say again. Humor surrounds you if you just open your eyes to it. Your own personal life situations are always the best. Next in line would be updated and personalized humor taken from other sources.

You can find instantly usable humor (instant as soon as you practice and twist it around a little bit) on television, in the newspaper, in books, on the Internet, in Reader's Digest, in joke services, and from other speakers (always, always give credit). You could even have your own speech/joke writers as long as you can find one that understands you and your industry.

When using any of these sources, be ready with a pencil and paper or tape recorder to grab the stuff you like. You will look through much more material than you could ever use. The old saying is that you have to sift through a lot of dirt to get to the gold.

I have more than 400 volumes in my humor library now and it's growing all the time. Here are just a few humor references I always check when working on a new presentation:

* Witty Words by Eileen Mason
* Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, Edited by Evan Esar
* Humorous Stories About the Human Condition by Eric W. Johnson
* The Public Speakers Handbook of Humor by Helen & Larry Eisenberg
* 2715 One Line Quotations for Speakers, Writers and Raconteurs by Edward Murphy
* 5600 Jokes for All Occasions by Mildred Meirers & Jack Knapp

Your local library is an excellent source for humor. I found over 100 listings on humor in my small town library. They had tapes, records, books, and videos available and all at no charge. You can look for humor in the library under the following topics: Humor, Wit and Humor, Humorous Stories, Humorists, Humorous Poetry, Humorous Recitations, Humorous Photography, Proverbs, Caricatures and Cartoons, and Quotations.

Keep in mind that you can't always use the humor in these sources as is. You must update, personalize, and localize much of the humor to increase its effectiveness.

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Presentation and Seminar Training - Costumes

No, you don't have to go on-stage in a gorilla suit, although you could if you wanted to. A costume can be anything from a flashy tie, to a feathered hat, to a full blown shiny Marca Polina outfit (the feminine Marco Polo) complete with an illuminated magic wand, that my friend Sally Walton wears when she talks about the magic art of "Communicating Across Cultures." Costumes add a flare and excitement to your presentations and certainly help to make them more memorable.

If you don't like to wear costumes, get the audience members to wear them. Better yet, get the "big shots" to wear them and you will probably be the hit of the meeting. I was doing a customer service talk for a pizza franchise and I had one of the senior managers march into the meeting wearing a filthy, doctor's lab coat with ketchup all over it (fake blood). I had another senior manager come in with a crisp, new lab coat. I asked a simple question, Which manager would you like operating on you? Of course, all the junior managers yelled out that they wouldn't let either one of these people operate on them. Everyone was laughing and joking around, but the point was made. They must keep their employees looking clean and neat because nice customers won't want to be served by grungy food service workers.

Costume characters can be hired to hand out fliers at your event, entertain, and generally create an air of fun and excitement. The local heart association has a "blood drop" costume they use when they are soliciting funds. There are literally hundreds of costumes available through costume shops or mail order. Just make sure, as always, the theme of the costume matches the theme of your presentation or event.

Public Speaking - I Can't Heeeeere You!

Although this may seem obvious, make sure the audience can clearly hear every
word you say. Most jokes and stories depend on key words. If you slur a word, the audience may miss the whole idea of the story (remember you need a good sound system too). Besides enunciating clearly, you must use the microphone properly. Hand held microphones must stay with you when you turn your head from side to side and must be directed toward the mouth of anyone you are conversing with during the presentation.

Larry Wilde, the author of more than 50 humor books, tells the story of the time he was auditioning to take over the television show Let's Make a Deal when Monte Hall retired. In the opening of the show he was supposed to engage in small talk with an audience member. He went up to someone in the first row and said, "Hi! What's your name?" Although the audience member answered him, there was dead silence in the sound booth. The sound men were actually laughing at Larry because he neglected to hold the microphone near the mouth of the audience member for the response. You might think this is common sense, but try it out and you will see that it is not as easy as it looks. It takes practice to do it smoothly.

If you are at a lectern, you should know how far your lips need to be from the
microphone. Hopefully you checked this out before the presentation started. If that was not possible, you can watch the introducer or speakers that are on before you to get a feel for the proper distance. When using a handheld or lectern microphone be very careful in pronouncing
words that have the letter "p" in them. This letter tends to make a popping sound that is very distracting. If you are using a handheld microphone, you usually can significantly reduce the "p" sound problem if you hold the microphone at a slight angle. If the microphone is fixed on the lectern, you can de-emphasize the word with the "p" or turn your head slightly away from the
microphone.

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Public Speaking - Starting Off

You would think that starting off would be a critical time in the presentation wouldn't you? In fact, it's not at all. You can say virtually anything in the opening moments because no one will absorb what you are saying. You can recall your last visit to the city. You can compliment the group. You can talk about the weather. It really doesn't matter.

If we take our example from the theater, you will note that nothing of significance happens until the audience is ready to settle down to the business of listening. When you go to a play, the curtain rises and the maid is dusting or the butler is picking lint off a pair of pants. Nothing really important happens until the audience has had a chance to focus on the stage.

You can say anything to use up time, but don't use up too much time. Some speakers think that fooling around too long makes the audience become restless. However, this approach starts a nice slow relationship with the audience where you don't come on strong until they get to know you a little. This might be a good time to show some concern for the audience's comfort. You could ask, Is it too hot for you, or can everyone see OK? If it is too hot or they can't see, do something about it or call someone who can. Show them how concerned you are. If it is too hot and you can't do anything about it, you have an opportunity to make light of that fact. If you don't, everyone will be thinking about it anyway and not listening to you. You could walk over to the air conditioner and pretend to read a notice, Maintained by the Devil-May-Care Air Conditioner Company.

This lighthearted attitude will demonstrate the fact that you can be flexible enough to handle any adverse situations that may arise. If you can handle it, then your audience will likely follow. If you want to take a more hard-hitting approach, you can use a unique humorous opening, or a challenging or electrifying statement that will speed the normal focusing process.

These openings command attention. I opened an employee appreciation luncheon once with the statement, I'm here to talk to you today about Quality Improvement. I thought the audience members were going to cry until I started laughing and said, You've heard enough about that lately, haven't you? In fact, they had it up to their ears with Quality Improvement training. At a sales training seminar the first words out of my mouth were, I want you to fail! I want you to fail because in order for you to succeed you must fail! To succeed to high levels you must fail a great deal! This was a serious NO ZZZZZs opening that commanded immediate attention.

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Public Speaking - Appropriate Targets For Humor

You must constantly remember to base your humorous material on an important target shared with your intended audience. You get this information from your pre-program questionnaire and other pre-program research.

People
Use people they know in your jokes and stories. Talk about their CEO or supervisor (get permission from these people first). Joke about or insult the CEO of a major competitor, but be careful here. You may want to work for the competitor some day. Always pick BIG targets to
tease. Never pick secretaries, receptionists, or janitors as targets of humor.

Places
Quip about the places they go. Their cafeteria, the bar across the street from their plant, or the crowded highway leading to where they work are all good targets for humor. In Washington, D.C., where I live, everyone jokes about troubles on the Beltway.

Things
Joke about the things that mean something to them. Joke about their new marketing plan, company picnic, new voice-mail system, etc. Just be sure that they are joking about it themselves. The topic might be too hot to tease about.

If you have a general audience and you cannot get specific information, use general humor. Most people are married and have children and experience family conflict. They go to the doctor and dentist. They stand in line at the motor vehicle administration. They deal with financial problems. Joke about any universal problem which your audience can relate to.

Remember, always pick BIG targets. Joke about celebrities, media stars, and athletes that everyone knows. Keep in mind that there is a genuine sports interest in virtually every audience.
The best and safest target to use is the one that's reading this blog. You can joke about your physical appearance, clothing, weight, etc., without much worry of offending someone else.

Learn more about what kind of humor to use...

Public Speaking - Gaining Critical Attention

Some Attention-Gaining/Interest Devices:


* Humor, of course
* Props
* Stories
* Voice inflection
* Stage movement
* Asking questions of the audience
* Showing visuals
* Playing music
* Gesturing
* Using quotations
* Reading or reciting poetry

Effective NO ZZZZZs presenters use attention-getting techniques spaced throughout their presentation to keep the audience's interest up. Each of these is discussed in detail throughout this book. The great sales and motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, hits the audience like clockwork with a joke or story every seven to nine minutes. I even shorten that more to between six and eight minutes for high content talks and several times per minute for mostly humorous talks.

So, my response to the original question "When should I use humor in a presentation?" is at the beginning, the middle and the end, or anywhere you want a peak on your intensity wave. Use humor throughout your presentation and space it at intervals to provide a change of pace and to reemphasize your message in a new and interesting way.

Use as Much Humor as You Need

How much humor should I put in a serious talk? That's my second most frequently asked question. I can't give you the exact answer on that one, so I'll give you the answer everyone hates. It depends. You must ask yourself a series of questions. The answers to these questions will lead you to the final percentage that is right for you.

* Why am I here? Am I here to entertain, inform, motivate, answer questions, etc.?
* What is the nature of my subject? Am I here to congratulate the audience on breaking last year's sales record or am I here to inform the audience there will be massive layoffs?
* What is the nature of my audience? Are they fun-loving and laid-back or do they normally want the information fast and dirty?
* What about me? Have I developed appropriate humor that helps make my point or hold attention? Have I practiced one-liners until I'm comfortable telling them? The answers to these questions will clearly direct you in the appropriate amount of humor to use.

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Public Speaking - Bumper Sticker Humor

These bumper stickers can be used for great one-liners for presentation humor. Find one that is appropriate for your next speech!

The gene pool could use a little chlorine.

All generalizations are false.

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.

Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.

Forget the Joneses, I keep up with the Simpsons.

Cover me. I'm changing lanes.

As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in public schools.

The more people I meet, the more I like my dog.

Laugh alone and the world thinks you're an idiot.

I get enough exercise just pushing my luck!

Sometimes I wake up grumpy; Other times I let her sleep.

All men are Idiots, and I married their King!

Work is for people who don't know how to fish.

I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian.

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Public Speaking - What to Do After Identifying a Story?

When you come across a story in a book, or when you have a personal incident you think will make a good story, ask yourself the following questions:

Is it clean?
Can I use it in a professional presentation to make a point?
What point does it illustrate?
What other points does it illustrate?
How many categories should I file it in so I can find it when I need?
What should I say to lead into the story?
What should I say following the story?
Where should I put it in my presentation?
Is it better than something I am already using?

Just thinking about the answers to the above questions will make your storytelling better. Many presenters just slap any old story into their presentation, any old place, because they like the story. That is not the way to do it.

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Public Speaking Tips - Clothing

Fun presenters can wear fun clothing but within the limits of your industry. I'm not going to pretend to be Mr. Clothes Horse (I've been accused of looking too corporate), but I will offer a few tips that should help you out.

* When presenting, don't wear clothes that are uncomfortable even if they look great.
*Wear clothes somewhere in the upper fringe of the limits for your industry, i.e., stand out, but not way out.
*If you really want to be remembered, consider trademark clothing, i.e., you are known for wearing funny ties, glasses, hats, etc.
* Don't wear loose jewelry or anything that is a distraction. Be especially careful of this if you are being videotaped.
* Double check and double sew all critical buttons and catches.
* Consider where your microphone and transmitter could be attached when purchasing presentation clothing. You may want to buy the clothing slightly large to decrease transmitter pack bulge (or if you gain weight).
* Take just about everything out of your pockets to reduce bulges.
* If you are much older than your audience, dress in your most stylish outfit (don't go overboard).
* If you are much younger than your audience dress in your most conservative outfit (don't go overboard).

Trick: Remove your glasses to change the mood. You might deliver straight information then remove your glasses to tell a personal story. Don't make a big theatrical deal out of it and don't repeat it too often in the same presentation.

Note: Glasses are articles of clothing, but they could also be considered props.

Trick: (Men) Unbutton your coat to show an extra degree of openness. Take your coat off and roll up your sleeves for a let's get-down-to-business look.

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