Public Speaking : Get Them In Fun

Get your public speaking crowd in fun! I’m sure you’re thinking, Tom that really doesn’t make sense. What does that mean? This is the phrase coined by those who study public speaking humor in regards to an insight by famous psychologist Sigmund Freud, who said:

"The most favorable condition for comic pleasure is a generally happy disposition in which one is in the mood for laughter. In happy toxic states almost everything seems comic. We laugh at the expectation of laughing, at the appearance of one who is presenting the comic material (sometimes even before he [she] attempts to make us laugh), and finally, we laugh at the recollection of having laughed."

Do you want an in fun and happy public speaking audience members? Get them happy and keep them there by ensuring everything about the event is silver lining. Creating a lighthearted and fun atmosphere will allow the audience to feel comfortable and more likely to laugh. When your public speaking audience is laughing they are in fun. This will not only result in not only an interesting event, but also an increase in your fan base, reputation, and number of bookings in a year! These are good things! So get in fun and make sure your viewers are there too!

Public Speaking : Funny Question and Answer Sessions

Holding a funny question-and-answer session at the end of you public speaking presentation is a great way to come off as being spontaneously funny, even though we both know you are going to work really hard beforehand! There are several ways to have a session.

You can just wing it, going balls-to-the-wall and taking whatever public speaking questions your audience will throw at you. I recommend doing a little pregame brainstorm and trying to think of all the questions you may receive.

Another way you can make sure your public speaking question and answer sessions are funny is to put someone in the audience who you’ve contacted prior to the event. You can get them to ask a funny question or you can have a prepared funny response.

Some public speaking professionals use the ol’ 3 x 5 card trick. You ask you audience members to write down their questions. When you collect the cards, you can easily slip in some dummy cards that you created.

No matter which procedure you chose, this will be a great part of your public speaking event because it’s funny and engages the audience!

Public Speaking : Food is Funny

Don’t ask me why, but if you add food into your public speaking presentation, you’ll get a laugh. For some reason food has established itself as a comedy tool. Many similes, metaphors, and jokes are related to food…one of the most famous advertising slogans is for Oscar Mayer in the song, “Oh I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Weiner.” This jingle automatically elicits a humorous response.

For a surefire way to enhance your public speaking event, tie in food. Just be warned that having snacks on hand is a good idea. People will get hungry!

Public Speaking : Fake Facts and Statistics

Using fake facts and statistics is a great way to elicit a laugh from your audience. When using this technique there are a few things you have to remember to ensure a successful delivery. You don’t want to forget anything and leave the audience confused about the message

Another public speaking article discusses using a deadpan expression. You can combine this technique with fake facts and statistics for maximum results, especially when your information sounds very official with numbers and specifics. Also, by overemphasizing the information, to the point that they can tell you are trying too hard, you’ll convey the absurdity of the facts or statistics.

One public speaking engagement I did for a group of secretaries I commented on the fact that their bosses became executives only because they couldn’t handle being secretaries. I definitely won the crowd over with that line! But of course, that’s 100 percent true based on a recent survey taken by Harvard!

Public Speaking : Exaggeration

Exaggerating the truth can be a great way to add humor to a public speaking engagement. This involves changing parts of the truth to emphasize a point. When using this technique, you have to remember to exaggerate enough, if you don’t, chances are you’ll hear crickets because it won’t be funny.

For example, if you are giving a public speaking presentation to a group of dentists you can make a joke about them being in session that took three days to fill a cavity. Obviously, this is an unlikely situation…well, let’s hope otherwise I’m never going to my dentist! However, it works because during those moments it probably feels like three days for some dentists, especially if there are difficulties.

When preparing for your public speaking event, take into account who your audience members are and how you can reach them by exaggerating the truth. Do so they will respond by sending you favoring emails, snail mail letters, bottles of champagne, trips to Hawaii, and a megayacht. No, really. They will!

30 Days of online Public Speaking training for only 5 bucks

After months of work http://www.amazingpublicspeaking.com/ is now ready. This is the largest collection of public speaking training videos in the world and you can get full access for a month for only $5.00.

The site also has audio training, speech samples, comedy routines, a networking discussion board, image gallery and much, much more.

Go there now. Watch the 2 minute introduction video. Watch the free video samples and then join to get your 30 days access for only 5 bucks.

Tom Antion
P.S. when you get to the order form check out the deal where you get a FREE $99.00 DVD

Public Speaking : Definitions

Public speaking: The detailed art of establishing oneself as a target for criticism

Definitions, like the one above, will add a punch of humor to your pubic speaking events. You can either make up your own or find them in quote books, magazines, or online. Just make sure that the definition you are working with is a word you want to emphasize. It should be just some random word you think is cool. I suggest picking your main points and using this technique to make them memorable. They will be hard to forget with such an effective tool. Here are three others to give you more of an idea:

Death: To stop sinning suddenly. Elbert Hubbard

Jury: Twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer. Robert Frost

Radical: A man with both feet planted firmly in the air. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Using definitions in a public speaking engagement highlights the main points of your speech, engages the audience, and can add humor. Just don’t use a definition that will offend the audience. You don’t really want to make a joke about lawyers to lawyers…although they are probably used to it by now!

Public Speaking : Deadpan Expression

Another way to add humor to your public speaking engagement is to use a Deadpan Expression. Not quite sure what that means? Think Ben Stein. He keeps his voice flat and monotone and face expressionless not matter how funny something he says is. This facial and verbal contrast emphasizes the joke and surprises the public speaking audience, resulting in a laugh. At first, most people might find the monotone presentation somewhat boring but that won’t last long. As soon as you tell your first joke, the audience members will be on the edge of their seats the entire public speaking engagement.

Public Speaking : Comic Verse

Pictures are worth a thousand words. Comic verses, however, are worth a thousand public speaking words. By using a short poem or limerick in your presentation, you can emphasize your points without surpassing the audience’s word quota it will listen to. The last thing you want is the audience members clutching their ears, yelling, “No more! No more!” Keeping in mind that brevity is clarity, let’s look at a few verses you can use in your public speaking event:

Do not worry if your job is smallAnd your rewards are few.Just remember that the mighty oakWas once a nut, like you. Anonymous

The point of this is to emphasize that everyone starts out at the bottom but that doesn’t restrain someone from being great. Here’s another:

When the tides of life turn against you,And the current upsets your boat,Don't waste those tears on what might have been,Just lay on your back and float. Ed Norton, The Honeymooners

Here Norton summarizes that during difficult times, the best thing to do is not get upset about and just ride it out

As always, finding verses that relate to your public speaking audience is a plus. Oh, and if someone said the verse, give them credit!

Public Speaking : Caricature, Cartoons, and Comic Strips

What better way to add humor to your public speaking event than using the most universally accepted form? Caricatures, cartoons, and comic strips have their own section in the newspaper for a reason: people love them. I bet while reading this you are thinking about your favorite strip character. Maybe Calvin is terrorizing his mother by shooting aliens in the kitchen, which are really the dishes. Or maybe Garfield is pulling another fast one on Odie. Either way, I have money on it that you can relate.

If you add this funny graphics aspect to your public speaking presentation, I’m sure the audience will be more likely to pay attention. This is especially true if you tailor the cartoons, comics, or caricatures to the audience. There are tons of strips that relate to all sorts of professions and hobbies, if you don’t want to create your own. Employees everywhere can empathize with Dilbert, at least!

By adding this humor tool to your public speaking engagement you not only create a lighthearted atmosphere and relate to your audience members, but you engage them. Everyone wants to laugh, especially about something pertinent to them!

Public Speaking : Callbacks

Callbacks, a reference to material used previously, is a great tool to use during two different times in your public speaking presentations. The first is when you’ve said something, maybe a joke, that bombed horribly. When you recall this information, maybe making a joke about how poorly it was received, the audience will admire your willingness to tease yourself. Another time this works well is when a piece of information went over tremendously. Your ability to tie that in a second time will demonstrate your public speaking skills and maybe get you another laugh.

This public speaking tool facilitates the ability to manipulate both scenarios. You can either change a bad response into a positive one or enhance a great one. Either way is win-win! Always good in public speaking!

Public Speaking : Bloopers

Based on the number of blooper TV shows out there, it’s safe to say that people like funny mistakes. You can use these clumsy moments to add humor to your public speaking presentations. While I’m not saying to create your own mishaps…well…if it works that’s up to you…but you can use the instances of others and twist them to work into your speech. People say and do funny things all the time, all you have to do relate that to the public speaking material or use it as a transition.

There are so many internet sites dedicated to bloopers and many of them are specific to certain industries. If you have a certain type of audience, you can go online and find some material. For example, you’re presenting to a room of while lab coats…we’ll call them doctors…before the public speaking event, try visiting medical-specific blooper sites, like www.doctorslounge.com. Hanging out with athletes for the day? Try Googling “sports bloopers” to see what you can use.

Just don’t forget to reference where you found the material, if need be, and to remember not to get too caught up in the blooper research!

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!

Public Speaking : Alliteration

In public speaking presentations you can use a variety of levels of humor to engage the audience. You don’t always have to cause doubled-over laughter to add entertainment value. When you’d like to use a more subtle approach, try using alliteration. Now I know this will cause you to have flashback to eighth grade English, but stay with me here. I swear it won’t be as bad as you think:
Public speaking presentations provide audience members with pertinent information.

While that isn’t the funniest sentence or really even very amusing, it demonstrates my point. Notice that a majority of the words begin with P. Alliteration, often used as a marketing tool, uses the same letter for a series of words in a phrase or sentence. You can use this technique to create humorous points in your public speaking event. One way to do this is to try making a audience-based tongue twister and maybe have a few members compete to see who can sat it the best! That’s totally the thing to do! (see what I did??)