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Monday, March 03, 2008

Public Speaking : ALLITERATION

Business presentation humor need not be knee slapping funny to be effective. Here is a mild form of humor to add to your presentations.

Alliteration is the repetition of the same first sound or the same first letter in a group of words or line of poetry. You find alliteration used in advertisements and titles all the time because it tends to catch your eye and ear. One of my humorous topics is titled "Pranks for Profit: Confessions of a Paid Practical Joker" It has four "p" sounds. Here is an example of a positive message delivered with alliteration:

"We Bagged the Baldridge award Because our Brainy, Beautiful Business people are the Best."

In a negative message you can soften the blow of the message without appearing frivolous or uncaring.
Example: "The strike by one of our suppliers has put a Crunch on our division. Even though we are Crunched, we are still Creative. We are still Credible. And we will Conquer this problem."

(Source: "Wake 'em Up Business Presentations" Chapter 13 "Thirty-Four Ways to Be Funny")

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