C O M M U N I C AT I O N S K I L L S :
Using Humor in Speaking
Introduction
SPEAKERTRAINING
I. Using Humor In Speaking “There are two insults no human being can bear; that he has never known trouble, and that he has no sense of humor.”
A. Cautions with using humor in speaking Q U I D
1. Trying to be funny when you are not
P R O
Q U O T E
“. . . you should use humor whenever possible, but it should arise naturally from the context of who you are, where you are, and what you have to say. That is what ‘wit’ is all about.”
2. You can’t be funny in a talk
Charles Osgood, Osgood on Speaking: How to Think on Your Feet without Falling on Your Face (New York:William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1988), 51.
3. Use of inappropriate humor
4. Untimely humor
B. Why use humor in speaking? 1. It dissolves ____________
2. It breaks _________________
USING HUMOR IN SPEAKING
85
C O M M U N I C AT I O N C E N T E R
3. It overcomes ____________
4. It increases _________________
5. It holds _______________
6. It provides ______________ G R AY
M AT T E R
“What kind of humor works best in a speech? The kind that is friendly and personal and natural. Humor in a speech doesn’t need to produce guffaws. A few smiles and some chuckles are just fine for your purpose.”
7. It helps ___________ ______ ______________ home
C. Kinds of humor
Joan Detz, How to Write and Give a Speech, production editor David Stanford Burr, second edition (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1992), 78.
1. ______________ Stories “My way of joking is telling the truth. That is the funniest joke in the world.” George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
P E R S O N A L
2. _____ _____________ / _______________
T I P
Practice telling humorous elements of your talk to individuals before using them in your presentation.
3. Humorous ______________
C R E AT I V E
“When a boy reaches the age of 12, put him in a barrel, nail down the lid, and feed him through the hole. When he reaches the age of 16, plug up the hole.”
P R A C T I C E
Places to look for humorous material: u
newspapers
u
current periodicals
u
your life experiences
C O M M U N I C AT I O N C E N T E R
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens, 1835-1910)
86
USING HUMOR IN SPEAKING
4. Clever __________________________ If all the people who sleep in church were laid end to end, they’d be a lot more comfortable. 5% of people think; 15% think they think; the other 80% would rather die than think.
Q U I D
P R O
Q U O T E
LET’S DO COFFEE
“That’s what’s great about Coffee.
Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical. (Yogi Berra)
It’s the only meal for which the name of the food is also the official name of the event. `Coffee.’ `We’ll get together for Coffee.’ We know what we’re doing, and we know what we’ll be having: coffee. Makes it simple when you get there.
5. ________ & _______________
‘Do you want to look at the menu?’ ‘No, I already know: coffee. That’s why we got together. We got together for —- Coffee. That’s what we discussed, that’s what I’ll be having.’ It’s the only food that has that advantage. You never say, ` Let’s get together for lamb.’
D. How to tell a joke 1. Stick to the ________________ facts
‘I’m in town, let’s get together for Fresca.’ ‘Whattya say? Grapes for everyone.’
2. Pay attention to your delivery!
You never hear it. It’s just not the same draw as Coffee.”
___________________ : Variety and emphasis
Paul Reiser, Couplehood (New York: Bantam Books, 1994), 240.
___________________ : Emphasis ___________________ : Pause before the punch line Pause for the response Don’t step on the laughter It’s difficult to handle silence.
C R E AT I V E
P R A C T I C E
Observe how good humorists utilize their voice, body and timing in delivery.
3. __________________ on your feet
USING HUMOR IN SPEAKING
87
C O M M U N I C AT I O N C E N T E R
E. How to destroy a joke 1. Announce that a ______________ ________ _______________ Q U I D
P R O
Q U O T E
“Without my eyeglasses, I have a great deal of trouble distinguishing between house fires and beer signs. . . . People like photographers and dentists and barbers are always asking me to take my glasses off, and I hate it because it makes me stupid and paranoid. I worry that the dentist and his aides are creeping up on me with acetylene torches, or have sneaked out of the room and left me chatting away at the dental spittoon. So I use a sonar technique originally developed by bats, wherein I fire off a constant stream of idiot conversational remarks designed to draw replies so I can keep track of which blobs in the room represent people. This makes it very hard to work on my teeth.”
2. Use a _______________________ or _____________________ joke
3. ________________________ the punch line
4. __________________ the punch line
5. __________________ the punch line
6. Tell an _________ joke or a __________ joke
Dave Barry, Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits (New York: Ballantine Books, 1988), 24.
7. Tell an __________________________ joke
P E R S O N A L
T I P
F. What do you do when a joke bombs?
Be prepared for the unlikely event that your joke bombs. Keep your expectations reasonable.
1. Keep __________________ “A thick skin is a gift of God.” Konrad Adenauer, father of post-war Germany
2. _______________________ it L E C T U R E
u
u
u
F O C U S
Humor is a tool to help build rapport, hold attention, provide relief and make a point clear. Humor is just one tool in the toolbox.
3. _________________ it — this takes poise
How you tell a joke, or use humor, is crucial to the success or failure of it. A smile is as effective as a laugh.
C O M M U N I C AT I O N C E N T E R
88
USING HUMOR IN SPEAKING