This is Part 6 of a series that I’m writing this week to help you be a better speaker.
I have a serious job. Seriously.
I am a pastor, which means that I bear the weight of eternal truth and bring it to the people in the church. I spend time with people in their most intimate moments (birth, marriage, sickness, troubles, death).
It’s easy to get discouraged at points. But I do consider myself to be typically positive in all areas.
And the source of my ability to stay light-hearted during hard times comes down to one trait.
It’s Humor. Yep. Yuck yucks.
I love laughter and I love making people laugh. And to tell you the truth, it transfers into my talks.
I’ve seen this done wrong, so I implore you not to be funny for the sake of being funny. I think you have to know yourself. But I think if there is any way you can do it, it pays major connection dividends in your talk.
So, let’s lay some ground work.
There are several ways you can be funny, and several ways to NOT be funny. Let’s hit the dont’s first.
1. Never degrade anyone. You might see comedians that pick on people from the crowd, but to me, that always looked irrational and risky. You might select the one person who has broad shoulders and a healthy sense of humor, but you’re alienating and terrifying others who may fall into your wake of insult.
2. Never try to be funny if it’s unnatural. Give your audience a little more credit. They can feel fake. They might not be able to put their finger on it, but it’ll come across odd and you’ll notice it in the delivery. I can’t tell you how many times it’s happened to me when I’ve given a sermon. I tried to plan funny and funny planned my comedic funeral instead.
3. Never violate the threshold of propriety of your audience for funny. I am very aware that you may be in a context where propriety is not a priority, but you have to know what your audience views as inappropriate. Since I’m a pastor, my appropriate-meter is set pretty high. I’ve made inappropriate jokes before (nothing that would be deemed as classless, or filthy) and I’ve disconnected the audience. It’s not worth it.
Now, here’s what you want to do to make humor work for you. This goes beyond the typical “knock-knock” or “punchline” joke. Those may be good for you, but I’ve found that when I incorporate those, it doesn’t go over well.
1. Use self-effacing humor. This requires you to be comfortable being you. When you call attention to something that you’ve made a mistake about and make a funny situation out of it, your audience will appreciate it. Keep in mind, it will make them laugh, but it will also allow them to see how human you are. And human is good. Pastor Craig Groeschel, the senior and founding pastor of Life Church, says people admire your strength, but they identify with your weaknesses.
You can’t go wrong making a joke about when you make a mistake. Providing you’re following the top rules about things to avoid, of course.
2. Capitalize on one of your own mistakes. Tonight, I spoke to about 120 people. I just randomly made up a word. It was a mixture of respectful and respectable. I think it was “respect-a-ful.” I noticed it happen when I said it. And I noticed some people smirking when I did. I used it as an opportunity to make a joke. And it went over well.
I’ve said really odd things before. It’s important to not let your mistake go unacknowledged. You’ll assert confidence and show the audience that you’re not taking yourself too seriously.
3. Utilize a real-life funny story that circulating in the news. Last week I had a great joke about Tide Pods. People picked it up quickly because it’s been circulating. It went well. During the election, the harvest was ripe for humor, but you have to tread lightly. Politics typically polarizes. So you have to be very careful not to alienate you’re audience.
At any rate, finding ways to be funny pays off. Your audience will focus more, and when you decide to get serious, you’ll already have their attention.
*** Bonus tip: go on Netflix and check out some comedians. I’ve picked up a lot of presentation skills by watching stand up because they literally have to make people laugh for over an hour. I learned about body language, tone, and even how to make a mistake from watching comedians. Just a thought. ***