How can you use humor in a fundraising presentation without losing your message?

When making the joke, make yourself or your story the punchline. Dont make jokes about your family or others. Make other people the stars and let the joke be about you.

Humour has a fantastic ability to alleviate tensions and relax situations. However, when not carefully planned, it can also sink your best efforts! When it comes to humour, I don't feel that jokes are the best option - just too many variables with an audience. Instead, use some light humour that is more general and likely to be understood by all.

Whether you’re talking to your audience or your family member, no matter what you do, you have to know WHO you’re talking to and WHAT their needs are. Can they take a joke? Can you come up with something that they can relate to? I use humor in every presentation — my jokes don’t always get a thumbs up from my kids…but my audiences find them to be hysterical. (OK…at least, funny!)

Humor lightens up any atmosphere, in any type of scenario whether is a business venture, community outreach or diverse types of presentation venues. What is extremely important is that whoever is leading the presentation should take the time to research the type of the audience the host intends to attract, based on their backgrounds, demographics, personal or business interests, expectations and values. The other important factor would be the age demographic that the presentation host wants to reach, so that they can capture the people's attention, convey their message or sell their product with clarity; while maintaining a fun, safe, and relax environment for everyone in attendance.

Je nach L?nge der Pr?sentation kann Humor auch helfen die Aufmerksamkeit des Publikums wieder zu erlangen. Die Verwendung von Anekdoten sollte immer zum Kontext passen.

Understanding your purpose is key. Humor should serve your goals, whether it's persuading, informing, inspiring, or entertaining. Use it strategically to enhance your message, not overshadow it. Keep it relevant, sparing, and aligned with your narrative. Humor should reinforce your points, not distract from them.

Utiliser l'humour, surtout dans des contextes sensibles, exige plus qu'une simple connaissance de son style. ?a requiert une affirmation sans faille de soi. Ma propre trajectoire m'a enseigné l'importance d'embrasser pleinement l'humour choisi, de croire en sa capacité à éveiller un sourire, même sur des sujets sérieux. C'est comme ?a qu'on franchit la barrière de l'inconfort pour d'atteindre le c?ur du public.

Remember to always be true to yourself! Humor doesn't necessarily have to come from telling jokes. You can find humor in your own experiences or observations, and presenting it doesn't have to be limited to speeches. Be creative and use various methods, such as GIFs, videos, metaphors, imagery, or wordplay.

An audience will wait for you to begin for 30 seconds. They will watch you to the podium, leave your notes... back on your seat to grab them. When you return to the podium, now with a bigger smile, you adjust the microphone and say, "[Gooooood Day!]" in a way that lets everyone know you are easy going, we can all relax, listen and move on. Later in the presentation, your intuition will tell you, you should say [Gooooood Day!] again, exactly the same way. DO IT. DO IT. DO IT. The audience will get the joke (because we love patterns and call backs) and will laugh wildly. If you hear your intuition to repeat the joke one more time, you have comedy gold.

Timing is key in using humor effectively. I'll aim to use it to engage and reinforce my message, avoiding it in sensitive or complex parts. Thanks for the reminder!

Understanding audience feedback is crucial for effective humor in presentations. Positive reactions like laughter or smiles signal success, while negative responses suggest adjustments are needed. Don't panic if humor falls flat; acknowledge it, adjust, or move on. Humor can enhance fundraising presentations if used wisely, aligning with your message and engaging donors effectively.

Más que de humor, deberíamos hablar de cercanía y naturalidad, evitando ser excesivamente "formales". Cuando solicitamos algo con honestidad y camaradería sincera... estamos más cerca de obtenerlo.

At one presentation, I walked to the podium with my presentation, as the other presenter left and returned back to their seat. I introduced myself, went to put down my presentation, it fell onto the floor. The room went quiet... all eyes seemed to be on me. I commented that I just taught myself 2 valuable lessons; 1. Look before you put your presentation down and 2. Always, have page numbers on these! The room laughed, the speech was shorter but I had the attention of the room. The ability to laugh at oneself and encourage others to do the same is a powerful tool in connecting with people and making a lasting impression.

I am adding some tips to incorporate in your presentation: 1. Just add a punch line and say it with in a beautifull flow so that you can win the hearts of audience. 2. The punch line must be in line with your objective of presentation. 3. If you cannot write or speak it as per the demand of situation you may forget the use of humor in a fundraising presentation.

To balance the humorous parts, try this with your elevator pitch, or other constantly repeated phrases. When repeating the phrases you say everyday all day, SLOW down, use diction, and eye contact if you are able. Especially, let me hear the most important words. Use deliberate pauses... with important information... so it can be heard... You can even silently say to yourself after the sentence finishes: Pause, two, three, four (counting as fast as seconds go by) to give the audience time to digest what you've said. Also, check in with yourself during presentations - to 1 or 100 people. How am I standing? What is my face doing? Am I screaming? And silently adjust as the meeting goes by. You've got this. I believe in you!