An entertaining speech is a type of speech that aims to amuse, engage, and delight the audience. It can be informative, persuasive, or inspirational, but it should also have a humorous or emotional appeal. How can you choose a suitable topic and tone for an entertaining speech? Here are some tips to help you out.
The first step to choosing a suitable topic and tone for an entertaining speech is to know your audience. Who are they? What are their interests, values, and expectations? What do they want to learn, feel, or do after listening to your speech? Knowing your audience will help you tailor your speech to their needs and preferences, and avoid topics that might offend, bore, or confuse them.
Begin with the end in mind. Thinking about the goal of the talk and the interests of the audience is critical. If the audience is happy, you will be too. But it all begins with delighting and wowing your audience. For complex topics, I recommend not assuming that the audience will understand the topic. Do not expect that they will have some foundational understanding. It is best to build up to complex topics from the most basic levels. I've given speeches where I discussed multivariate data analysis using images of eggs. That sounds simplistic. But the goal isn't to talk down to your audience or show them you know more than they do - You are already the speaker! The most important goal is making sure your audience understands.
Speak about what you and love...NOT what you want to be seen as. Then you'll truly help others, Which is the reason we are in business in the first place, anyway. For example, if you love music, reference a song that is common enough to get others onboard with your focus. Another is, Don't have all the answers because you read about them. Provide solutions because you stepped in it and you can tell others how to wipe it off. Humility is the quality of a leader. Finally, learn from the questions you are asked and be smart enough to say, "I don't know." Maybe follow up with, "But here's what I think."
Avoid as well a lenthy topic. The speaker or presentor will lose the audience before they begin the speech. Keep it short and revelant to your target audience.
The next step is to choose a topic that is relevant and relatable to your audience and your occasion. A relevant topic is one that connects to the theme, purpose, or context of your speech. For example, if you are giving a speech at a graduation ceremony, you might choose a topic that relates to the achievements, challenges, or future plans of the graduates. A relatable topic is one that resonates with your audience's experiences, emotions, or interests. For example, if you are giving a speech at a family reunion, you might choose a topic that reflects on your shared memories, values, or traditions.
On the lecture circuit, there are essentially two kinds of speeches. 1. Evergreen Evergreen speeches are ones that never change. You could give that same speech day after day, month after month, year after year, and it would change little - if at all. Think of talks about leadership, strategy, and communication. They don't change, and they have broad applicability. 2. Everchanging Everchanging speeches are different every single time. Think about topics like the economy, financial markets, politics, or technology. These are the kinds of speeches I give, and I find these speeches to be the most interesting. What kind of speech to you want to be known for?
The third step is to use humor and storytelling to make your speech entertaining and memorable. Humor can help you capture the attention, break the ice, and create rapport with your audience. It can also help you make a point, illustrate a concept, or persuade your audience. However, humor should be appropriate, relevant, and respectful. Avoid jokes that are offensive, vulgar, or insensitive. Storytelling can help you engage the audience, convey a message, and evoke emotions. It can also help you establish credibility, authenticity, and connection. Use stories that are personal, relevant, and vivid. Use descriptive language, dialogue, and gestures to bring your stories to life.
I love sharing stories about people I love. If you can brag on someone all day, they may be a great subject for your story. For example, my great-grandma is one of my sheroes. In the same breath that I will compliment her, I also have a joke I can add to the situation (she was hilarious to me). I also think she used humor to communicate with us, which is why it resonated so well. Sometimes, she was not meaning to be humorous, but immaturity may have caused me to see it that way. When you can point out how your perspective during the story changed (for example, from laughing at something your great-grandma was trying to get through to you, to actually applying it to your life as an adult), it also allows your message to grow on your listener
Gifs and images can be helpful in bringing humor to a speech. But timing is also critical. Just like anytime you tell a joke, you need to be sure the punchline lands at just the right time. I don't work blue. And for professional speeches, you shouldn't. Good news - To get big laughs, you don't have to be offensive or insensitive. You just need some good bits. And the best ones can often deliver two or three laughs. To be more thoughtful about the importance and value of humor in speeches, I recommend watching Jerry Seinfeld's Netflix series "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee." I watched the entire series - It really helped me step up my humor game.
Self-effacing humor - a story of something stupid you did or experienced is a great way to not only incorporate humor, but also endear your audience to yourself, and thus to your message. Even if you’re an expert in your field, people love humility and transparency!
To keep your audience engaged and entertained, you must vary your tone and delivery. Tone is the attitude, emotion, or mood that you communicate through your words, voice, and body language. Delivery is the way you use your voice, gestures, eye contact, and movement to express your message. To vary your tone and delivery, you can use a variety of techniques, such as pausing to create suspense, emphasizing a point, or transitioning to a new idea; changing your pitch to express emotion, contrast, or emphasis; altering your volume to show confidence, enthusiasm, or urgency; adjusting your rate to show emotion, energy, or importance; emphasizing key words, phrases, or ideas; and using gestures to reinforce, illustrate, or complement your verbal message.
Through experience what you don't want to do is to give a monotone delivery, it will either put the hearers to sleep or they will tune the speaker out. .
The final step is to practice and get feedback on your speech. Practice will help you improve your content, structure, and delivery. It will also help you build your confidence, reduce your anxiety, and prepare for any unexpected situations. Feedback will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and make any necessary adjustments. You can get feedback from different sources, such as yourself, your friends, your family, or your peers. You can also use different methods, such as recording, watching, or listening to your speech, asking for comments, suggestions, or questions, or using a checklist, a rubric, or a survey.
Practice is key when giving a presentation. You must rehearse until you feel confident about delivering this particular speech. This will help ease the natural nervousness which you--and all of us--feel when speaking in public. You will know your material--and you will bring it to your audience as a gift--because they don't know what you know. You know what you are going to say, so you can begin strong and say what you have to say with conviction.
Practice your speech also in front of a mirror. It helps you to identify what movement that is or is not needed. It also helps an individual see their facial expression and these expressions should match the tone.