How to Add Organic Humor to Your Presentations and Keep Your Audience Hooked
Lord Al Jensen
Speak to Sell Maestro at Next Stage Communications. Elevating Mere Mortals to Confident & Profitable Presenting Virtuosos
Let’s be real—presentations without humor are like pancakes without syrup: technically fine, but lacking flavor. Adding humor to your speeches and presentations isn't just about getting laughs; it's about creating a connection, enhancing engagement, and making your message unforgettable. And here's the kicker: you don’t have to be a stand-up comedian to make your audience chuckle. You just need to know how to weave in some organic humor.
Why Organic Humor Matters
Organic humor is humor that naturally fits your message and delivery style. It’s not about forcing jokes or trying to be someone you’re not. Instead, it’s about finding the funny in your own stories, observations, and experiences. When done right, it makes you relatable and keeps your audience engaged and smiling.
How to Craft Organic Humor for Your Presentations
1. Start with Your Stories
Your personal experiences are a goldmine for humor. Think about the little hiccups and oddities in your daily life. Maybe it’s the time you accidentally joined a Zoom call with your camera off and talked to yourself for five minutes, or how you once got lost in your own neighborhood. These stories are relatable and human, which makes them perfect for adding a humorous twist.
Action Step: Start a “Humor Journal” where you jot down funny things that happen or amusing thoughts you have. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can build a library of content to pull from!
2. Exaggeration—But Keep It Believable
Exaggeration is a powerful tool in humor, but there’s a fine line between “funny” and “come on, really?” Amplify certain details of your story just enough to make them ridiculous yet relatable. For instance, if you're talking about a stressful day, you might say, “It was one of those days where I felt like my to-do list was multiplying faster than a rabbit in springtime.”
Action Step: Take a simple story and exaggerate three key elements. Test it out on friends or colleagues to see if it lands. If they laugh, you’ve got a winner. If they don’t, tweak it until it feels just right.
3. Play with Word Associations and Puns
Wordplay can be a clever way to add humor, especially in more formal settings where you need to keep it classy. The trick is to make sure your wordplay enhances your point, rather than distracting from it. For example, if you’re talking about overcoming obstacles, you might say, “Challenges are like mountains—they look daunting until you’ve scaled them. Then you realize they’re just ‘hill areas’ of your growth.”
Action Step: Choose a key term from your presentation and brainstorm different meanings or associations. Use these to craft a few clever lines that subtly weave humor into your message.
4. Use the Rule of Three for Maximum Effect
The Rule of Three is a classic in comedy. It’s where you set up a pattern with two expected items and then break it with a surprise third element. For example: “In any good presentation, you need three things: solid content, clear visuals, and at least one good story about that time you accidentally replied-all.”
Action Step: Look at your key points and see where you can apply the Rule of Three. It’s an easy way to add humor without straying too far from your main message.
5. Engage Your Audience with a Touch of Self-Deprecation
Making fun of yourself is a great way to get your audience on your side. It shows you don’t take yourself too seriously, which makes you more relatable and likeable. Just make sure your self-deprecation is light-hearted and doesn’t undermine your credibility. For example, “I’m not saying I’m bad with technology, but even my toaster needs to walk me through its user manual.”
Action Step: Think about one or two areas where you can poke fun at yourself without losing the audience’s trust. Practice these lines to make sure they come off as genuine and not forced.
Incorporating Humor into Your Speech Seamlessly
Adding humor to your presentations doesn’t mean you have to turn into a comedian. It’s about being yourself and letting your personality shine through. Want to learn how to inject more humor into your speeches or presentations? Reach out to me—I’d love to help you find your funny!