Lightheartedness can go along way

We all remember the droning on of Charlie Brown’s lecturing teacher – wah wah wah wah – what a bore!

Adding levity to your communication style can be a compelling way to engage your audience, break up the monotony, and make your message more memorable.

You may find lightheartedness can go a long way, but how does one put this into play??

Try these three tips to inject a little fun into a presentation or a meeting:

• Visual Humor Consider using cartoons, viral memes, or funny images to break up the steady tone of your voice. They don’t have to bring the biggest laughs, but they will show your sense of humor and show you’re up to date with current trends (see above [or below] for an example!)
• Stories & Jokes Lighten the mood with a funny story or a great quip. Finding ways to weave humor into your words can connect you to your audience. They’ll likely feel more in step with you and also each other. It doesn’t have to be a powerful or long narrative, but the punchline or meat of the story should relate to the topic at hand and, well… the better the joke, the bigger the laugh!
• Pop Quiz, anyone? Get interactive with your listeners by having them complete a quiz or stand up for an exercise that gets them out of their comfort zone. For example, test your listeners’ office personality with this New York Times quiz, where they’ll learn critical fun facts, such as whether they’re the cubicle cat or the couch koala.?

Remember: the name of the game is lightness. Once you start a “levity list” of ways to engage your listeners with fun or humor, I promise it will come more naturally. I’m not suggesting you reenact any of Michael Scott’s tomfoolery, but including a meme from The Office just might be a great idea.