Gerry Thompson: Humour defuses anxiety and engages audiences
1: Look at things differently Humour and comedy are all about bringing an unexpected perspective to subject matter when everyone else is looking at conventionally.
2: Punchlines
Employ the classic set-up- and-punchline structure used by stand-up comedians. Use pauses to enhance the effect – comic timing.
3: Other tricks of the trade
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Hide AdAlso employ other devices used by comedians, such as story and anecdote, exaggeration, or giving an unusual twist to common clichés.
4: The rule of three
Remember that lists of three items are funnier than two or four.
5: I’m not funny
Don’t buy into the idea of “I’m just not funny”. Everyone can be funny – it’s just that some people haven’t yet learned how to use that latent ability.
6: Deprecation
Make yourself the butt of your humour rather than someone else.
7: Repertoire
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Hide AdAs stand-up comedians do, build up a repertoire of anecdotes and humorous segments relating to your subject area, which you can repeatedly use, and steadily refine your delivery.
8: Ad-libbing
You may also wish to develop your capability in spontaneous humour, in addition to using pre-planned and practiced content.
9: Managing risk
Practice your humour in low key settings where not too much is riding on how well your material goes down, and whether anyone laughs – like down the pub with mates.
10: Appropriateness
Be very mindful of appropriateness of your material for a particular audience and context. Keep a part of your mind on monitoring alert, to prevent you saying something inadvisable.
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Hide AdExamples of humour being used in an effective way to make serious points: http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity and http://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_perspective_is_everything
For more about presentation and public speaking skills see positivecomedy.com
More about Brighton Chamber events see businessinbrighton.org.uk brightonchamber.org.uk/events