Public Speaking Book - Wake 'Em Up!

Home

Free Articles

Free Great Speaking
Ezine

Great Speaking Blog

How to Make a Point with Humor

An old public speaker once said that you should 'Tell em what you're gonna tell 'em. Tell 'em. Then tell 'em what you told 'em.' This is a formula that can be added to your speech when you want to make an important point. You tell 'em the point, illustrate the point, then tell 'em the point again. Be aware though that giving out information this way can often be boring and redundant if you don't spice it up a little with some humor. One way to do that is to use humor. Here's what I teach in my public speaking book.

1. Make your point.
2. Illustrate your point (in our example below we're using a funny
   two-liner, but you could use funny props, funny stories,
   serious stories, case studies, visuals, poetry etc.)
3. Restate your point.

For example, here is the point  'The Importance of Communication.'

1. First make your point. 
   You could say,  "Accuracy and clear communication is
   an important aspect of our everyday lives."
2. Then illustrate this point. 
   In this example I will use a humorous two-liner.
   "It's like the student pilot who was asked over the radio to state his
   altitude and location. He said, 'I'm five feet nine and I'm in the left
   seat.'"
3. Then restate your point.
   Say in a slightly different manner, "You can see how what we may think is clear communication could be interpreted incorrectly especially when people are under pressure."

When you use humor in a professional public setting . . . especially when you are speaking to a business audience, or any audience who is not specifically there for humor, make the humor reinforce your point and you will get a much better response. Knowing what to say and when to say it is a critical lesson taught in my public speaking book.

Be a paid public speaker

Internet marketing secrets for speakers.

ORDER BOOK

Copyright © 2005 Antion & Associates