Using humour to lighten up a speech

Autumn coincides with the political party conference season in the UK. Like many big conferences these are filled with many speeches and most of these are very forgettable. Rhetorical saturation, platitude overload and themes that are drier than dog biscuits translate as a bleak consumer experience for the audience.

I have written before about how to inject life into presentations – a change of pace, a switch of rhythm, a tactical use of body language. However, for a poor suffering conference audience, bums long sitting on seats, it is often humour which gets the best reaction and is even likely to make a speech stick in the mind.

Always sremember that humour, much like our times, has changed and it will continue to do so, and so what was inoffensive yesterday may cause offence today. Welcome to one of the dilemmas of using humour in public speech today. What’s funny and innocuous to one may be unfunny and offensive to another. So whatever your thoughts on comedy and cancel culture, rule 1 for humour in speech is always run that check…

The second rule of using humour in presentations is an old favourite of mine and very simple: If you don’t do jokes, don’t do jokes. A conference or meeting room speech is not the time to roll out pre-written gags.

While on this topic, appreciate that successful humour relies on good timing. It’s why talented standups are so good at what they do. They have an innate sense of the room. Dropping a joke at an inappropriate moment can be almost as damaging as inappropriate material.

If you plan to use humour in a speech, then also plan for flexibility. Read the room. If the mood doesn’t feel right, then keep a lid on it. Also read the room for inspiration. Some of the most humorous moments can result from spontaneity. JK Rowling once disarmed a critical heckler by welcoming their feedback and quipping “I’ve been waiting for the reviews to come in!”   Humour can also be an effective tool when breaking tension – that could be a tense moment surrounding the speech i.e. to diffuse tension in the room, or personal tension in the form of nerves. On these occasions self-deprecation can be a wonderful device.

I will turn to that famous line Ronald Reagan used when the question of age reared its head during his 1984 Presidential campaign. In his speech he uttered the killer line, “I won’t exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”
In one fell swoop he disarmed his critics, showed his human side and won new fans with his charm. How ironic that, 40 years later, we still remember it and a Presidential candidate was forced to quit over the same issue of age.

Another useful point around using humour in presentations is that if something works once with a crowd, then it is likely to work again (tweaked as necessary of course). Comedians are constantly refining jokes and moulding them based on previous audience reactions.

It’s something we all do subconsciously when recounting a story. For example, something funny happens on the way to work. By the time you have relayed it a few times the telling has changed. Details have been dropped, the delivery is smoother and the timing has been tweaked so the punchline drops in a more engaging way.

If you find a golden streak of humour that works, stick it in the back pocket for use another time. However, do make a note of where you used it. One of the worst crimes against humour is the old bore who trundles out the same jokes, forgetting that the audience has seen them all before.

Finally if you would love to try humour, but really don’t have the confidence in pulling it off, don’t stress. You can always enlist another empathy builder and use a story to connect with your audience instead.