using humor in speeches.mp4 Hello, I’m Lu, thanks for visiting Toastmaster’s International to learn more about using humor in your speeches. Since 1924, we’ve helped more than 4 million people gain 1. ______ to communicate in 2. ______ circumstances. And one of the most demanding situations that you’ll ever face is sharing a comical moment with an audience. Here are three time-tested tips to help you prepare so that you’ll feel em powered to 3. ______ others. As you know, there are all kinds of speeches, maybe, you have to give a wedding toast or 4. ______ a team or executives at your company, or maybe, just maybe, you have to present a eulogy. Believe it or not, humor can play an important role in every speech you give. A good joke or 5. ______ story can wake up a 6. ______ topic. It can help you share an observation that 7. ______ some common bond with your audience. It can also help the audience members to bond with each other over a shared laugh. But it is not always easy to learn how to bring humor 8. ______ into a speech. The first tip will help you decide what to do about that. Be audience friendly If you think there might be some in the audience who could be offended by obscene, racist, sexist, religious, political or other 9. ______ topics, there probably is. In most situations, it’s better to avoid material that might alienate rather than c onnect your audience. Of course, if you are performing at a stand of a comedy club, you can 10. ______ that a little bit. But if you’re speaking almost any place else, you’re better off taking the high road. This is e specially true if you’re speaking in a foreign culture. To stay on target, find a joke or a story that supports your speech topic. So i f you’re talking, say, about taxes to a group of auditors, your witch should probably settle on money, taxes, or those things that affect people. You might have heard about the 11. ______ joke the night before your speech, b ut if it doesn’t fit the topic of taxes, leave it out. Another way to avoid 12. ______ people when using humor’s to be self-deprecating. An audience might be offended if you pour fun in their problems even in the generalist way. But that same audience will laugh if it is about you. That’s just human nature. Now if you’re giving a eulogy, remember it’s OK to share a 13. ______ story about a funny moment in a person’s life, especially if that person laughed about it while alive. Appropriate humor can help paint a true picture of who that person was. Pacing, rhythm and practice The most common way people ruin a joke or a funny story is to take too long. You should set up your punchline in as few words as possible. Never stop to explain or 14. ______ anything. The speed at which you tell your story is called pacing. Listen to a 15. ______ comedian, and you’ll notice that they speed up in some places and slow down or even stop in others. They pace their words carefully to give each part of a joke its greatest impact. And don’t try to copy their mannerisms but you can learn a lot from their pacing and practise your own pacing in front of a friend. And your punchline, your funny moment should always come at the end. If you waste words after you set your joke, those words will hide the funny part. Ending on the punchline will also allow you to place more emphasis on it. Of course, you need to be 16. _______ with your words leading up to the punchline. Try not to announce an upcoming joke with phases like “This is funny”, let your listeners decide what will make them laugh. The trick is to learn what they find humorous and then just tap into that. Remember every story and joke has a rhythm. Just like music, if you break the rhythm because you forgot part, it stops the music, and the joke. Even if you use notes to give the rest of your speech, 17. ______ to know your story or joke well enough that you can launch right into it and take it all the way through without having to check your notes. Just be sure to mark where you pick up your speech again after the audience is done laughing. And while you’re working so hard to learn that joke, why not give it a test it 18. ______ ? Humor i s one of the trickiest parts of public speaking. E ven when you are talking to people in your own culture, sometimes the joke just falls flat. It might just need a little tinkering here and there to get the words right or might require some work on your body language and facial expressions. Whatever the issue, wouldn’t you rather know about it before you step in front of that large audience? Take it for a test drive This is a good time to take advantage of friends, neighbors and acquaintances who would be willing to 19. ______ as a test audience for a few minutes and then provide some feedback. Of course, if they don’t laugh, you could get a pretty good idea what’s not working. They might also be able to explain why. One great thing about being in a Toast Baster’s club is that the members share helpful feedback whenever you ask. But no matter how you test or polish your jokes, 20. _______ you will feel more confident and ready to walk out on that stage. Try these three tips and you’ll find it easier to liven up your speech as a laughter. Just remember a little planning and practice will go a long way in helping you prepare for the podium. And with the help of the humor stories, you’ll reach any audience with the gift of laughter.