Find Your Funny: Eight Tips for Adding Humor to Presentations

Some trainers, teachers and other communicatorsone has to think rapidly and also
wish they could add humor tohave a remarkable memory -- a memory car file
their presentations, but they think, "I'm like thethrough which the comic's brain
Muppets Fozzy Bear: I'm not funny."The truthcan riffle at lightning speed. But again, as impressive
everyone is funny; including Fozzy; including you. Moreas this feat is, it is more a
importantly, YOUmatter of craftsmanship and professionalism than
are funny, not in the same way that other peopleart."You can reach a degree of this professionalism
are, but in your own uniqueby learning the craft. When you
fashion. After all, one of the keys to relationshipsnotice that learners have laughed at a comment you
(romantic, plutonic ormade, make a mental note of
professional) is the ability to laugh together. Youwhat happened and try to replicate it with another
already do that in your daily life.audience. If your get the same
All you need to do now is to take those pre-existinglaugh in front of three audiences, keep it; play with
skills and develop them in ait; expand it. If it stops working,
focused way. Here's how legendary funny manrevert to the original line and lock it in. Then begin
Steve Allen explained it."The popular conception of asearching for another line.
humorist or comedian is of someone who writes,Continue in this manner over a period of time and
doesyou will develop your own
or says funny things. But a funny person is alsocomedic library of "ad-libs" to draw upon as the
someone to whom funny thingssituation warrants.Tip 8. Have fun.
happen. The comedian's experiences are probably noThis is perhaps the biggest secret of being funny.
more amusing than others;The audience will not laugh if you
he or she simply has a certain sensitivity to theare not having fun. Your demeanor sets the
environment and circumstances andexpectation. If you exude enjoyment of
so perceives humor that a more serious personthe world around you, and of the events and
might miss."Below I offer eight tips that can help youlearnings that occurs within your
perceive, absorb and harness the humorclassroom, your trainees will join you. They will also
around you.Tip 1. Surround yourself with humor.join you if you choose to regard
Start your day by looking at a humorous dailywhat you are doing as drudgery. The banana is in
calendar, listen to humor on your wayyour hands. Having fun and you
to work, display silly signs at your work location andwill be instantly likeable, and thus more likely to gain
prop up your office. Items likelaughs.Joke Killers to watch out for
daily quote calendars; silly hats and wind up toysThere are some additional factors that will prevent
have a positive effect on youryou from being funny. As you
emotions and those of the people you come input on your new humor hat, make sure you do the
contact with. Some of the items Ifollowing.Caution 1. Make your humor self-deprecating
have collected and currently display in my officeThe best humor is self-directed. I find it preferable
include a plastic shovel attached toto point out my faults before
a neck lanyard (for boring meetings), a skeleton andothers do. In that way, I admit my fallibility while
a crown (my emergency Hamletindicating that I can take a joke. It
kit for pontificating), various hats (Mounty for findingsets a benchmark for the training environment. In
someone, Viking for going onaddition, humor that is self-
adventures and Outback for taking walk-abouts) anddeprecating is less likely to offend others.Caution 2.
a Far Side daily cartoonBe yourself.
calendar. I do it because they help me think funny.Humor will not work if it is forced. When people
Surrounding yourself with theselaugh with you during your
kinds of items will place you in a humorous moodeveryday life, it is not because you have taken on a
and create an aura of funny aboutpersona, it is because they enjoy
you that makes it easier for other people to acceptwho you are and the humor that naturally emanates
you as humorous.Tip 2. Look for the absurdity in dailyfrom your humanity. Be who
life.you are. Allow that naturalness to create your
Fortunately for funny people, the business andhumor for you. I can offer an
academic worlds abound withexample by picking on myself. It has been said that
endless absurdity. There are the inane policies,I look stiff and formal. I cannot
bureaucracies and inarticulatehelp it: it just is. That continence could have
memos to enjoy. There's also the unintentionalprevented me from being funny.
statements of life: you have to hitInstead, I have learned to use it. Because of my
"delete" to start Windows; you land at a "terminal"look, I dress and act slightly
when flying; and you park onpompous. That pomposity allows me to say and do
"driveways" and drive on "parkways." It'sfairly absurd things. The
everywhere, if you look for it. If you cannotdisconnect between how I look and the craziness of
find it yourself, read Dilbert. If you can laugh at thewhat I say or do creates surprise
daily absurdities, you will beand allows natural humor emerges.Caution 3. Avoid
less stressed when the bizarre happens and more inoffensive material.
touch with the grand adventurePolitical, religious or ethnic jokes are all not worth the
that life is.Tip 3. Listen to comedians.telling. Even if some
The late night comedians provide a daily lesson inmembers of your audience respond with laughter,
being funny. Pay attention toother members will become so
them, not as an audience member, but as aoffended that they will shut down (or shut your
technician. Focus on the structure of thetraining down) and make learning
jokes they tell. In this way, you can analyze thedifficult if not impossible. In addition, blue material
joke formulas without beingshould be avoided at all costs.
distracted by the delivery. Once you know the basicRisqué lines often obtain their laughs from the
structures they use, focus onunease and discomfort of the
their delivery techniques. Soon you will begin toaudience. In a nightclub setting, that may be
notice the cadences they use, theappropriate. But in a learning
pauses they take and the little ticks and quirks theyenvironment, where comfort is directly tied to
have that bring their humor topositive results, creating discomfort
life.Tip 4. Read books about being funny.for a cheap laugh is worse than insulting, it's
Many comedians are more than willing to share theirstupid.Caution 4. Never say you are going to tell a
secrets. By simply searchingjoke.
through a book store web site, you can discoverThe best way to insure that your joke won't work
that being comedic is a simpleis to telegraph it in advance.
combination of state of mind and solid technique.TipRemember, in previous months we discovered that
5. Join "Joke-of-the-Day" lists.much of the laughter results
Joke-of-the-day lists are a part of my strategy forfrom learner surprise that you have told a joke. The
finding funny stuff. Although Ivery act of announcing your
switch lists from time to time, I'm currently on two.intentions in advance almost guarantees a failure of
I am not suggesting that youthe joke.So, you are funny. You just didn't know it.
"lift" the jokes you read there. That would be, well,Take the actions steps listed above and
stealing. I am howeveryou too can find your funny.Visit Lenn on line at
suggesting that you can use those jokes to learnLenn Millbower, BM, MA, the Learnertainment(R)
how jokes are constructed and toTrainer is an expert in applying
place yourself in a humorous frame of mind. Onceshow biz techniques to learning. He is the author of
you become adept at spotting thethe ASTD Info-Line, Music as a
joke telling formulas, you can use the jokes youTraining Tool, focused on the practical application of
read at these sites to write yourmusic to learning; Show Biz
own jokes.Tip 6. Build a collection of all-purposeTraining, the definitive book on the application of
funnies.entertainment industry
Start a funny file and whenever you read, hear ortechniques to training; Cartoons for Trainers, a
see something you consider funny,popular collection of 75 cartoons for
print it out or write it down and file it. Soon, you willlearning; Game Show Themes for Trainers, a
have built a collection of jokesbest-selling CD of original learning
and cartoons you can refer to whenever you needgame music; and Training with a Beat: The Teaching
to create a line. The material youPower of Music, the foremost
have collected will help you brainstorm creating yourbook on the application of music to learning. Lenn is
own.Tip 7. Develop some standard lines you can usean in-demand speaker, with
over and over.successful presentations at ASTD 1999-2005 and
Steve Allen once commented as follows."ComicsSHRM 2006; a creative and
with this ability (to ad-lib) are extremely rare. Theredynamic instructional designer and facilitator formally
may be fewer than fiftywith the Disney University
professional comedians on the planet that are skilledand Disney Institute; an accomplished
at doing it. (Most) comediansarranger-composer skilled in the
are indeed working without a script, but there is thepsychological application of music to learning; a
crucial distinction that whatpopular comedian, magician and
they are doing is recalling jokes that already exist,musician; and the president of Offbeat Training(R),
which they apply to the situationinfusing entertainment-based
of the moment. This is no small feat either, sincetechniques into learning to keep 'em awake!