Audience Humour is it just a gag?
Audience humour is offbeat asides and jokes that occur unexpectedly during a presentation.
An old stand by often used be Dr. Joel Goodman, is where a telephone rings during his presentation. He answers the phone that was hidden in the lectern and pretends to talk to his mother. The same joke would be called a running gag if the phone rang at several other times during the program.
I believe the two Ronies used a similar technique in their long running series on the BBC.
Graveyard Wakeup
This is great if you have drawn the short straw and have to present imediatly after lunch, the graveyard slot. It’s another tried and tested piece of humour, which is lots of fun and takes almost no time to set up.
Before the presentation, pick out about 10 willing audience members to help you. All you do is give them simple that they share with no one else. This instruction leads them to a course of action that is carried out on a certain cue during the presentation. To start the gag, have an assistant interrupt the seminar to give you an important note.
The note read (for effect it helps if you use a serious expression):
"It appears that someone is in attendance today with another man's wife. There is a large and irate man on his way here right now. If you want to get out quickly, there is a backstage door you can use to disappear through."
At this point, 10 men jumped up out of their seats and ran crazily out the door. Once they realized what was happening, several women jumped up and ran out too. It was great fun and wakes up everyone who had just lunch and were feeling a little snoozy.
Your turn now to tell me is humour in presentations just a gag?
Or you could share with others your experiences of humour in presentations - Good or Bad - but please keep it appropriate!
Paul Johnstone is a Speaker, Trainer and Paradigm Shaker. Founder of The Paradigm Shakers and a Subject Matter Expert.
Paradigm SHakers - Providers of Thought Provoking Training
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©Paul Johnstone
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