Using Humour in Speeches and Presentations

Doesn’t time fly? Another fortnight gone and its Speak Easy Toastmasters meeting night again.

Over the past number of alternate Thursdays we have been looking at various skills in making a speech or presentation.

This week we look at another very important skill, the use of humour.

Humour is a great “ice breaker”. It shows especially, if you are in a position of authority over your audience that you are indeed human and you don’t take yourself or the occasion too seriously. Humour is also a great tool to win over audience, people pay more attention to a speaker who uses humour and of course humour keeps a presentation from becoming boring not to mention that an audience will be more likely to remember your message if you use humour to illustrate it.

But, caution is needed when using or attempting to use humour, as used incorrectly it can backfire. Let’s have a look at a few simple rules for using humour in a presentation.

Firstly, humour has to fit the content and tone of your speech. If humour doesn’t fit your speech then don’t use it.

Don’t tell an unrelated joke at the start of our speech, what is a lot more effective is a humorous story that introduces the theme of the talk.

You must also consider not only the age of your audience but also their cultural background and their mood when choosing humour for your speech as not all audiences respond the same type of humour. I.e. references local characters or restaurants would not be understood outside your area.

Needless to mention, off colour humour is not appropriate around children and audiences who would be offended by it. Be careful here.

The best way to use humour is to illustrate a point and the best humour comes from your own experience. Talk about a humorous situation you had and what you learned from it. Your audience will be drawn to your story because it is personal and real. They can also relate to similar experiences they had. Using your own experiences will make you speeches fresher than if you culled jokes out of joke books.

Humour is an integral part of Toastmasters. It is a skill that all Toastmasters aspire to use confidently in all our presentations. It is what makes a Toastmaster stand out from the crowd when delivering a speech or presentation.

Two speech contests in Toastmasters are devoted to it, The Humorous Speech Contest and The Tall Tales Contest and also a number of training manuals.

So tonight, November 1^st, why not come along to our Toastmasters meeting in the Hibernian Hotel and see for your self how easy it is to gain the confidence to stand before an audience and deliver a truly memorable speech.

Best of all though, you will have fun learning and by joining Toastmasters International you will be a member of an international organization with over two hundred thousand members in ten thousand clubs in over ninety countries.

So come along tonight, Thursday, November 1^st to the Hibernian Hotel in Mallow at 7.50pm where the members of Speak Easy Toastmasters will be delighted to meet you and show you what we do. Don’t worry, guests at a Toastmasters meeting are never asked to speak so you can just sit back and enjoy the evening.

We will be in the capable hand of Toastmaster, Marie Fitzpatirck and handing out the topics to the members will be Liam Flynn and speakers on the program are Dennis Taylor, Joe Hassett, Anne Buckley, Pat Sexton and Vivien Buckley.

So see you later; you’ll be glad you came.

Further information on Speak Easy Toastmasters can be had on our website www.speakeasytoastmasters.com

Digging for Diamonds

Last Thursday night, Oct 18^th, in the Hibernian Hotel Mallow was the place to be.

Why? Speak Easy Toastmasters held another brilliant meeting, that’s why.

President, Anne Buckley welcomed us all and assured us that we were in for a great evening. How right she was.

Noel O’Connor was Toastmaster for the evening and smoothly led us through the program.

First to speak was Liam O’Flynn with the intriguing title of , “Digging for Diamonds on Sunday Morning”, in which he told us of the history of the Car Boot Sale, and his passion of attending them. Liam told us of the many bargains that were to be had at these car boot sales and even gave us a lesson on the art of haggling.

Next the lectern was Joe Hassett with a speech entitled, “1984 is here” in which he pointed out that with all the technology of today, big brother is indeed watching. Internet and mobile phone records are being kept on everybody, CCTV cameras are everywhere and if you go for a walk in London you will be recorded on 300 cameras before your walk is over. Who guards the guards? Thought provoking indeed.

Following Joe was Loretto Barry with a project from the Interpretive Reading Manual, the oratorical speech, in which she interpreted Abraham Lincoln’s famous speech, “The Gettysburg Address”. Loretto prefaced the speech with a short interesting history of Abraham Lincoln before showing us all the skills of making an oration in this challenging speech project.

And finally, Mary Buckley gave a presentation called, “Take the Terror out of a Talk” in which she gave us some valuable tips on making that speech or presentation. What breathing exercises to do beforehand and how to channel nerves into energy to enhance the talk were among the many valuable items we learnt. Mary was giving us the benefit of her experience being, Past President of Speak Easy Toastmasters and a regular participant in speech contests

Jerry Mulcahy as Topicsmaster kept us on our toes with a selection well thought out topics. This is the section of our meeting in which we practice the skill of thinking on our feet. Members are asked to speak for 2 minutes on a subject of the Topicsmasters choosing.

On Saturday 28^th last in the Radisson Hotel Cork Airport, Toastmasters from all over Cork, Kerry and West Limerick gathered for the Humorous Speech and Table Topics Contests. Two contestants from each of the five toastmaster areas took part and representing Area 17 (North Cork) were Margaret O’Regan and Richard Coughlan who both gave marvellous performances. Well done.

Inter Schools Public Speaking Contest

The second annual Inter Schools Public Speaking Contest hosted by Speak Easy Toastmasters takes place in the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow on Thursday 15^th of November.

Participants from Davis College, St Mary's Secondary School, The Patrician Acadamy and Scoil Mhuire Kanturk will take part in what promises to be a fantastic night if last years standard is anything to go by.

Remember the date, Thursday November 15^th at 8pm and come along to the Hibernian Hotel to see and support these students compete for the Mallow Credit Union Perpetual Trophy (overall school winner) and Hibernian Hotel Perpetual Trophy (individual winner).

Our next meeting takes place in the Hibernian Hotel on Thursday night, November 1^st at 7.50 for an 8pm start. Put the date in your diary and come along, you will be glad you did. We are always delighted to welcome guests and you will not be asked to speak.

Further information can be had on our website, www.speakeasytoastmasters.com