Presentations can inform, persuade and demonstrate. While nothing kills a presentation faster than boredom, incorrect or too much humor can damage it just as well. Knowing put humor in a presentation can save a slideshow, win over an audience and gain points within your business.
Instructions
1. Keep your topic in mind. Humor is good in a speech, but if its in contradiction to the topic or completely irrelevant, it's useless. If you have a serious topic, humor is not a good idea unless it's very light, very short and at the beginning. If your topic is instructional or informative, be careful not to use too much humor and lose the point.
2. Keep your setting in mind. Let your jokes or funny stories be respective of your setting. If it's a speech at work, you wouldn't want to use inappropriate humor or insults about your boss or coworkers. Use humor that fits your surroundings regardless of where you are.
3. Know your audience. If you can find out, know your audience and who they are. Mill workers may be open to mill humor, accountants will like money humor and so on. Children will like cartoon references and jokes, and adults will be open to satire of current news. The more you know them, the funnier you can be.
4. Avoid off-color humor. Many presenters make the mistake of believing humor is only funny if it's racist, sexist or dirty. Even if you believe your audience will be fine with the jokes, don't risk it. There could always be one person there that will be offended and that is all you'll need to lose your speech.
5. Be funny but be short. A very funny joke can be killed by being too long. Make your jokes and anecdotes short and to the point. Too long of a joke can lose your audience and your presentation's purpose.
