Another thing that audiences always enjoy is the chance to laugh. It achieves several things for both speaker and audience when humour is successfully injected into a speech or presentation. Amongst these are that it relaxes the speaker (or at least reassures them); similarly the audience is unified and reassured about the speaker’s general composure and their outlook; and the chances of the speaker making a good and memorable impression are also improved. In general too, it is acknowledged as ‘good social practice’; laughter, thank heavens, helps us out in very many situations.

But speakers need to be wary. Humour in the context of a speech needs to be defined in terms of wit rather than jokes. How often does the staged, opening ‘Three men walk into a bar ..’ story fail badly, leaving everyone with a sense of nervousness and disappointment? Not a good place to start or recover from.

The problem is not that it isn’t a particularly good joke, per se, but that it is so often not relevant. The joke is designed to stand alone and anything that contributes to a speech has to earn its keep (just as with the AV aids) by being relevant, topical or illustrative.

One way to think about how to generate laughter, by injecting wit, is to be alive to something very much ‘of the moment’ (the venue, the introduction, something in the headlines ..) and to make a brief but humourous reference to it. It goes without saying that it needs to be, in all aspects, wholesome and tasteful; do not risk offence, so easily given, by misjudging an audience.

Also by remembering to think of yourself as a ‘good host’ there is plenty of opportunity for some light-hearted exchanges with the audience to settle any opening apprehension. Simply by making them the focus of one or two opening exchanges will do huge amounts to persuade them about your good nature, intentions and demonstrable ease.

To see an example, though there are hundreds of good ones just on this one site, enjoy the company of Sir Ken Robinson for a few minutes, discussing whether ‘Schools Kill Creativity’. Go on, it’s very good stuff and at least he’ll make you smile.