The Richest Man in the World Speaks in Las Vegas

Bill Gates spoke in Las Vegas on January 7, 2007. Arriving almost four hours early guaranteed me a seat about 100 yards from the speaking platform. Thank goodness for big-screen projection. The crowd and the lines were something like a Rolling Stones concert. Except there were more geeks. About an hour from the start of the program I doubted they’d be able to get everyone into their seats… but magically they did. And the speech started pretty much on time.

As the start of the keynote presentation for the 40th Anniversary Consumer Electronic Show approached, I wondered how much humor, if any, Bill Gates would use. I expected that he would use humor in some way to open his talk. As I watched him speak it was obvious that, although brilliant, he is not a comedian. In fact his use of humor from the platform was minimal, but he made it obvious to me that he does have a good sense of humor. Remember that a sense of humor is more than just telling jokes. And even in a speech that is far from an award-winning example of humor from the platform, there are some good lessons to be learned.

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Lights, Camera,… HUMOR! The Rule of Three

Fellow students of humor, stand up and make ’em laugh! I say “fellow students” because through teaching others and making techniques and concepts graspable I, too, gain more clarity. I’m still on my own ever-changing path of humor mastery.

Many of you have heard me speak in person. One of the favorite things that I like to teach is the Rule of Three – with a humor twist. Some of you may be aware that in professional presentations a “list of three” is often used to illustrate examples. For instance, in my observations about happiness, I talk about the excuses we all make. We would be happier IF: “If I just had a little more money… If I just had a little more time… If the kids were just a little older.”

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Humor for Selling Products and for Selling Your Message

Twenty to thirty years ago, humor was commonly used to sell low-priced products. We remember Mr. Whipple squeezing the Charmin and Clara Peller asking “Where’s the beef?” Today, when you watch TV, you’re likely to see humor being used to sell automobiles. Over the years, advertisers have gained a greater appreciation of the value of humor for feeling good, building relationships and selling products. And so have speakers come to appreciate the more sophisticated value of humor for selling their message.

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The Call Back

Every year the World Championship contest is an amazing event. Lance, the 2005 World Champion, was wonderful! He connected with the audience and executed his speech perfectly. Lance’s message was simple and crystal clear. And a speech well worth studying!

My favorite line, however, came from one of the other contestants, Rowena Romero. During her interview she talked about how previous winners were all known for something. Rowena said, “David Brooks is known for his blue Jeans—Darren LaCroix is known for his fall on his face, I’ll be know for my stool.” (Rowena stood atop a footstool during her speech.)

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When They Do Not Laugh—What Do You Do?

by John Kinde

The eyes of your audience are fixed on you. You deliver your best new humor line. They stare at you in silence.

It has happened to all of us. It will happen again. What do you do?

The conventional wisdom from experienced professional speakers is valid. Pretend you were serious. Humor, properly delivered, should be a surprise. If you told them a joke was coming (telegraphed your punchline), you probably did it wrong. Delivered properly, since it was a surprise, they didn’t know it was supposed to be funny. So don’t let them know that YOU thought it was funny. The “look of expectation” is what gives you away. It’s that look on your face which begs for a laugh. Begging is not a gesture that connects you with your audience!

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A Humorist Adapts Fripp’s Presentation Principles

An article on public speaking and presentations by John Kinde and Patricia Fripp

As one of my humorist speaker friends John Kinde, well-known for his Humor Power newsletter says, “Great speaking skills give you the illusion of competence. The flip side: Poor speaking skills give you the illusion of incompetence! If your presentation skills are weak, you will probably appear less than competent even if you happen to be a master of the subject matter.”

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Show Me the Funny!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in 30 years of studying humor, it’s this. You CAN learn to be funny. Some people think you need to be born funny, the class clown. I’m a laid-back, serious, Norwegian from North Dakota and I’ve won humorous speech contests at the Toastmasters District level four times and three trophies at the Regional level representing the funniest of 10,000 people. If I can do it, you can do it. And if you don’t look funny or have a reputation for being funny…great! You’ll take advantage of the element of surprise, one of the basic elements that makes humor tick.

In this special report I’ll refer to some activities in Toastmasters Clubs that are relevant to both Toastmasters and non-Toastmasters. If you’re not a member, consider checking our a club in your local area. Visit the Toastmasters’ website: http://www.toastmasters.org

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Creating a More Powerful Speech

If you want to improve a speech, you need to record it so you can analyze it. This means making an audio recording, or better yet a video recording. And also making a manuscript of what you actually delivered to a live audience. Then you’re able to do an in-depth review of your speech content, structure and delivery.

Thanks to technology, recording your talk is getting easier. Good-quality digital recorders are fairly inexpensive. I use an Olympus Digital Recorder. It’s small. It records for many hours.

One button starts and stops it. It easily loads the recorded data into your computer’s hard drive. For best results, also get a lapel microphone.

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Less is More

As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet: “Brevity is the soul of wit.”

Brevity makes strong structure.
The punchline is the payoff. Traditional wisdom is that the shortest distance between the setup and the payoff is best. When a story has a long set up before getting to the joke, it’s said that the punchline is carrying a lot of baggage. Top comedians work hard on writing a tight setup because it’s the most effective way to structure a joke.

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Public Speaking Tips for Webinars

Add Impact When You Present Through Webinars

No matter what you level of public speaking experience, whenever you open your mouth, whether you’re talking to one person or a thousand, you usually want to get a specific message across. Anyone who sets out to present, persuade, and propel with the spoken word faces pitfalls. And, as technology and travel budgets play a more important part in our lives, you have yet another challenge: What do you do when you are communicating through a Webinar? What is different about a Webinar presentation? How do you catch and keep your audience? Here are some tips.

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