the watch of time

The use of humour is one of the most effective tools a speaker can use to humanize or change the flavour of a message – within reason…

• Arrange for squishy pads to be spread all over the floor so audience members will feel funny when they enter the room
• Use anecdotes from daily life, cut and shaved to leave the ‘slipping on a banana peel’ parts
• Toss out puzzle pieces of cut up paper money and watch as audience members try to piece them together before realizing they’re counterfeit
• Switch to mime in lieu of four-letter words and let audience imaginations go to work
• If material falls flat, sprinkle those pages with baking powder and put them in a microwave
• Whenever there’s a lull, pick on anyone wearing a sweater in the front row
• Have an associate relax the giant rubber band surrounding the audience to release tension
• Follow the tried and true trilogy of integrity, honesty, and blank stares
• Have a comedy ‘buddy’ off-stage, in case a relief humourist becomes necessary
• Whenever a punch line is coming, put on a boxing glove