Want to Add Humor to Your Speeches?

Here’s an email I received asking for advice on how to be conversational, entertaining, and funny:

I live in Bend, OR.  After winning a few contests in the Toastmasters meetings, I now want to become a professional public speaker.  However, I know that speaking is one thing, earning $10 – $20,000 as a keynote speaker is quite another.  It takes good, entertaining stories to hold an audience’s attention, and laughter is the key, so I am told by my current mentor. 

I would like to find someone who can write comedy for my keynote speeches. It is an art, to be sure.  I have received some good tips from you.  I would be so happy and grateful to find a writer who can make my speeches conversational, entertaining, and funny.  

I need 5 minute vignettes about my life experiences.  For example: P Bunny, NY fashion designer, wild days growing up in the 60s and 70s, etc. 

Appreciate the help and  guidance.

Thanks,

Suzanna A. 

Add Humor to Your Speeches

Hi Suzanna, 

I agree with your mentor that laughter is important!  And I also agree that it’s a skill in itself that requires significant mastery.    

I have never hired someone to help me add humor to my speeches. For most of them, I have organically added humor over time (recording and repeating lines the audience found funny).  

I have read quite a bit about adding humor and have even written on the podcast about how to incorporate humor. I think every speaker should understand the basics of humor, even if you ultimately decide to have someone else write the punch lines.  So here are three episodes of The Public Speaker that can help you learn more about humor and avoid common mistakes.  

• How to Add Humor to Your Talks
• How to Make People Laugh in Presentations
• How to Avoid Making Humor Mistakes in Speeches

However, reading about humor is a bit like reading about swimming. Eventually, you need to jump into the pool and get wet. I started out with a class in improvisation which I really enjoyed—although it was definitely out of my comfort zone. I’ve written about it here:  

How Improv Can Help You Improve

Then I “graduated” to a class on stand-up comedy. I don’t intend to be a stand-up comic, but learning those skills is part of the craft of a good professional speaker. So I signed up for a class at a Philadelphia comedy club near to my home.  

About that same time, I was writing my book Smart Talk. I felt that I needed help to punch it up a bit, so I hired a writer who had a sense of humor which was similar to mine. I gave her sections of the book to read, and she added in humor lines in five or six areas. She was not a professional speech writer or even a professional humor writer—just a writer I had worked with in the past who was naturally funny. 

Hire Someone to Add Humor to Your Speeches

I’m still continuing to develop my craft. In addition, I’m developing a new keynote, and like you, I’m planning to hire someone to help me with laugh lines. Unfortunately, it’s very hard for me to recommend particular people, because it’s important that your style of comedy aligns with theirs. Comedy writers tend to stick to one or two styles of humor, so it’s important to be sure whoever you pick resonates with your style. But since you specifically asked, here are three you might consider:

Nathan Phillips and Victoria Wellman

Jan McInnis

Judy Carter

However, at the end of your email, you said that you’re looking for five-minute vignettes about your life experiences, and you want them to be conversational, entertaining, and funny. To me, you’re also asking about storytelling. 

Humor and Storytelling

When it comes to developing your stories as an entertaining professional speaker, I recommend Kevin Allison (The Head Instructor at The Story Studio), Doug Stevenson (Creator of The Story Theater Method), and Lou Heckler (Keynote Speaker and Coach).  

By the way, Stever Robbins (Get-It-Done Guy), Mignon Fogarty (Grammar Girl), and I have all written on storytelling many times: 

• How to Tell Better Stories
• The Rules of Story
• How to Be Memorable: Crafting a Story
• How Understanding Toy Story Can Help You Get Into College (don’t let the title fool you)
• Everyday Storytelling
• Storytelling Lessons from the Superbowl
• How to Be Memorable: Storytelling Tricks 
• The Traditional Art of Storytelling
• How to Learn More about Storytelling

I’ve also written about how to be conversational:

How to Sound Conversational

Finally, as you already know, Toastmasters is a good place to get started with a mentor.  In addition, I would recommend you reach out to your local chapter of the National Speaker’s Association and see if you can find another person to mentor you. 

I hope this helps, and let me know what you decide to do. 

This is Lisa B. Marshall changing organizations, changing lives, and changing the world through better communication. If you’d like to learn more about leadership, influence, and communication, I invite you to read my bestselling books, Smart Talk and Ace Your Interview and listen to my other podcast, Smart Talk. As always, your success is my business.