Humour is only old if your audience has heard it before and if they remember it.
Most people don't remember the exact details of jokes, one-liners, and stories. This is not contradictory to the fact that one of the uses of humour is to make your points more memorable. How often have you thought when hearing a story, I know this but what is the punch line?
One of the reasons people don't remember jokes and other bits and pieces of humour, it is often heard out of context. The humour was not used in conjunction with a point being presented. This is the way you should use it in any presentation. When humour is used just for entertainment value, it is often enjoyed and quickly forgotten.
When you use humour, old or new, you will be tying it to your point which makes it acceptable to your audience. Also, even if some audience members recognize the humour, they probably don't remember the punch line. If you tell it well, even these people will enjoy hearing it again and you have a much higher chance of making them smile, even laugh out loud.
A great technique to tell a very old joke or story is to tell the audience it is old. This is the time when you should tell the audience you have a joke or story coming. Old jokes and routines work time and time again, if you tell them well. If you don't tell them that you know it is old, they may think you are out of touch. If you tell them you are going to tell an old story, you are telling them you know it's old, but it makes the point so well that you think it is worth telling again.
Most people don't remember the exact details of jokes, one-liners, and stories. This is not contradictory to the fact that one of the uses of humour is to make your points more memorable. How often have you thought when hearing a story, I know this but what is the punch line?
One of the reasons people don't remember jokes and other bits and pieces of humour, it is often heard out of context. The humour was not used in conjunction with a point being presented. This is the way you should use it in any presentation. When humour is used just for entertainment value, it is often enjoyed and quickly forgotten.
When you use humour, old or new, you will be tying it to your point which makes it acceptable to your audience. Also, even if some audience members recognize the humour, they probably don't remember the punch line. If you tell it well, even these people will enjoy hearing it again and you have a much higher chance of making them smile, even laugh out loud.
A great technique to tell a very old joke or story is to tell the audience it is old. This is the time when you should tell the audience you have a joke or story coming. Old jokes and routines work time and time again, if you tell them well. If you don't tell them that you know it is old, they may think you are out of touch. If you tell them you are going to tell an old story, you are telling them you know it's old, but it makes the point so well that you think it is worth telling again.
When you use humour in your 60 seconds set it up correctly and you will have a winner every time. Even with old stuff. Here is one of my all time old stories. “An Englishman, Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a bar. The barman says Is this some kind of a joke?” They do get better…..
If you’d like to improve your public speaking and presentation skills – get in touch! Feel free to comment if this tip has helped you, share your own ideas or ask a public speaking question Paul will try to help!
About the Author
Paul M Johnstone is a Professional networker, he build two businesses by using the power of the network and with almost no other marketing. He has worked for 3 of the largest networking organisations in the UK and is a network mentor. He can be reached at +44 (0)7711 324362or through his website at http://www.paradigmshakers.co.uk/Please comment on this or any of my earlier Blogs. All feedback is great feedback
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