Wednesday, August 17, 2011

ACM: Humorously Speaking

Cover of the "Humorously Speaking" advanced manual
Every speaker benefits from using humor. Learn how to begin a speech with a humorous story to get listeners' attention, end a speech with a humorous story, use humorous stories and anecdotes throughout the body of your speech to emphasize points, incorporate jokes into presentations and prepare and present an entirely humorous speech.


Project #1: Warm Up Your Audience
Executive Summary:
A humorous story at the beginning of your presentation will attract listener's attention and relax them, gently leading them into your speech. An opening humorous story should be relevant to your speech topic, simple, readily identifiable as humor, and appropriate for your audience. Most stories are composed of five parts: the set-up, the pause, the punch line, the punch word, and another pause. Deliver the story confidently and make sure your body language doesn't give away the story.

Objectives:
  • Prepare a speech that opens with a humorous story.
  • Personalize the story.
  • Delivery the story smoothly and effectively.
  • TIME : 5 to 7 minutes
Note to the Evaluator:
The purpose of this project is for the speaker to present a five- to seven- minute speech that begins with a humorous story. The story must be related to the speech topic and appropriate for the audience. The story may be based on an actual personal experience the speaker has had or on a story from another source. The speaker is to personalize the story. In addition to your oral evaluation, please give written responses to the questions below.


Project #2: Leave Them With A Smile
Executive Summary:
Closing your presentation with a humorous story insures the audience remembers you, lets you reaffirm your message, signals the audience that your speech is over, and lets you exit with flair. The story must reemphasize the main point of your speech. Remember humor must be unexpected . A successful humorous story leads listeners in one direction, then at the last minute fools them by suddenly changing direction.

Objectives:
  • Prepare a serious speech that opens and closes with humorous stories.
  • Prepare a closing story that reemphasizes the speech’s main point.
  • Deliver the stories smoothly and effectively.
  • TIME : 5 to7 minutes
Note to the Evaluator:
The purpose of this project is for the speaker to present a five to seven minute speech that begins with a humorous story and ends with a humorous story. The opening story should tie into the subject and the closing story should reemphasize the main point of the speech. The stories may be based on actual personal experiences the speaker has had or on stories from other sources. The speaker is to personalize the stories. In addition to your oral evaluation, please give written responses to the questions below.


Project #3: Make Them Laugh
Executive Summary:
After your audience listens to your speech for a few minutes, their attention may begin to wane. Using humor throughout your presentation will bring their attention back to you. You can use humour to reinforce your point, provide comic relief, provide a break, and to refocus attention. Insert humor in your speech wherever the speech lends itself to it. After telling the story or joke, move smoothly back into your speech by changing the tone of your voice, delivery rate or facial expression to indicate a mood shift.

Objectives:
  • Prepare a speech that opens and closes with humorous stories.
  • Include jokes in the speech body to illustrate points or maintain audience interest.
  • Deliver the jokes and stories smoothly and effectively.
  • TIME : 5 to 7 minutes
Note to the Evaluator:
The purpose of this project is for the speaker to present a five- to seven- minute speech that begins and ends with a humorous story and uses several jokes in the speech body. The humorous opening story should tie into the speech subject, and the humorous closing story should reemphasize the speech‘s main point. The jokes in the speech body should illustrate or emphasize points and/or break up any tedious or complex parts of the speech. In addition to your oral evaluation, please give written responses to the questions below.


Project #4: Keep Them Laughing
Executive Summary:
An opening joke can break the ice and help you develop a rapport with the audience. The safest joke to tell is one about yourself. Audience love to hear a speaker put himself done. Telling a series of jokes of the same subject in the body of your speech is also a good way to illustrate points or to break up complex or tedious portions of your presentation. Make sure transitions between jokes are smooth, as are your lines leading from your speech into the jokes, and from the jokes back into your speech.

Objectives:
  • Prepare a speech that opens with a self-deprecating joke.
  • String together two or three related jokes in the speech body.
  • Close the speech with a humorous story.
  • TIME : 5 to 7 minutes
Note to the Evaluator:
The purpose of this project is for the speaker to present a five-to-seven minute speech that begins with a self-deprecating joke, includes at least two sets of jokes in the speech body, with each set composed of several jokes, and ends with a humorous story. The jokes in the speech body should illustrate or emphasize points or break up any tedious or complex parts of the speech. The closing story should re-emphasize the speech’s main point. In addition to your oral evaluation, please give written responses to the questions below.


Project #5: The Humorous Speech
Executive Summary:
The purpose of a humorous speech is to entertain. Humorous speeches have a theme, make a point, tell a story and use exaggeration to create the humor, Once you've selected your topic, break it down into several subtopics, then develop stories and jokes about each subtopic. Tie everything together with your narrative. Pay careful attention to delivery, as it can make or break a humorous speech.

Objectives:
  • Use exaggeration to tell a humorous story.
  • Entertain the audience.
  • Effectively use body language and voice to enhance the story.
  • TIME : 5 to 7 minutes
Note to the Evaluator:
The purpose of this project is for the speaker to present a five-to-seven minute humorous speech. The speech’s primary purpose is to entertain, while a secondary purpose is to make a point. The speech should be based on one theme or subject, with all humorous stories and/or jokes related to that subject. The humour should come from exaggeration. The speaker is to use body language and voice to enhance the speech. In addition to your oral evaluation, please give written responses to the questions below.

For more information:
Item 226O

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