Should you use humor in a speech?

The short answer is no. 

We all think we are humorous, especially when we get positive feedback from colleagues, friends, and relatives. But it's important to know to save your humor for the right audience, for the right situation, at the right time, and delivered by the right person. Unfortunately, the only ones who get all four are stand-up comedians. 

Humor in a speech does not work for the following reasons:

• We are not as funny as we think we are
• Your audience is not there for your humor
• Humor is tricky to pull off, even for professionals

To point out how hard humor is even for professionals is to watch the 2024 White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD). This is the event where comedians go to die. The reason is that the audience attending this event differs from their audience. The audience is mainly made up of politicians, journalists, and celebrities. They only know the president well and expect him to be funny. It is the president's audience.   He is the only one who will get laughs if he is somewhat funny. That is because the audience is rooting for someone who is not a professional comedian and is willing to step out of his comfort zone. 

The bar rises quickly when the comedian follows him, and no comedian can ever meet it. The audience is so brutal that you feel sorry for the comedian. Sometimes, the audience is so quiet that you wonder if they are awake.  

What comedians go through can be explained using the following examples. Can Taylor Swift perform at a Super Bowl? Yes, mainly for the TV audience. Swift's audience is going to be somewhere other than the Super Bowl. Can Travis Kelce, Swift's boyfriend, perform by catching passes from Patrick Mahomes at a Taylor Swift concert? No. The audience attending a Taylor Swift concert is not there to watch a throw-and-catch show by two great football players.

I learned this lesson on using humor the hard way when I gave a seminar for a high-tech company in several cities.

During my rehearsal with my presentation partner, I noticed a lot of acronyms. I joked to my partner that I had not seen so many acronyms since studying the periodic table when I took Introduction to Chemistry in college. He laughed. I never asked him why he laughed, but I received the feedback I needed and decided to use it during the seminar.

So, I tried it at the first seminar. No reaction—none at all. I could not believe it when looking at the audience. I asked myself how they could not understand this witty remark. 
I did not give up. I tried it at the second seminar. Again, no reaction.
I thought my delivery was wrong, so I briefly changed it and tried it at the third seminar. Again, there was no reaction.
I said I had to try one final time.
Still, no reaction.
So, I blamed it on techies for having no sense of humor.
But I failed to realize then that the audience was attending for technical content and not my witty remark.  
I have tried other witty remarks in my speeches, which rarely work.
From my experience, I strongly advise against using humor in your speeches. The risk of your message being overshadowed or misunderstood is not worth it. It's important to keep the focus on your main topic and ensure your audience's attention is not diverted.  

It's crucial to understand that not using humor doesn't mean you can't be yourself.  It's about being attuned to your audience's needs.  You might express yourself using colorful language, but it may not be appropriate in a speech.  The same goes for humor. It's all about understanding your audience and tailoring your speech to their expectations.  

One of the best uses of humor in a speech was demonstrated by John F. Kennedy when he gave an address at Rice University on the nation's space effort on September 12, 1962. He was just being himself and situational regarding what the audience was experiencing. He injects humor when explaining what would happen to a spacecraft when "...re-entering the atmosphere at speeds of over 25,000 miles per hour, causing heat about half that of the temperature of the sun--almost as hot as it is here today...I'm the one who is doing all the work, so we just want you to stay cool for a minute." 

This humor worked because it was appropriate for the right audience, for the right situation, at the right time, and delivered by the right person.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have all the right conditions for humor and you feel it's appropriate, go ahead and be yourself. Remember, authenticity is key. If you can make your audience laugh while staying true to yourself, that's a win-win.

Remember, the goal of your speech is to deliver a message that resonates with your audience. If you focus too much on humor, you risk your message getting lost or diluted. You want your speech to be remembered for its impact, not for failed attempts at humor.

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Time is Money, Communication is Wealth

​I guide people succeed when they must win, such as getting a good job, advancing in career or winning a sales deal.
I wrote a practical, no-nonsense book on winning titled Winning Speech Moments: How to Achieve Your Objective with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere. 

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