Whether you are on the phone or behind the microphone, be sure to smile.
Public speaking is a source of great anxiety, or even fear, for many people. However, chances are that most people will someday find themselves in a situation where a public speech is necessary. It might be for work, or on a special occasion like a wedding. If find yourself in a situation where you have to give a speech in public and are anxious about it, you may consider using humor to diffuse the tension. A well-timed joke at the start of a public speech can instantly put both the speaker and audience at ease.
Instructions
1. Consider your audience. Will you be giving the best man speech at a wedding? Will it be a speech at a company banquet? Will the age of your audience members be roughly the same or will there be a wide variety of ages?
2. Choose your joke accordingly. The Internet is a giant treasure trove for jokes, and joke books can be purchased from most large booksellers. There are large websites with jokes for all occasions, from bar mitzvahs to office parties to weddings. Find a few funny jokes relevant to the venue and audience of the speech you're planning to give. Customize the joke for your occasion. If you're speaking at a work function, you might consider replacing the stock names in the jokes for names of your coworkers or boss, or using your company as the setting for the joke. Keep the jokes clean. There are very few venues where dirty humor is appropriate, and even if you could probably get away with going off-color, it's not necessary. A well-delivered clean joke will get laughs.
3. Practice the jokes in front of people you trust to give you honest opinion. This is important. You should have picked a handful of jokes that you may use, and you need to know which one is most likely to get the biggest reaction from the audience. The way to do this is by performing it for small audiences (even an audience of one) before giving the speech. Gauge their reactions. Whichever joke most consistently gets laughs is the one you should use. Whenever practice jokes with someone, make sure he knows you want his honest opinion. Tell him to judge the jokes only, and not your delivery or sense of humor.
4. Memorize your joke. You don't have to memorize your whole speech. It's perfectly acceptable to read it. You should, however, memorize the joke. The advantage of this is that it allows you to tell the joke more freely and focus on your storytelling and overall delivery. The punch line will have much less impact if you convey the joke in a monotonous reading voice.
