Public speaking and humor

I was in a conference conducted by another speaker whom I prefer not to name.

This speaker was animated and the talk was informative. It was more of a testimonial than an instructive conference, but the listeners were amused and entertained nonetheless.

There was only one problem. The speaker cussed and cursed a lot during the presentation. The younger participants in the conference laughed and found it cute and cool. The more mature ones among the audience frowned and shuddered every time cuss words were used.

I deal with experiences like these all the time. I learn from them and I also learn the things that I should not do.

Some speakers engage the audience well because they are articulate, have good content and use humor as a tool to maintain the attention. Others love to use humor just for the sake of eliciting laughter from the audience although the jokes do not have anything to do with the lesson presented.

Others pick on people from the audience; make fun of them to elicit laughter. Other speakers make fun of themselves and this form of self-deprecating humor makes the audience trust the speakers more.

I will never forget the day when the organizer of an international conference talked to me straight and said, “Now I know, Francis, why you do not want to share the same stage with this speaker on the same day. I never understood your motive until I heard him speak. He had no content, he even made crass jokes, he insulted his audience and he thought he was being cool, one third of the audience stood up and left in the middle of his talk and that speaker is a disgrace to your country. He has no right to be called a speaker.”

These are the realities of my craft. And this is why I constantly say that I am extremely grateful to God for His grace and mercy upon me. Not every speaker is worthy of an audience and I am blessed to be invited to speak and many times, by the same organizations and business companies repeatedly.

I am in business and I know this principle. It is not true that there is no business unless there is a sale. You can have a sale but if the client doesn’t give you subsequent businesses, then you’re done. There is no business unless there are repeated sales.

Peter Drucker, the dean of modern day management, says, “The purpose of business is to create a customer and to retain that customer.”

Humor is a powerful thing. It is a tool that would supplement and strengthen the point of a lesson being taught. Using humor just to be funny in a speech is not a way to be effective. A speaker can entertain but if the speaker does not educate, then the speaker is just wasting time. Delivery is important but at the end of the day, the content is what helps people.

Insulting the audience is both a sin and a crime. A speaker should respect the audience no matter what. Public speaking is a sacred responsibility. And we need to be constantly reminded that the moment the words depart from our mouth, they are no longer ours and we have to be accountable.

Green jokes and toilet humor cheapen the speaker and show disrespect for the audience. Perhaps, the younger participants are not yet seasoned to understand this as they may find it funny but the experienced, matured and the wise ones know this to be so.

As a speaker, you are convincing as long as you really care about your topic. But you will make a difference if you truly care about the audience.

(Spend two inspiring days with Francis Kong learning leadership and life skills as he presents Level Up Leadership on July 22-23 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries contact Inspire at 09158055910 or call 632-6310912 for details.)