Hold that joke!
June 17th 2008 12:44
Conventional wisdom is that great presentations should start with a joke. In fact, that can be the toughest start for you -- and your audience.
A Harvard Business Review Article, "Five Winning Ways to Begin a Presentation", cautions against starting with humour. The article is ten years old now, but that point has stayed with me.
Three main reasons not to start with a joke:
1. Even the highest paid comedians will have a significant percentage of their jokes fall flat on a given gig. So why would we amateurs attempt it in that all important first 30 seconds?
2. Jokes often take a while to process. When you're speaking, a pause in the response from the audience feels ten times as long. So, even if they do laugh, it's often very half-hearted and delayed. Meanwhile, your confidence has plummetted.
3. Most jokes are exclusionary. (Ever played that party game where you try to think of a joke that wouldn't offend anyone). And rule #1 of presenting is to win your audience over from the start, not get them offside.
Start with a story instead
A good alternative is to tell a story. Perhaps a story about how you became interested in this subject. Just last month, I saw a presenter hook his audience at 3.30pm on a long Friday afternoon. What was his topic -- occupational health and safety? Yep, we were all ready to flip open our laptops and surrepticiously check email. But he started with a story. He described how, as a young employee, he'd driven out to a job in the country and been asked to spray with agricultural chemicals. He read the label and found out about the dangers of using that product without a mask. When he asked for protective equipment, he was told to leave. Now he works for a major coroporation in OH&S. He told us -- I care about this topic, because basically it saves lives, and that life could be your's or mine. This is someone who, from a young age, had the courage of his convictions. So, yep, we sat up and listened for the full 30 minute presentation.
Image is from Harvard Business Review article archives.
A Harvard Business Review Article, "Five Winning Ways to Begin a Presentation", cautions against starting with humour. The article is ten years old now, but that point has stayed with me.
The #1 tip I still recall from this article, ten years on
Three main reasons not to start with a joke:
1. Even the highest paid comedians will have a significant percentage of their jokes fall flat on a given gig. So why would we amateurs attempt it in that all important first 30 seconds?
2. Jokes often take a while to process. When you're speaking, a pause in the response from the audience feels ten times as long. So, even if they do laugh, it's often very half-hearted and delayed. Meanwhile, your confidence has plummetted.
3. Most jokes are exclusionary. (Ever played that party game where you try to think of a joke that wouldn't offend anyone). And rule #1 of presenting is to win your audience over from the start, not get them offside.
Start with a story instead
A good alternative is to tell a story. Perhaps a story about how you became interested in this subject. Just last month, I saw a presenter hook his audience at 3.30pm on a long Friday afternoon. What was his topic -- occupational health and safety? Yep, we were all ready to flip open our laptops and surrepticiously check email. But he started with a story. He described how, as a young employee, he'd driven out to a job in the country and been asked to spray with agricultural chemicals. He read the label and found out about the dangers of using that product without a mask. When he asked for protective equipment, he was told to leave. Now he works for a major coroporation in OH&S. He told us -- I care about this topic, because basically it saves lives, and that life could be your's or mine. This is someone who, from a young age, had the courage of his convictions. So, yep, we sat up and listened for the full 30 minute presentation.
Image is from Harvard Business Review article archives.
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