6 Tips to Using Humor in Your Speech

As a humorous motivational keynote speaker, I know and you know humor is a powerful tool in public speaking. Humor is a secret weapon to help you connect, build trust and likeability with your audience.

Incorporating humor into your presentations or speeches doesn’t mean you have to be a stand-up comedian. See “You Don’t Have to be Funny to be Funny!” Comedy as an art form is totally different (and more difficult) than adding humor to your presentation.

My objective when presenting as a funny inspirational speaker is to leave my audience with a smile on the face, a spring in the step and memorable actionable takeaways to “Keep On, Keepin’ ON” and satisfying the goal of my client—be it oncology or ophthalmology, manufacturing or marketing. It’s about finding the right balance and using humor effectively to enhance your message.

Here are six tips to using humor and building connection, trust, and likeability.

1. Know Your Audience

Tailor your humor to your audience. Understand their demographics, interests, and cultural background. My brother-in-law once told me to “Google on the Bing” (which always gets a laugh), and I actually do it—to find interesting or unusual insights about my audience. These nuggets often become great foundations for humor.

2. Use Personal Stories

Share anecdotes or personal experiences that have a humorous element. People relate to real-life stories, and adding humor to them makes your content more engaging. I use humorous personal anecdotes in all my presentations, and the “funny thing” is that the stories that get the biggest laughs are often the ones where something initially went wrong—but you can laugh about it now. Just make sure the story is relevant and has a takeaway.

3. Timing is Key

Pay attention to timing when delivering jokes or funny remarks. It takes some experience (and sometimes, painful experience!) to pause for laughter and avoid rushing through punchlines. Once you know your material, you’ll know where the audience is likely to laugh—so let them! Timing is a powerful tool in making humor land properly.

4. Use Visual Aids

Incorporate funny visuals or memes that complement your content. Visual humor can lighten the mood and add a layer of entertainment to your message. Almost every PowerPoint presentation benefits from an appropriately funny slide—just don’t overdo it!

5. Poke Fun at Yourself

Self-deprecating humor can be incredibly endearing and relatable. I often share funny moments from my life—especially involving my wife—but it’s an iron-cast rule that I come off as the idiot in the story. If you’re going to make fun of someone, make sure it’s you.

6. Rehearse and Continue to Grow

Rehearse your humorous bits to gauge audience reactions. Not every line will hit perfectly, but with a bit of refinement, you can improve delivery and timing. Stay flexible and open to feedback—it’s how we grow, both as speakers and humorists.

Final Thoughts from the Irishman

You don’t have to be born funny to add humor to your speech. You just need the right techniques, a little courage, and practice. These six tips will help you build trust, likeability, and connection with any audience—whether you’re in sales, healthcare, or speaking to a room full of funeral directors (yup, I’ve done that too!).

With a smile,
Conor Cunneen
IrishmanSpeaks