Humor In Speaking 101

Have you heard the one about the boring, humorless talk? Odds are, we all have.

When asked about using humor in teaching, I heard that Howard Hendricks (Prof at Dallas Seminary) once said, "I open their mouth to laugh with a joke, then I shove a point in." Sadly, too often, the only time a listener's mouth is opened during a message is when they've failed to stifle a yawn.

Anytime you are speaking or teaching, I think it's always a good idea to make use of humor. It lightens the mood, it helps people relate to the teacher, and it helps people remember what you're saying.

But how? Here's my tip for today: Use situational humor.

As you prepare your message or talk, there's going to be some point where you talk about a particular situation. If it's appropriate, this can be a great time to spice it up with a humorous look at that situation. For example, I just gave a talk from Ephesians 4. One of the verses I covered is verse 25 which says, "Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body." As I let that verse roll around in my mind, I asked, "Now, what form did that falsehood take in those days?" I was trying to discover the historical context, but thinking like this led me to some funny possibilities.

I wondered if maybe it looked like one of these scenarios...

You have a bumper sticker that says, "My other chariot is a Lexus."

You meet the neighbor's new baby and you say, "Azer-al-hash-baz is a wonderful name!"

Your wife asks your opinion and you say, "No honey, that toga doesn't make your butt look big."

After I opened their mouths with a bit of a laugh, I was able to go on to explain what I really think the falsehood looked like in that day and what it probably looks like for us today.

Another quick tip: Comedy comes in threes. I'm not sure why, but it just does. If I had added a fourth scenario to the one above, it would not have been as funny. If you are going to be giving some sort of funny list, do it in three-no more, no less.

I also think it's a good idea to try out your humor on someone with a good ear for that sort of thing. It's much better to not use humor at all than to tell a joke that just isn't funny.