Your Presentation is a Joke: Using Humor to Maximize Your Impact
First thing to know about ‘Your Presentation is a Joke‘ is that it is now a text book at The University of Alabama Birmingham. You can read about it as one of our many 5-star Amazon reviews here.
The best way to look at ‘Your Presentation is a Joke’ is half-book and half-notebook. The first half is information, the second half is applying that information. There are a few books written on adding humor to presentations, but this is the first book to give you well-proven methodologies teaching you how to apply humor in your presentations. Our effective method is what helped sell UofA to use it as a text book.
Why add humor to your presentations?
Because as Dr. Jim Lyttle said in 1977, “Humor increases persuasion’s effectiveness.” (And guess, what? It still holds true today.)
If you are a business presenter, this book is for you. Wait, hold on… if you are an experienced business presenter, this book is for you. If you are a newbie, we suggest you get some experience before adding humor.
Why?
Because humor is the highest form of communication and until you have the basics down, don’t try to play with the big kids. Humor is ideal for business presenters that want to go from a 5 or 6, to an 8 or 10, or to the corner office.
Take a look at the reviews!
I like this book! Marshall Chiles offers excellent rules for comedy and humor – what to do, and more importantly, what to avoid. He doesn’t just talk about technique, He offers tidbits of wisdom that challenge traditional ideas about humor. For example, Constraint enhances creativity. He also offers information about how to legally incorporate other people’s material – ie. images, drawings and pictures – and protect your integrity.
It’s always disconcerting when your presentation rhythm is thrown off by the snoring in the room. Okay, it was never that bad, but as a full-time trainer, I am always looking for ways to engage adult learners. While this book may have presentation speakers as its target audience, ALL of the techniques can be used by those of us who conduct anywhere between four-hour and two-week training sessions. Essentially, anyone who has to stand up in front of others, even if its at a one-hour weekly meeting, can benefit from this book.
Unlike books about about being a comedian, “Your Presentation is a Joke” is specially written to the business audience. While a stand-up comedy how-to book might help you prepare for appearing on a basement comedy club stage, it could get you fired from your job if you used the same routine at a corporate seminar. Inappropriate comments in a corporate environment include anything to do with sex, religion, and politics, and also any comments that rag on someone else.
I am about to teach a college course at the University of Alabama at Birmingham on the use of humor/comedy to promote public health and will use this as the textbook. The book is simple, clear and well-structured. Speaking with vigor and interest and brevity is an elusive skill. Injecting humor is a great way to get people to listen and to act upon your message. Mr. Chiles has made a great contribution to the world of public speaking with this book.
This book does exactly what it says it will do – successfully outlines how to captivate audiences with humor. A friend of mine gave me her copy when I told her about this department meeting I had coming up, and skimming through the main chapters on the plane ride to the meeting was all I needed. The department found my (very light-hearted) roast of the CMO hysterical, and when I tell you that the silliness of the presentation opened high-level networking doors, I truly mean it! I ended up night-capping with the C-suite and was able to let my natural humor come through.