The Journey of The Seed

The current lock down brought about by the pandemic corona virus seems like the perfect opportunity for me to update my Roy To The World blog that has taken an involuntary hiatus. Yes, I admit I have lagged in my posts and I have no excuses for that.

As a matter of updating and catching up, it is a good time to look back and reflect on my Toastmasters journey, which started in February 2016 as one of the charter members of City of Angeles Toastmasters Club (CATMC).

I love writing and always thought I am better read than heard. I never imagined myself speaking in front of people, much more enjoy it.

Thanks to Toastmasters, I was reconnected to my comedic side. Something I lost since my life took a serious turn, and I have become serious as well.

Most of my speeches delivered in Toastmasters were inclined on the humorous path, so much so that my club mates thought I am a perfect contestant for the humorous speech contests. I was gullible enough to believe them.

How to be a humorous speaker

Do you really want to be a humorous speaker? Just a fair warning, people will laugh at you.

Of course, that is the objective – to make people laugh.

In my previous post, I mentioned some of the things we should avoid as a humorous speaker. This time, we will talk about how to be a humorous speaker, which as you will see are the opposite of the things we should avoid, and then some.

Here are the things we should remember if we want to be a humorous speaker.

How NOT to be funny

Deadpan humor

In my previous post, I mentioned some reasons why you should add humor to your speech. I also promised I will share some tips on how to do that.

In this post, I will do just that, but I will start with some pointers on how NOT to be funny.

Surprised?

You might be thinking, “I thought you will be sharing some tips on how to be funny? Why are you teaching us how not to be funny?! Are you nuts or something?!”

That is understandable. And yes, I might be nuts… or maybe even something. Why do you think I trekked the humorous path?

Seriously, I will be going through some things that you might want to avoid when adding humor to your speeches. Of course, these are just my personal viewpoint. You might have a different opinion on them, and that is never wrong.

Let us see the things you might want to avoid if you want to be funny.

Why add humor to your speech?

“As long as the audience are laughing, it means they won’t kill you.”

Humor is an important factor in a speech. You don’t need to be a humorous speaker nor a comedian to realize you need to add humor in your speech.

Admit it, when we are part of the audience, we appreciate it if the speaker makes us laugh occasionally along the course of his speech delivery, right? We should remember that when we are the one on stage and delivering a speech.

Humor is an effective way of getting the audience engaged as we speak in front of them. It is one of the obvious signs that they are listening to us. Even those who are not listening or are not interested initially will be intrigued once they hear other people laugh. They will be thinking, “What did he say? I’m missing out!” Thus, they will pay attention.

Do you now see the importance of humor?

Why Darren LaCroix is my favorite World Champion of Public Speaking

I love watching speeches of World Champion of Public Speaking. Don’t you? They are all awe-inspiring!

As the speeches unfold and their stories get clearer to you, you cannot help but have some realization and whether you do it voluntarily or not, you nod your head. Because all of those winning speeches are relatable to most of us. At some point in our lives we see ourselves in those situations narrated by the speakers.

Isn’t that amazing?!

I guess that what makes those speeches world champion material – they are universal and relatable to all of us. And I bet, like me, you also have your favorite speech delivered by a world champion.

As for me, Darren LaCroix, 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking, is my favorite.

Just like most winning speeches, Darren’s speech also talked about failing, failing again, and overcoming failures. But there is one single line in his speech that has really drawn me into it.