When we are talking about humorous speeches, we are not talking about being comedians, but rather an informative speech that is delivered in an entertaining and light-hearted way.
Preparing your humor for the speech is essential. Write down your speech; research humorous quips, quotes and anecdotes to add flavor; and practice, practice, practice.
Different elements of humor that you can consider for your speech:
Relevant to your audience.
Surprise: it is unexpected.
Exaggeration – over stating something for effect.
Expressive voice.
Body humor and gestures.
Puns.
Humorous anecdotes.
Do's and Dont's when using humor in a speech
Do
Research. Know who your audience is
Practice before hand.
Display confidence.
Get a laugh out of your audience early – it will set the tone for your speech.
Allow time for laughter.
Don't
Poke fun at the expense of audience members.
Use taboo subjects: sex, race, gender, class.
Don't stop if an attempted humorous line didn't work, keep going (after the pause of course).
Examples speeches
Below are three humorous speech examples from YouTube. The first one is a winner from a Toastmasters speech contest. The second is a humorous best man speech, and the third is a commencement speech by Will Farrell. I'll note some humorous elements that they've done well.
Toastmaster – John Zimmer humorous speech
Specific to Audience – Toastmasters (people who get together with the express purpose of learning to speak in public).
Exaggeration/Absurdity: “What did his audiences have to deal with? World War I, Great Depression, World War II...his audiences have never had the pain of a slow Internet connection.”
Pause. After revealing his new public speakers role model.
Best man speech
Specific to the audience: close friend and family.
Expressive and exaggerated gestures: When doing his 'interpretive dance'.
Setting a familiar scene, pausing and then surprising you: “In play school, he was different from all the other five year olds. (pause) He was eleven.”
Will Ferrell Harvard Commencement speech
Specific to the audience: Graduates at Harvard, academics and Ivy Leaguers.
He is being a comedian: Though it is never a good idea to try being a comedian for a humorous speech, he IS a comedian, so he has 'earned' the right to be.
Comedy as truth (and mixing surprising metaphors): “I received a degree from the school of hard knocks. Our colors are black and blue.”
Unexpected (and pausing for the laughter): “Talking about Hemingway or Clancy”
