What to Do When Your Humor Fails
Here is Part 6 of the continuing series about how to be a motivational speaker. In this video, Brad Montgomery discusses adding humor to your presentation. (And if you want to be a paid professional speaker, you’ll need to be funny — if you want to get hired.)
This video covers the sticky topic of what to do when your humor fails.
For those of you who prefer to read (as opposed to see the tips on the video,) here ya go:
What To Do When Your Humor Bombs
All right. I want you to watch these series of jokes that bombed for me at the Mayo Clinic. But then watch what I do about it. So, check it out.
It’s just cool to be at the world-famous Mayo Clinic and its sister organization, the Mustard Infirmary. I’m staying at the Relish Inn. So, I have a condiment theme here in Rochester. I bank at the First Bank of Ketchup. Okay, condiment humor, not big in Rochester. We can see that. Did you see what the building next door, right next to the main Mayo building, the little deli? They’re going to call it Mayo on the Side. Free condiment jokes. Yeah! I mean, how cool is it you guys work for the Mayo Clinic? It was so much fun for me when, you know, where you going this time, Brad? I’m going to the Mayo Clinic. Oh, I’m sorry. No, I’m healthy! I’m healthy! We’re going to laugh. A little mayo on the side. Four condiment jokes.
I didn’t totally bomb those jokes, but clearly they didn’t go as well as I had hoped and I used a couple of techniques that you can use as well. First, whether you’re telling stories or relating an anecdote or telling jokes, when things aren’t going as well as you hoped or horrible, let the audience know that you’ve noticed. Acknowledge it. There’s nothing weirder than watching a speaker that acts like everything’s going great when it’s clear to the audience that things aren’t going great. So, don’t do that. It’s too weird. But the second part is equally important which is that it’s your responsibility to take care of the audience. It’s your responsibility to let them know that you’re fine. So, when things don’t go well, they start to worry about us and they start to fret for us and get stressed and you got to let them know that you’re fine. So, you notice, I did just that. First, I acknowledged the condiment jokes failed, or at least weren’t doing that great. I even started counting the goofy, failed condiment jokes. But, more important than that, with my body language and with my words, I let them know, hey, don’t worry about me, I’m having a good time still. You’re going to have a good time still. We’ve got lots of program left and things are great. So, the audience will admire you and love you for trying humor, even if it doesn’t go as well as you had hoped.
Just remember the two rules. One, acknowledge it, let them know. And second, take responsibility to bring them with you and let them know that you’re totally fine.
My kids and wife wanted to go skiing. I didn’t. I’ve been on the road traveling as a motivational speaker to Florida and Pennsylvania, I wanted to sit home, eat Cheetos, watch the Olympics and veg out. But I’m glad I went skiing…my family was right. Doing ANYTHING beats doing nothing nearly all of the time.
(Besides, there was powder. Lots of powder. : )
Check out my video message from ski slopes at Copper Mountain, Colorado:
Looking for a motivational speaker for your event? Contact me here.
Mobile Post: Posted on-the-go by Brad Montgomery from his iPhone.
For those of you who prefer to read, here is the transcription:
I got a message for you related to skiing. So, I’m in Colorado. I’m at Copper
Mountain. We’re at 12,000 feet. I just skied down that cliff. Check that out.
Okay, I didn’t ski down it well, but I did ski down the cliff and I had a good time.
Here’s my point. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to come today at all. If it
was my choice after being on the road in Florida and Pennsylvania, as a
motivational speaker, I was pooped and I really would have preferred to stay home
and watch the Olympics, drink hot chocolate, and, you know, read a cheap novel or
something. But because of my wife and because of my kids, we came up skiing
and Iím so glad I did.
So, here comes the message. I tell my audiences all the time this. What are you
going to do to create joy and happiness in your life starting today? What are you
going to do? And my choice was to do nothing and that was a mistake. I got here
and I had a good time and it’s awesome.
So, what are you going to do? Are you sitting around reading a book? Are you
watching the Olympics right now? Are you doing something that could be more
productive, that could be more fun? I’m pretty sure the answer’s probably yes. If
youíre like me, get going.
So, have fun. Make life fun. That means you got to actually do something to get
involved. If you like skiing, go for it. If you donít like skiing, find what you want
to do, have fun.
Looking for a motivational speaker?I’d love to be your guy. Right now, I’m
going down there. Take care.
How To be A Motivational Speaker | Humor Tips — Give the Audience a Voice
A How-To video series about how to be a motivational speaker. In this very informal video in which Brad Montgomery — a funny motivational speaker — Brad explains the simple technique of Giving the Audience a Voice. It’s a guaranteed humor technique that’s easy to implement.
For those of you checking out hot comedians, Jim Gaffigan is awesome. Check out this funny guy. One of the many techniques he uses is to give the audience a voice. In fact, he opens his album BEYOND THE PALE with a high voice with which he simply gives the audience a voice. He talks about what they must think of his skin, his clothes, etc. Funny opening, and all he does is to say what (he imagines) the audience is thinking. What a crack up. Check him out. Not sure what I’m talking about…..Check out the tips how-to video:
For Those of you more interested in reading that looking at the speaker video, here is the transcription about how to be a motivational speaker:
Give the Audience a Voice
One of the techniques that you can use in humor is to take advantage of this rule. If you say what the audience is thinking, they will laugh. So, watch how we set up this joke about parking and then see how I follow up by giving the audience a voice. Now, the one thing you need to know to understand these jokes is just that parking at the Mayo Clinic comes at a premium and pretty much, you got to have a lot of seniority to get a parking place. All right. So, watch what we do after the joke.
I love the parking. So, how many of you had to park like 80 miles away today? Raise your hand if you have parking privileges. Okay, now everyone else, if you had your hand up, notice how everyone else is glaring at you. I hate them. I hate them. Man, if you think you can get a job here today, you got to park in Iowa. Some of you are going, I live in Iowa. Shut up. Shut up. Stop with the Iowa thing.
Did you see how he did that? Did you see how I gave a voice to the audience? If you can voice what the audience is thinking, you will get the laugh. So, how did I do that? The first time I did that was we imagined what the people who don’t have parking spaces think about the people who do have parking spaces. And I just said it. You know, I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. And I even did a little act-out where I had that glowering thing. All right. So, that was just giving them a voice and I got credit for knowing what they were thinking. Then I did it again later on when I talked about the people who drive in from Iowa. I just, you know, I said the joke and then I voiced what they were thinking, which is, shut up, I’m from Iowa, shut up.
You can use this technique, too. Imagine or find out what your audience is thinking and then give them a voice, either literally by making up a funny voice and saying it as though you were them, just like I did, or a little safer way to do it would be to back up a little bit and just say, you know, I can imagine what you’re thinking. What you’re probably thinking is. You know what? There’s a video with two Brads, with two pictures of Brad. What, is that crazy? See what I did? I just gave you a voice. Give the audience a voice. Let them understand that you know what they’re thinking and you will get the laugh.
Hey Re/Max! Thanks so much for inviting me to work with you last week. We had a great time here in Denver. Here’s a quick
reminder video I created just for you.
Today can be a great day at work — for you and the people you’re leading. But the only way to guarantee that it is great, is to make it so. What are YOU going to do to make your leadership style, your management techniques, and your time at Re/Max fun, meaningful, and successful.
Are YOU looking for a motivational speaker who can fire up your group? Whether or not you are from Colorado, we should talk? Contact me here.
Mobile Post: Posted on-the-go by Brad Montgomery from his iPhone.
Re/Max….what did YOU get out of our time together? Leave a comment below and I’ll send you something for free. (Nope…not an Escalade…but’s it’s cool. And it’s free, so what do you have to lose? : )
Yours,
Brad Montgomery
Colorado Motivational Speaker, Humor at Work Expert, Fan of Re/Max!
How to be funny on the platform: a specific technique
Here is Part 6 of the continuing series about how to be a motivational speaker. In this video, Brad Montgomery discusses adding humor to your presentation. (And if you want to be a paid professional speaker, you’ll need to be funny — if you want to get hired.)
No, you don’t HAVE to be funny or to use humor if you want to be a motivational speaker. But boring speakers never get hired back. You MUST have some sort of humor, lightheartedness, or levity in your program. You don’t have to be a stand-up comedian, but you definitely want to invest some time and energy in learning how to work the crowd their happy place.
But adding humor isn’t easy. Yet there ARE some specific ideas that are easy to learn and easy to implement.
This video covers the specific topic of the Act Out. Check out the video:
For Those Of You Who Prefer to Read, here is the transcription:
What To Do When Your Humor Bombs
All right. I want you to watch these series of jokes that bombed for me at the Mayo Clinic. But then watch what I do about it. So, check it out.
It’s just cool to be at the world-famous Mayo Clinic and its sister organization, the Mustard Infirmary. I’m staying at the Relish Inn. So, I have a condiment theme here in Rochester. I bank at the First Bank of Ketchup. Okay, condiment humor, not big in Rochester. We can see that. Did you see what the building next door, right next to the main Mayo building, the little deli? They’re going to call it Mayo on the Side. Free condiment jokes. Yeah! I mean, how cool is it you guys work for the Mayo Clinic? It was so much fun for me when, you know, where you going this time, Brad? I’m going to the Mayo Clinic. Oh, I’m sorry. No, I’m healthy! I’m healthy! We’re going to laugh. A little mayo on the side. Four condiment jokes.
I didn’t totally bomb those jokes, but clearly they didn’t go as well as I had hoped and I used a couple of techniques that you can use as well. First, whether you’re telling stories or relating an anecdote or telling jokes, when things aren’t going as well as you hoped or horrible, let the audience know that you’ve noticed. Acknowledge it. There’s nothing weirder than watching a speaker that acts like everything’s going great when it’s clear to the audience that things aren’t going great. So, don’t do that. It’s too weird. But the second part is equally important which is that it’s your responsibility to take care of the audience. It’s your responsibility to let them know that you’re fine. So, when things don’t go well, they start to worry about us and they start to fret for us and get stressed and you got to let them know that you’re fine. So, you notice, I did just that. First, I acknowledged the condiment jokes failed, or at least weren’t doing that great. I even started counting the goofy, failed condiment jokes. But, more important than that, with my body language and with my words, I let them know, hey, don’t worry about me, I’m having a good time still. You’re going to have a good time still. We’ve got lots of program left and things are great. So, the audience will admire you and love you for trying humor, even if it doesn’t go as well as you had hoped.
Just remember the two rules. One, acknowledge it, let them know. And second, take responsibility to bring them with you and let them know that you’re totally fine.
I took this photo while going through Denver International Airport. Got this shot off before a TSA guy “asked” me to knock that off. (I wanted to get one from a different angle, but couldn’t get the guy to let me. (I did make the TSA guy laugh…but I couldn’t get him to “look the other way.” Goodie…. chalk one up for safety!)
Enter your caption below in the comments field. The winner get’s a copy of a book. (No, it’s not as good as a Toyota, but it’s way easier to send.) good luck peeps!
Looking for a motivational speaker for your event? Contact me here.
How To be A Motivational Speaker | Template for a Keynote Speech
A How-To video series about how to be a motivational speaker. In this very informal video in which Brad Montgomery — a funny motivational speaker — Brad explains the simple format (or template) for creating a motivational keynote speech. Interested in exactly how you can create your own speech? No sweat…here are the details.
For those of you who prefer to read the text of the video, here it is:
Template for keynote motivational speech.
How to Be a Speaker: FORMAT OF A KEYNOTE
This is Brad Montgomery from Brad Montgomery.com with a continuing series in how to be a motivational speaker and how to be a paid professional speaker. All right so one of the things we never talked about is exactly what is a motivational speech? I know, you got some ideas about what you’re going to do and what you’re going to talk about and I know you have some ideas about your message for when you become a motivational speaker but you’re still struggling with how does it work, what’s the form, what’s the format, how do you put together a motivational speech. Well good news – I’m about to tell you.
All right so it’s really not as hard as you think because there’s a formula. Now you’ll notice that almost every good motivational speaker follows the formula and deviates from it but at least let me give you the formula because you’ll be shocked how easy it is. First, you’ve got to have an opening so the opening’s going to be: My name is. Here’s what we’re going to talk about. Here’s my background is and here’s what you are going to get out today’s program. So you’re just going to tell them what to expect. So I’m a funny motivational speaker and I talk to businesses about lightening up so I start, as you might guess, with some jokes and I tell them today we’re going to talk about lightening it up and how that’s going to be related to your business. Get it? That’s the intro – that’s it. That’s all the intro is. Now the intro can be very short or you know like even a minute or two or it can be as long as you know five or ten sometimes fifteen minutes. Because I’m funny I use a lot of humor but I think if you’re a high content motivational speaker you’re going to cut right to it. So for example you might say, I’ve had an incredible car accident and I learned a lot from it and in today’s program we’re going to go through my story and how the lessons I learned relate to you. All right so there’s the introduction.
Then you’re basically going to have three points – three points and each point is going to be supported by at least one story. So let’s say for example your motivational speech is to be in you know you want to inspire people somehow. All right so then I’m assuming that you have three techniques to inspire people. So let’s say your techniques are to you know have good relationships and lead others in inspiration and to always nurture yourself – take care of yourself. All right so those are the three points. Write them down; bam, bam, bam.
So the first one is, my first point of the day is blah, blah, blah, blah. Get it? You tell them what your point is but they don’t care what your point is unless you have a story. So if your first point is nurturing relationships that’s where you’re going to want to launch into one of your stories about how you nurture relationships or how you learned from this or how something happened to you that is relevant to them. The main part of the story is to hold their interest, to teach the lesson and then really to let them learn from it. How can we learn from your experience without having to go through the pain and trouble that you’ve done. So for example let’s say you’ve climbed Mt. Everest and you want to talk about you know all the fabulous thing you learned about Mt. Everest. What I really want out of that as an audience member is how can I learn all the things you know without having to climb Mt. Everest. So you’re telling us the story of Mt. Everest and then you’re giving us the first point. Got it? So, now we’ve got the introduction, first point and the story to support that point. Then you lead right into the second point and the transition can be as simple as that brings us to our second point. The second point is you need to nurture relationships – I can’t remember what the three points are – but you know the second point is you’ve got to eat a lot of pineapple. You see it doesn’t really matter what the point is and then you’ve got to support that. So, how are you going to support that? With another story so that’s when you need to launch in to another personal story, something that really happened to you and then relate what you learned out of that story and how we can apply those lessons to our lives. Do you get the running theme? Because if you’re a motivational speaker it really isn’t about you and how fabulous you are and how fabulous your stories are or how funny you are; what really is important is how you can get some information and inspiration into us as the audience.
All right and then the third point repeat as needed. That leads us to our third point or our third point is to be a leader of inspiration and you know being a leader of inspiration is important because blah, blah, blah, blah and here comes the story to support that point. Got it? So now you’ve just told the introduction, you’ve had three points each one supported by at least one story – by the way if you know you want to do two short stories, go for it; three really short stories, go for it; whatever it doesn’t matter – and then finally is the conclusion and the conclusion really needs to be a summary of what you’ve just done but then most importantly you really need to make sure the audience understands that it’s about them. So even though all the stories are about you and your own life experience the message is about them. So in the conclusion you need to really make sure that they walk out of there knowing that I want to be like that speaker I just heard or at least I want to apply the lessons that that speaker taught because it makes sense to me because after hearing those stories and hearing all the reasons behind it and hearing the original thought there’s no way in the world I can’t you know, I can’t leave as a better person after hearing that speaker. Got it?
So the main format is introduction, point supported by a story, second point supported by a story, third point supported by a story, and then a conclusion which all along you’re going to be talking about your audience but especially at the conclusion you’re going to make sure that the speech is not about you it’s about them.
All right so becoming a motivational speaker is a blast of it’s fun and it’s not as hard as you think. My name’s Brad Montgomery from Brad Montgomery.com; really happy to be part of it. If you like this video click over here or okay – I’m not really sure where the links are but there’s a couple of links. I’ve got a couple programs out about how to be a motivational speaker and another program about how to be a funny speaker and trust me being a motivational speaker is cool but being a funny motivational speaker means you get hired. So adding humor is really crucial no matter what your topic is. Thanks for your time. Look for more videos from me soon. Glad to be aboard. Cheers.
