Incorporate Humor in Your Next Speech

Written by Stephen D. Boyd


Some speakers say, “I could never use humor in my speech; I just don’t feel comfortable with it.” I believe that anyone can use humor and that it is a valuable tool in speaking. Appropriate humor relaxes an audience and makes it feel more comfortable with you asrepparttar speaker; humor can bring attention torepparttar 120277 point you are making; and humor will helprepparttar 120278 audience better remember your point. It can break down barriers so thatrepparttar 120279 audience is more receptive to your ideas. First, let me make it easy for you to use humor. The best and most comfortable place to find humor for a speech is from your own personal experience. Think back on an embarrassing moment that you might have thought not funny atrepparttar 120280 time. Now that you can laugh atrepparttar 120281 experience, you understandrepparttar 120282 old adage "Humor is simply tragedy separated by time and space." Or think of a conversation that was funny. Rememberrepparttar 120283 punch line and use it in your speech. Probablyrepparttar 120284 least risky use of humor is a cartoon. The cartoon is separate from you and if people don't laugh, you don't feel responsible. (Be sure to secure permission to use it.) You're not trying to be a comedian; you just want to make it easy for people to pay attention and to help them remember your point. Here are some suggestions on using humor to make your next speech have more impact. 1. Make surerepparttar 120285 humor is funny to you. If you don’t laugh or smile atrepparttar 120286 cartoon, joke, pun, one-liner, story, or other forms of humor, then you certainly cannot expect an audience to do so. A key to using humor is only using humor that makes you laugh or smile. 2. Before using humor in your speech, try it out with small groups of people. Do they seem to enjoy it? Even if your experimental group does not laugh or smile initially, don’t give up onrepparttar 120287 humor, becauserepparttar 120288 problem might be inrepparttar 120289 way you are deliveringrepparttar 120290 joke or quip. I often use this line in talking aboutrepparttar 120291 importance of listening. “We are geared to a talk society. Someone said, ‘The only reason we listen is so we can talk next!'” When I first tried that line, people did not smile; but I worked onrepparttar 120292 timing so that I paused and smiled after “listen” and that seemed to work. I was rushing throughrepparttar 120293 punch line and did not give people time to be prepared forrepparttar 120294 humorous part. It took practice to get comfortable withrepparttar 120295 piece of humor. Only use humor in a speech after you are comfortable telling it from memory and have tested it. 3. Make surerepparttar 120296 humor relates torepparttar 120297 point you are making. Do not use humor that is simply there to makerepparttar 120298 audience laugh. The humor should tie in with some aspect of your speech. For example, I tell about my experience of getting braces at age 46 and how difficult it was for me to get used torepparttar 120299 wires and rubber bands in my mouth. After I tellrepparttar 120300 story I makerepparttar 120301 point that you may have not hadrepparttar 120302 braces problem I had, but we all have challenges in communicating well, and what we want to look at today are ways of making it easier for us to be more effective in speaking. The audience enjoysrepparttar 120303 story but also remembersrepparttar 120304 point that I'm making. If you don’t tie your humor to your presentation,repparttar 120305 audience may likerepparttar 120306 humor, but will wonder what point you are attempting to make.

How to Get the Right Clients and Avoid the Wrong Ones

Written by Charlie Cook


If you are like most service professionals and small business owners one of your primary concerns is generating as many leads as possible. And that may be your biggest mistake, resulting in wasting time on unqualified prospects and working with too many clients you wish you didn't have to.

Bill is a financial advisor looking for clients. Working from his stack of leads he picks uprepparttar phone and starts making calls. The first person he gets onrepparttar 120276 phone has lots of questions and it turns out is just looking for free advice. After a half hour Bill finally gets him offrepparttar 120277 phone. Bill's next call finds a highly interested prospect. After forty-five minutes, he's ready to sign her up, when he discovers she only has a couple of hundred dollars to invest.

Atrepparttar 120278 end ofrepparttar 120279 day, Bill has spent eight hours onrepparttar 120280 phone and still hasn't signed up any new clients.

Do you ever spend time chasing leads that are just a waste of time?

Martha is a graphic designer who has plenty of clients but her profits have been shrinking instead of growing lately. One of her long-term clients calls her daily with a question or a complaint. Just when Martha thinks a project is done, this one client changes her mind and wants it redone. And whilerepparttar 120281 customer is always right, this customer's lack of respect and professionalism is starting to get under Martha's skin.

Have you ever had to deal with clients who waste your time or are unrealistic in their demands?

A common mistake is to try to appeal to everyone, withrepparttar 120282 result that you attract too many people who don't want to pay for your services and clients you'd rather not work with. A more profitable marketing strategy is to position yourself and your firm to attract just those clients that want to work with you and who you'd enjoy sharing your expertise.

Imagine that every lead you pursued turned into a client, one who you could be honest and direct with, a client who you looked forward to working with. You'd make more money and have more fun.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could pick and choose your clients?

While you can't completely control who contacts you, you can use your marketing to position yourself to attract promising prospects and people who would make good clients. Here's how.

Define Your Ideal Client If you want to attractrepparttar 120283 perfect client, you need to know who they are. Take out a piece of paper and write a couple of paragraphs describing their characteristics.

- What business is your ideal client in? - What is their role inrepparttar 120284 organization? - Where are they located? - What type of person are they? - What is their situation? - What arerepparttar 120285 problems they want solved? - What are other characteristics that are important to you?

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