Presentation Skills
Articles for Speakers

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Time of day and Humor

Tom Antion
Washington, D.C.

The first speaker of the day for an early morning (7:00 a.m. to
9:00 a.m.) program should not expect hearty laughter. People are
not conditioned to laugh a great deal in the early morning. Many
won't even be awake yet. Use more information and less humor. I
was asked by a sales speaker to open up an early morning seminar.
He said, "I just want you to get them laughing before I go on." I
told him that it was not a good idea, but he insisted. I opened
up the seminar with some sure-fire humor to test their
responsiveness and got little response. I cut my material and
brought the speaker on stage. He couldn't get them laughing
either. I sat in the audience and watched. By 10:15 a.m. they
were laughing at just about anything.

It's important for you to know when NOT to expect hearty
laughter. It would be a waste of time to use your best material
at a time when laughter normally wouldn't be expected. If you
didn't know that early morning programs aren't the best for
laughter, you could have your confidence shaken so badly that the
rest of your presentation might suffer. Also, keep in mind that I
am giving you general principles. You might run into a lively
group sometime just don't expect it.

Many consider brunch to be the best time of day to expect a
responsive audience. It is late enough that the folks who sleep
late are now awake, but not so late in the day that early risers
are starting to get tired. Lunch is generally a time for good
response for the same reasons as brunch.

In the afternoon people are starting to get tired. Audience
members will retain less because they are not listening as
closely as they did in the morning. You can use more humor and
less hard information, but don't expect laughter to be as
intense.

The last speaker of a long afternoon or evening program should
not expect a great response, again because folks are too worn
out. Keep your presentation short and crisp and acknowledge the
lateness so that the audience knows you care about them. One time
I was the last speaker on a long program in Baltimore, Maryland,
for a food service management company. I was being introduced at
8:35 p.m. on a Monday night in the fall. What do you think the
mostly male audience was thinking at 8:35 p.m. on a Monday night
in the Fall? Of course! MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL! I got up and said:

There are three things I would never want to be: 1. a
javelin catcher; 2. the scoop man at a Donkey Basketball
game; and 3. the last speaker on a long program. (I looked
at my watch.) It's now 8:40 p.m. I'm going to limit my
remarks to 15 minutes. I guarantee you will be in the
hospitality suite in time for the kickoff. I kept my
promise.

Do you think I had more of their attention than if I had not made
the comment? You bet I did! Even though it had been a long day,
they all had a good laugh during my talk. A little care for your
audience will go a long way.

Next issue learn about serious and funny closings.

"Tom Antion has mastered the art of communicating in an
interesting and humorous fashion. His book Wake em Up is a "how
to" and what "not to do" for speakers. It's a great read for
presenters who have been in front of audiences for years as well
as those folks just starting out. Hat's off to Tom for a job well
done!"

David Kliman, President
Meeting Professionals International

Note: This article is part of an eleven part series excerpted from
Tom Antion's new book, Wake em Up: How to Use Humor and Other
Professional Techniques to Create Alarmingly Good Business
Presentations. Anchor Publishing, 336 page softcover, $24.95 +
$4.00 S&H, (800) 448-6280 x 1 or FAX to (757) 431-2050 To Order Click Here