The world is in agreement – clowns are scary. But what is MORE scary, is having the opening joke in your important presentation fall flat.
In an online course or presentation you have just 30 seconds to grab audience attention. A joke is one option. Most people avoid them, but that means when you carry it off, people wake up and pay attention.
Let’s assess this joke? Does it work for you?
A man steps out of the shower, and sudden realizes someone is in the kitchen downstairs
Knowing his wife is out, he grabs his golf club and creeps downstairs. He has entirely forgotten that he is wearing only a towel.
He comes around the corner with golf club raised, only to find his wife loading the dishwasher.
“What on earth are you doing?” she gasps.
“I thought I heard an intruder he says.
“I came down to scare him off.”
Scanning the contours of his naked body, she mumbles,
“You didn’t need the golf club.”
What kind of jokes work
Using jokes in a presentation is hard, but I think this one meets requirements
- Honestly, I laughed aloud when I first read it in Readers Digest
- It’s relatable
- It isn’t cruel, political or denigrating any group
- It’s easy to tell.
Tying the joke to your presentation
Once you find a good joke, how do you tie in into a presentation?
What are the potential messages in this joke.
- “Be prepared”?
- “Have the right tool”?
- “In a crisis, take action. Don’t wait for perfection”?
- “YOU are the solution, not the tools you use”?
How to tell a joke in a presentation
You could rehearse the joke so many times you have it down pat. But that’s nerve-wracking. You can improvise as long as you remember the three key elements of a good joke.
1) “He has entirely forgotten that he is wearing only a towel.”
This primes the audience – they can see this happening and it’s already a funny mental picture.
2) “I came down to scare him off.”
You need the specific word “scare”. not scary, or scared. Don’t rush over this sentence – it sets up the whole joke.
3) “Scanning the contours of his naked body, she mumbles, “You didn’t need the golf club.”
Mumbles softens the punchline – not sarcasm or nastiness.
What if it falls flat?
At the end of the joke, stop. If they didn’t get it, so be it. Don’t explain. Don’t apologize. Move on.
See the video for more fun ideas to open your pitch, speech or presentation and keep your audience on the edge of their seats.
