Using humor in a presentation - if used correctly - is a great way to help you connect with the audience, disarm hostility and make you more likeable. However, you need to be careful with humor because a little goes a long way.
Being funny requires some practice, so don't make your humor debut in a presentation. Work on your delivery and timing by telling jokes to friends and family. Keep a file of clean and non-offensive jokes and practice, practice, practice.
Self-deprecating humor is universally funny and can help establish rapport with an audience.
Politicians since the days of Abraham Lincoln have known the power of self deprecation. This form of humor says to the audience that even though you are on stage you are not taking yourself too seriously.
Lincoln once was accused of being two-faced, to which he replied, "If I had two faces, do you think this is the one I'd be wearing?"
Ronald Reagan was a master at this type of humor. He once said, "With so many trouble spots around the world, I've told my aides that if they hear of any trouble they should wake me immediately. Even when I'm in a Cabinet meeting."
George W. Bush often pokes fun at himself. He returned to Yale in 2001 to give the commencement speech and told students "and to you 'C' students, you too can be president of the United States."
In another speech, Bush said, "These stories about my intelligence capacity do get under my skin a bit. For a while, I thought even my own staff believed them. There on my schedule first thing every morning it said, 'Intelligence Briefing'."
So remember, making fun of yourself is a good place to start if you plan to try out some humor on your next audience.
