I was inspired to write a companion piece to an article that Lisa Braithwaite published over at Speak Schmeak - rewards of ending on time. If you haven’t checked it out, make sure that you do.

I wanted to talk about my own experiences with speech timing and also provide some some tips on funny presentations. Read the rest of this entry

If you have to give a funny work presentation one of the areas that people often wonder about is “is it possible to be bombproof?” To clarify, you bomb when a punchline you expect to gain a laugh actually fails. It happens to us all, the difference is when you’rein front of a bunch of people that feeling gets magnified. Material that is bombproof would resistant to such laughter failure. So is it possible? Yes… and no. Read the rest of this entry

An aspect that businesses frequently ignore is having an effective compere at public functions. Compere, MC, Emcee whichever spelling you choose it’s important to have someone who gain capture everybody’s attention. Aside from providing the entertainment through humour, they can also help with the time management of an event. Whether it’s a fundraiser or you’re a red coat Toastmaster at a wedding. Read the rest of this entry

Never thought I’d see the day where scholarly types would set about unearthing the world’s oldest joke. I just didn’t think it was scholarly enough. But humour is a very important part of all our lives and culture. And to all intents and purposes it has been for all time. Or, if you’re Brian Blessed, “aaaaaaaaaaaaalll tiyyyyyyyyme.” Read the rest of this entry

I was idly playing videos on You Tube recently and I came across Dean Martin’s Roasts from the 1970s. I had a jolly old time watching some comedians from yesteryear engaging in humorous roasts. So I figured I should write a post about roast speeches and provide some roast speech examples. I talk about roast speeches in the Toastmasters context, but the advice is absolutely applicable whether you’re giving a Toastmasters roast or not.

You can sometimes forget the skill of some of the old school comedians when they’re either a) not on TV so much anymore, b) Recognisable through films that aren’t really shown that much like The Cannonball Run or the original Ocean’s Eleven, c) they’re dead d) all of the above. Read the rest of this entry