video presentation comedian

• September 29, 2024 Oxnard, CA Levity Live 7:00 pm Tickets

Custom Corporate Comedy

• October 9, 2024 Irvine, CA Irvine Improv 8:00 pm Tickets
• October 10, 2024 San Diego, CA MicDrop Comedy Club 8:00 pm Tickets
• October 15, 2024 Appleton, WI Skyline Comedy Club 7:00 pm Tickets
• October 16, 2024 Indianapolis, IN Helium Comedy Club 8:00 pm Tickets
• October 23, 2024 Burbank, CA Flappers Comedy Club 8:00 pm Tickets
• October 29, 2024 San Antonio, TX LOL San Antonio 7:30 pm Tickets
• October 30, 2024 Atlanta, GA Punchline 7:30 pm Tickets
• October 31, 2024 Naples, FL Off the Hook Comedy Club 5:45 pm Tickets
• November 9, 2024 Paducah, KY Clemens Fine Arts Center 7:00 pm Tickets
• November 10, 2024 St. Louis, MO Helium Comedy Club 7:00 pm Tickets
• November 19, 2024 Buffalo, NY Helium Comedy Club 8:00 pm Tickets
• November 20, 2024 Syracuse, NY Funny Bone - Syracuse 7:00 pm Tickets
• November 21, 2024 Rochester, NY Comedy @ the Carlson 7:30 pm Tickets
• December 8, 2024 Oklahoma City, OK Bricktown Comedy Club 7:00 pm Tickets
• December 17, 2024 Salt Lake City, UT WiseGuys 7:00 pm Tickets
• December 18, 2024 Greenwood Village, CO Comedy Works South 7:30 pm Tickets
• December 19, 2024 Las Vegas, NV Wiseguys Town Square 7:00 pm Tickets

23 Tips From Comedians to Be Funnier in Your Next Presentation

by David | Jun 20, 2018 | Uncategorized

(Originally Published in Inc ): 23 Tips From Comedians to Be Funnier in Your Next Presentation

Former biologist Tim Lee takes the stage at TEDx for the second time this year. Lee’s medium of choice: the all too often mind-numbingly boring PowerPoint presentation, but when he unleashes his deck, it’s anything but. Within seconds, the audience is in hysterics of laughter and clapping loudly to show its appreciation … for his PowerPoint. You may be wondering why this has not happened to you.

Lee is one of a growing number of comedians equally at home on a business stage. As the lines between information and entertainment blur, speakers like him are in high demand. (Lee actually has sold out shows where people pay money to see him give PowerPoint presentations. Sounds strange, I know.) Apart from being funnier than most, he has one big additional advantage over regular business speakers: He is onstage way more often.

Comedians’ content and delivery are honed through years of practice as they master their craft. In doing so, they are among the few public speakers that clock up the 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell says make a master. It’s forcing regular business presenters to up their game.

With that in mind, here are 23 tips from comedians like Lee and other top 10,000-hour comedians for you to become a better and funnier public speaker:

1. Use the Rule of 3

“This rule is a basic structure for jokes and ideas that capitalize on the way we process information,” says Lee. “We have become proficient at pattern recognition by necessity. Three is the smallest number of elements required to create a pattern. This combination of pattern and brevity results in memorable content.”

2. Draw Upon Your Real-Life Experiences

The safest humor involves personal stories, because they are guaranteed to be original and can be easily practiced and perfected. As Ricky Gervais says, “As a creator, it’s your job to make an audience as excited and fascinated about a subject as you are, and real life tends to do that.”

3. Identify the Key Part and Get There Fast

U.K. comedian Jimmy Carr says, “Writing comedy isn’t really about writing; it’s more about editing. It’s about what you don’t say. What are the fewest words I can get down here in order to get to the funny bit?”

4. Find the Funny in Pain Points

“To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it,” Charlie Chaplin said. While he likely didn’t mean customer pain points, the same wisdom applies.

5. Think Fails and Firsts

“So many people ask me for help creating a funnier speech,” says Darren LaCroix. “They want to know where to ‘find funny.’ I suggest starting by looking in the mirror! Start by looking at your fails and your firsts. The first time you did something wrong. Audiences love the humility and openness.”

6. Screen Your Jokes

“Presentations have an extra advantage over most traditional standup sets–a giant friggin’ screen that the audience is staring at the whole time you’re onstage,” says Sammy Wegent. “And in a world where funny Photoshopped images, memes, and GIFs dominate our devices, visual humor has never been bigger. So don’t just say funny things in your presentation. Show funny things, too.”

7. Think Fun Over Funny

“Making people laugh is only one type of humor; getting them to smile is another,” says Andrew Tarvin. “When starting out, focus on making things fun as opposed to making things funny.”

8. Tell a Joke

If people laugh, a joke already added value. “It helps if it segues into a point. But it doesn’t have to,” says Rajiv Satyal. One of his favorites that’s both hilarious and yet clean enough for a corporate presentation: A guy joins a monastery and takes a vow of silence. He’s allowed to say two words every seven years. After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words. He says, “Cold floors.” They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. He clears his throat. “Bad food,” he says. They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him in for his two words. He goes, “I quit.” One of the elders looks at him and says, “That’s not surprising. You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here.” I’ve never had that joke miss in any context, says Satyal. And it’s easy to tie it into something going on at a company, e.g., a reorg. (Every place is always doing a reorg.)

9. Like Jerry Seinfeld Does, Use Inherently Funny Words

Some words are funnier than others and can be amusing without any given context. Words with a k in them are funny. Alka-Seltzer is funny. Chicken is funny. Pickle is funny. L’s are not funny. When writing his bit about Pop-Tarts, Jerry Seinfeld took foods from the ’60s in all its strange, frozen, unhealthy forms and narrowed his focus on Pop-Tarts. Why Pop-Tarts? Because Pop-Tarts sounds funny. “The Pop-Tart suddenly appeared in the supermarket … and we were like chimps in the dirt playing with sticks.” According to Seinfeld, what makes the joke, “is you have got chimps, dirt, playing, and sticks. In seven words, four of them are funny. Chimps, chimps are funny.” (See the interview here .)

10. Paint a Picture for Others to See

“Comedy is in the details, but you don’t want to over do it,” says Reggie Steele. “Just enough to set the scene. Talk to people as if you’re talking to a blind person or you’re doing something for the radio. Details matter.”

11. Do Something Memorable

“This can be good or bad. But memorability is more powerful than likability,” says Sammy Obeid.

12. Jokes are: 1, 2 … 4! “They look like they’re about to establish a pattern but then break it just when it’s about to become one,” says Rajiv Satyal. “In this example, you think I’m counting but, when you hear “4,” you realize I was doubling the numbers. It makes sense in retrospect. (But they’re not 1, 2 … 7! That would just be random.) Jokes work due to the element of surprise. Too many business presentations are stuff people already know (1, 2 … 3!) or stuff people don’t know what to do with (1, 2 … 7!). Give ’em something both memorable and fun.”

13. Use the Art of Misdirection

“The beautiful thing about a business presentation versus standup comedy is that the presentation audience can be misled into a funny line much easier,” says Cody Woods. “Due to the many boring presentations they have been subjected to, they are suspecting it less. Use this to your advantage.”

14. Put the Word the Joke Hinges on at the End of the Sentence

For example, if the fact it’s a cat is the surprise or twist, don’t say, “There was a cat in the box.” Say, “In that box was a cat.” That way you’re not still talking when they’re meant to be laughing, says Matt Kirshen. You can watch President Obama using this technique here .

15. Use Tension

“There has to be tension for a punch line to land,” says Zahra Noorbakhsh. “Tension sets up the desire to see a problem–however big or small–get resolved. If you can identify what is making your audience restless, anxious, or uncomfortable, you can work backward to find the joke that chills them out.”

16. Avoid Ever Going Blank Onstage Use the Memory Palace memorization technique. To do this, it is useful to have the image interact with the environment, Richard Sarvate says. “For my sushi joke, I picture a sushi chef,” he says. “If I put him in the elevator in the lobby of my apartment; I picture him mashing the buttons on the elevator in frustration. Now that he is interacting with the environment, it’s a lot easier to visualize and recall. It’s useful to make the image bizarre in order to make it more memorable. For my Mexican Indian joke, I picture Krishna wearing a sombrero. A ridiculous image, which is almost tougher to forget.”

17. Use Your Hands “Speak with your hands in front of you, not flopped down to your side,” says Matt Morales. “Pretend your double fisting a couple of drinks that you’re going to spill if you put your arms down. Or just double fist a couple of beers. Granted, that might not make your presentation better, but eventually you won’t care anymore.”

18. Use Metaphors and Analogies Combined With Hyperbole (Exaggeration)

“Figure out the pattern of something you’re criticizing, and then choose a metaphor that makes that look ridiculous,” says Brian Carter. “For example, I might teach that trying to do organic social marketing without ads, maybe hoping for it to go viral, is like trying to drive a car that only other people can fill up with gas when they feel like it, and hoping they will. Exaggerating anything makes it funnier. So I could exaggerate the previous example and say that it’s like the Star Trek Enterprise trying to fly to a new star system without any dilithium crystals, and hoping that some Klingons show up and give them some. Now, I just made those up and they’re probably horrible, but that illustrates the process (Trekkies get it).”

19. If the Energy Is Down, Bring It Up “If the host didn’t introduce you with a strong round of applause, this is a good time for you to ask the audience to offer a round of applause,” says Sarah Cooper. “Feel free to ask for a round of applause for the presenter, the host, some of the presenters before you, the sponsor or organizers of the event, and even one for the audience themselves (even though they think they’re clapping for themselves, it still feels like they’re clapping for you).”

20. Trust Your Funny Bits

“Your jokes are funny, so have confidence in them,” says Brandon Scott Wolf. “Deliver your punch lines emphatically, and then give the audience a moment or two to process what you said so they can laugh.”

21. Have Fun

“Don’t put something out there that bores you. If it bores you to tell it, you can bet it will bore your audience to hear it,” says Sal Calanni.

22. Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance

Overpreparation will help you be ready for anything and give you the knowledge and confidence that you can handle whatever comes your way onstage. As Steve Martin says, “Persistence is a great substitute for talent.”

And last but not least, from Irish comedian Dylan Moran:

23. Don’t Rely on Potential “Don’t do it! Stay away from your potential,” Moran says. “You’ll mess it up. It’s potential; leave it. Anyway, it’s like your bank balance–you always have a lot less than you think.”

As Mark Twain said, “The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.” That type of arms race may be one worth all our time. Most presentations are really boring. With applications of these tips, yours will not be. I hope you enjoyed reading these tips from comedians .

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

• Getting over stage fright to master the art of public speaking
• 23 Tips from Comedians
• Free Workbook
• Rubbish Content Delivered Beautifully Is Still Rubbish
• 19 Things Great Speakers Do (With Hilarious Video Examples)
• Can Standup Comedy Make You a Better Public Speaker?
• How to nail public speaking: The Chris Rock approach
• Better Book Talks. Tips For Authors

The funniest TED Talks

Great TED Talks illuminate an idea. Sometimes, they do it while making you laugh. These talks will bring a smile to your face. Please note: Vigorous debate ensued among our staff about which talks to include. So we hope you'll find something for every sense of humor.

Maysoon Zayid

I got 99 problems ... palsy is just one

Nerdcore comedy

Emily Levine

A theory of everything

Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

Shawn Achor

The happy secret to better work

Julia Sweeney

It's time for "The Talk"

Bob Mankoff

Anatomy of a New Yorker cartoon

Randall Munroe

Comics that ask "what if?"

Sir Ken Robinson

Do schools kill creativity?

Sarah Jones

A one-woman global village

Maz Jobrani

A Saudi, an Indian and an Iranian walk into a Qatari bar ...

Using lessons from stand-up comedy to help you deliver EXTRAORDINARY presentations.

I don't teach you how to tell jokes., i teach you how to confidently connect and engage with your audience..

Comedians are  EXTRAORDINARY  public speakers, using their exceptional skills and personalities to transform any topic into an engaging and enjoyable experience. 

Who better to show you techniques and share tips for creating a great presentation, i will teach you the secrets of what makes comics  extraordinary..

Audience Engagement:  Comedians are skilled at capturing and maintaining audience attention. Similar to maintaining engagement during a slide presentation or training session

Communication Skills:  Comedians excel in the art of communication. They have an innate understanding of timing, tone, and body language, which are crucial aspects of effective public speaking and presenting.

Adaptability:  Comedians often adapt their routines based on audience reactions, demonstrating strong improvisational skills. Adaptability is a key attribute of successful public speakers, especially when dealing with unexpected situations during a presentation.

Stress Management:  Performing comedy in front of an audience can be inherently stressful, and comedians develop techniques to manage this stress. This could easily be compared to the same stress felt when making a presentation in front of co-workers, vendors, family or friends

Imagine now having access to a stand-up comedian to assist you or your team in your upcoming presentations or sales meetings. One who can speak to you about your specific challenges and goals, and give you feedback and confidence.

Discover what participants of  Presenting Is No Joke  have found after attending the workshop:

"Great speaker, great stories, and ways to improve our presenting skills"  

"It was really good! It didn't feel like a lecture and the floor was always open."   

"I hope to see more like this in the future. And I hope that this will be available for a while longer. I've already told a few coworkers they should try to get into one. Public speaking is a difficult thing for many individuals for a variety of reasons, learning to speak publicly effectively is a skill that everyone should cultivate."  

"Highly recommend this training to help others realize that using their hands isn't unprofessional; it's actually engaging!"  

"This was STELLAR! I loved this session and am so excited about my next presentation to try out these skills."  

"Will definitely recommend it to anyone looking to present and become a leader."  

 "Thank you, I needed this. It was fun, engaging, and SUPER informative."

• Home →
• Delivery Techniques →

10 Funny Presentation Ideas to Make Your Audience Laugh

Everyone loves a good laugh, right? Whether it’s a stand up comedian, a funny film, or your own favorite TikTok, nothing beats a good giggle. So why not transfer this feeling of pleasure and joy to the workplace? It’s easy to become burned out or disinterested when preparing for presentations , so why not add a bit of comic relief to your next presentation by spicing it up with some funny ideas? Forget boring bullet points and charts, my top 10 funny presentation ideas will help you to keep your audience laughing and entertained throughout. From getting creative with pictures to having audience members dress up, these ideas will help you to make your next presentation memorable and enjoyable for all.

Play Off Stereotypes

Audiences may appreciate a humorous presentation that plays off of stereotypes, particularly if they recognize the culture being referenced. It’s important to be sure to stay respectful and not reinforce negative messages through humor.

Creating comedy around smartly chosen topics can spark a lot of laughter while boosting morale among audiences. Another great way to get your audience on board is by incorporating physical comedy where appropriate or introducing light-hearted conversations around different cultures coming together in one space. This type of welcoming atmosphere can instantly make people feel connected and break down barriers between groups, enabling everyone to have fun learning about cultures together!

Tell Jokes & Anecdotes

Telling jokes and anecdotes is one of the funniest ways to make an audience laugh. Lighten up your presentation with a few well-timed puns or witty remarks throughout – this will help break any awkward silences, and give your listeners an enjoyable experience.

If you don’t have many jokes prepped, try getting creative with stories from personal experiences ! Embellish humorous details that happened in real life to draw on natural laughter from your audience. Just be sure not to overdo it; there’s nothing worse than a joke that goes flat.

Incorporate Burlesque Comedy Styles

Speakers need to know about one more comedic style, the burlesque comedy. Burlesque means an act of satirical mockery that ridicules serious things with humorous exaggeration.

Speakers should make use of this comedic style in their presentations by incorporating it into stories and jokes. Utilizing this comic art form helps create genuine engagement among the audience as they experience something new and exciting while also having some laughs along the way.

It provides a unique perspective which stimulates positive emotions and allows speakers to evoke laughter without being too offensive or extreme. Furthermore, it’s a great way to break up long speeches or complicated topics with a few efforts of silliness and comedy skits throughout the presentation journey.

Incorporate Filmed Sketches & Cartoons

Filmed sketches and cartoons can be a great way to add some humorous elements to your presentations. Taking the time to find an appropriate sketch or cartoon that fits with the topic you’re presenting will make sure it has maximum impact on the audience—and even inspire some light-hearted laughter at their expense.

Make sure you preview any videos before showing them in front of your audience; they may not appreciate unexpected adult humor! To ensure your memorable moment doesn’t go off track, practice how you are going to cue the video into your presentation and how you’ll respond after it’s finished. You want everything to run seamlessly so audiences can enjoy the moment without being taken away from what’s being discussed.

Use Visual Gags & Puns

Visual gags and puns are an effective way to engage your audience in a humorous and lighthearted manner. When done correctly, visual gags can make the difference between an average and memorable presentation.

Examples of good visual gag ideas include intentionally misspelled or mispronounced words on slides, unexpected animations that trigger laughter, or even jokes told through illustrations. Make sure you practice the timing of your visuals carefully so they don’t come off as being too corny or overconfident.

To ensure success, use visuals with subtle humor and wit that are appropriate to the topic at hand and appeal to your audiences’ sense of fun.

Utilize Props & Costumes

Props and costumes can be a great source of entertainment to make your audience laugh. Using props and costumes in your presentation gives you the opportunity to switch up characters, bring on some new energy and unpredictability with each change.

Make sure that they are funny yet relevant to the topic you are discussing. Prepare different scenarios which will require various props and costumes for maximum humor.

For instance, if you’re going to talk about safety measures while travelling, then dressing up as a police officer or an airline pilot is something your audience won’t expect – but it gets them laughing too! Keep it lighthearted but also tie it into what you’re presenting. Employing props & costuming will give audiences something visual allowing them to instantly see the humour without having any complex explanation from yourself – letting you take a breather after all those jokes!

Show Good Sportsmanship

If you want to make your audience laugh, one of the best things you can do is show good sportsmanship. This means being willing to take a joke and give one back! Don’t be so serious that the audience has no choice but to cringe when something funny happens – embrace it! Allow yourself to be embarrassed in front of them even if it makes you uncomfortable, as this demonstrates a positive attitude that will get your audience on board with the idea of having fun.

If they see that you’re willing to join in on the laughter, they’ll likely follow suit. Additionally, taking jabs at yourself can lighten any potentially tense situations and establish an atmosphere of trust between both parties. Showing good sportsmanship demonstrates respect for not only your audience but also yourself which helps create a fun presentation environment!

Use Pop Culture References

Many people around the world are well aware of recent pop culture phenomenons, such as movies or tv series. Without a doubt you can use this to your advantage! Bringing something that is known and loved into your presentation will provide immediate entertainment for even the most curious of audiences.

Instead of using long phrases to explain what you are trying to tell them why not bring in an iconic line from a beloved movie? This will bring laughter and recognition resulting in positive feelings during your performance. As above mentioned it also connects your audience with you on a deeper level – they already like this particular reference and therefore begin to trust you more due to the atmosphere generated by humor.

Take Risks & Ad Lib

Taking risks during a presentation can be one of the best ways to make your audience laugh. You may want to try ad-libbing in order to add an element of surprise, which will greatly increase the likelihood that people will find you entertaining.

Don’t worry if you don’t always get it right – by taking a chance and showing your imperfect side you’ll demonstrate humility to your audience and create genuine comedic moments. Additionally, improvisation also allows for more flexibility with your topic since it requires quick thinking as well as being able to come up with answers or jokes on the fly. So put yourself out there and risk making mistakes in order for some serious laughs!

Allow Yourself Vulnerability

Vulnerability is often considered a sign of weakness . However, in the context of a presentation in front of an audience, vulnerability can help create relationships that generate greater empathy for your message.

Vulnerability allows you to express yourself truthfully and authentically to the audience – allowing them to connect with you on a personal level and feel included in your story. Try telling stories from your own experiences or telling jokes that make fun of yourself to give the audience something relatable while also making it entertaining. This goes beyond memorizing facts and figures – allow yourself to be vulnerable even when talking about complex topics , so you’ll never lose their attention!

More Tips for Funny Presentation Ideas

Make the context interesting.

Making the context interesting is key to ensuring your audience has a good laugh. To do this, try to think beyond traditional topics. Instead, come up with creative ideas that are related but unexpected. For example, if the presentation pertains to budgeting, try an approach that focuses on humorous spending habits in culture and pop culture. This can allow you to connect the topic to jokes sprinkled throughout the presentation. Alternatively, you can also focus on making a more serious topic funny by turning it into an analogy or a story with relatable characters. Doing so will entice your audience and hold their attention as you spin your tale with elements of comedy intertwined. Additionally, don’t be afraid to take risks with your content by addressing issues or topics that are outside of the norm. When done tastefully and respectfully, audiences tend to appreciate the unexpectedness of these ideas which often leads to enjoyable experiences. Leading into the next section, visuals and humor go hand-in-hand when creating a funny presentation. Using images, videos and animations can take your audiences laughter further than just words alone.

Use Visuals and humor

Using visuals and humor in your presentations is a great way to engage the audience and can often be the key to delivering an unforgettable presentation. Audiences are much more likely to remember a funny visual or video, rather than just being presented with text on a screen. However, when using visuals and humor, it’s important to make sure that the content is appropriate for all ages, genders, and backgrounds. It’s also crucial to gauge the audience’s response periodically throughout the presentation to ensure that your jokes are truly resonating with them. This can be done through body language , facial expressions, laughter and applause. When using humor in presentations, it’s essential to understand the difference between playful teasing and disrespectful mocking. To avoid any misunderstandings, using self-deprecating humor rather than anything too scathing or sarcastic can work as a safe strategy. Likewise, making fun of someone else will leave you with an uncomfortable atmosphere in the room. In both cases, it is best to stay away from offensive jokes or topics that could be seen as inappropriate for certain members of the public. By taking these steps into careful consideration when incorporating visuals and humor into presentations, you can ensure that you deliver an engaging speech that encourages people to laugh—not to cringe! Now let’s turn our attention to creative and funny visuals that you can use in your next presentation.

Creative and Funny Visuals

Using visuals as part of your presentation can really help engage your audience. Creative and funny visuals can be the perfect way to make the crowd laugh and bring more life to your talk. Photographs, cartoons, and even memes are all great visual choices for humor. Relevant humor works best, so it is important to understand some elements about the audience before choosing humorous visuals for your presentation. Humorous visuals can be a great addition to any presentation, if used tastefully and appropriately. If done poorly though, it can leave the audience feeling awkward instead of laughing. Some images may not be appropriate for certain audiences, so it is important to consider this when making your selection. If you keep it light and relevant, though, these visuals can provide a much-needed giggle in between dense data points or facts. It is also important not to rely too heavily on visuals as part of your presentation. While they may have an impactful punchline or create a humorous moment, the visuals should not take away from any other content you are presenting or its flow. They should tie in with your message but not overpower it. By using creative and funny visuals as part of your presentation, you can create a lighthearted atmosphere that will help you captivate the crowd. To do this effectively however, use them sparingly throughout—otherwise the impact won’t be there! Interactive Activities are another great way to engage the audience in laughter and bring life to the room. In the following section we’ll discuss how silly contests and games can help inject some laughs into your next event.

Deliver With Confidence

When delivering your funny presentation, it is important to focus on the audience and deliver your material with confidence. Confidence builds a sense of trust between presenter and audience, allowing them to relax and enjoy the presentation. If you are not sure of yourself, not only can it dampen the comedy but also provoke doubt in the minds of the audience members as to whether or not they should be laughing. Therefore, it is important that you exude confidence in both your delivery and appearance. Practicing your performance beforehand is also essential to ensure that everything runs smoothly on the day and you can maximize the potential for laughter from the audience. Run through several mock scenarios or practice in front of a trusted friend or colleague to ensure that any possible issues or hesitations have been ironed out prior to going live. The more prepared you are, the less likely you are going to stumble when delivering key parts of your funny presentation. The right kind of confidence can make all the difference when it comes to delivering a humorous pitch and how well it’s received by an audience. When done correctly, this simple task can lighten up even the most serious topic while keeping the attention of all guests present. With enough care and preparation, presenters can deliver confidently while still getting a laugh out of their audience. Now let’s take one final look at some of these funny presentation ideas before summarizing them all in our next section.

Summary of Funny Presentation Ideas

When it comes to presentations, injecting some humor often serves to engage the audience and make your message more memorable. Below are ten ideas for making your presentation humorous and entertaining: 1. Play off stereotypes. Play on stereotypes to trigger laughs in a non-offensive way. For instance, if you’re speaking about the differences between men and women in the workplace, emphasize these differences in a funny way, but do so with respect. 2. Tell jokes or anecdotes from personal experience. Drawing from real life experiences can provide material for some great comedic moments in your presentation. Examples include self deprecating stories as well as witty observations on everyday occurrences. 3. Incorporate burlesque comedy styles. Burlesque comedy is often used by stand-up comedians to draw laughter from their audiences through exaggeration and false seriousness. Speak with a deadpan expression while using ironical dialogue with regards to your points made will usually elicit chuckles of agreement from an audience. 4. Filmed sketches or cartoons. Use video clips to illustrate humorous points during your presentation. Inserting funny clips into your slides will help draw attention and add variety to your talk. 5. Add spice with props and costumes. Dressing up as different characters related to the topic of your presentation or having comics wear props are quirky ways to inject a bit of fun into your speech. This also can provide added emphasis when conveying certain points such as during role play scenarios and demonstrations. 6. Use visual gags or puns within slides This can be done through silly logos or images, by playing on words, or through clever use of motion graphics on slides when appropriate for the tone of the presentation . 7. Take risks & ad lib at times. It’s important not to stick strictly to a script in order to stay spontaneous and engaging throughout a presentation; this allows you room to explore unfiltered reactions by improvising off individual comments that may arise while you conduct the talk. This could mean exploring new jokes or comedic ideas as they come up naturally during Q&A sessions as well . 8. Show good sportsmanship. Humor can help you disarm tough criticism from opinions that may oppose yours; let them know via empathy statements that you understand their viewpoint, then reference humorous moments lighten the mood and drive home points in a diplomatic manner. 9 . Utilize pop culture references. Such allusions allow audiences connect instantly with current topics without presenting any political bias, granting greater accessibility to everyone across backgrounds and cultures. 10 . Allow yourself vulnerability . A little self-deprecation never hurts; confessing vulnerabilities shows humility which encourages audiences relate more easily and trust what you have say more willingly – so don’t forget laugh at yourself too! In conclusion, taking a few simple measures such as those listed above will definitely take any potentially dull presentation up several notches , brightening up events and allowing key messages sink right in without any lulls boredom !

Commonly Asked Questions

How can humorous elements be effectively used in presentations.

Humorous elements can be effectively used in presentations when done thoughtfully and appropriately. If used correctly, it can make a presentation more enjoyable and engaging , allowing the audience to relate to the message being presented more deeply. Humor should be used sparingly and with finesse, as using too much can be distracting or disruptive to the message. It should also be chosen wisely, as jokes that may be seen as offensive by some members of the audience should be avoided. Lastly, it is important to ensure that humor is related to the topic of presentation, so that it helps enlighten the audience on a specific point without becoming a distraction.

What types of jokes and humor work best in a presentation?

When it comes to making an audience laugh during a presentation, the best kinds of jokes and humor are those that are topical, self-deprecating, and show a good sense of timing . To start , topical jokes are always a good way to get the audience laughing. When you can relate your topic to current events, popular culture or other topics your audience is familiar with, they’ll be more likely to find it amusing. Additionally, it shows that you’re in tune with what’s going on and that you have an understanding of your audience. Self-deprecating jokes can also help lighten the mood during a presentation. People like when presenters can make fun of themselves in a light-hearted way; it adds a level of relatability that often puts people at ease. Finally, having good timing is key when it comes to delivering jokes during a presentation. If you wait too long before telling a joke or if you drop one in when the conversation has gone off track, the joke will likely fall flat and won’t elicit any laughs from the audience. You have to make sure the circumstances are right for the joke as opposed to forcing it even if it doesn’t quite fit. In conclusion, good presentation humor should be topical, self-deprecating, and have good timing in order for it to be effective at entertaining an audience.

How can I make a presentation entertaining without compromising its impact?

Making a presentation entertaining without compromising its impact doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are a few tips to help you make your presentation more engaging and dynamic while still conveying your message: 1. Keep your content relevant, concise and engaging. Avoid longwinded explanations or lengthy anecdotes, as this can bore or confuse your audience . 2. Incorporate humor into your presentation whenever you can. Adding funny moments or even using props can help break up the monotony and lighten the mood.Make sure to not overdo it, though, as this may detract from your message and distract from the topic at hand. 3. Tell stories as part of your presentation rather than just listing facts; narrating a story is much more engaging for an audience than simply hearing statistics and definitions. Not only does it give them something to relate to, but it also helps illustrate the point you are trying to make in an effective way. 4. Ask questions throughout the presentation to ensure it stays interactive and lively. Your audience will be more engaged if they get to chat with each other or answer questions as part of the experience. 5. End your speech with a takeaway message or quote that reflects the content of your presentation – making sure that everyone took something away from it.

Pitch Your Next Idea Like a Stand Up Comedian

Summary .   

Pitching an idea to stakeholders is not so different than doing a standup comedy. Hear us out: You need to capture your audience’s attention in the first five minutes, and keep them hanging on your every word throughout the presentation. Sealing the deal isn’t necessarily about how good you are at what you do, but about how well you tell your story. Mastering the below tips can help:

• Get to the “punchline,” or establish your credibility, within the first 15 seconds. The audience will listen up and want to hear what else you have to say.
• Don’t make assumptions about your audiences’ knowledge. Avoid acronyms and jargon. If your audience doesn’t understand your references, you’ll lose them.
• Keep culture in mind. Who is your audience? Would your idea excite them or offend them?
• Address questions on-the-spot. If a member of your audience has a question or objection, be in the moment and answer it immediately. Don’t stick to your script.
• Keep it short. Use as many words as you need to in order to get your point across. Nothing more.

The King Gong Show at The Comedy Store in London is one of the most famous yet brutal comedy nights in the world. It is both feared and revered in equal measure.

Partner Center

Animoto Blog

• Video Marketing
• Video Ideas
• News & Features

Your Guide to Video Presentations: Ideas, Benefits & How-To

Sep 1, 2023

The remote workforce has reshaped business dynamics, introducing both challenges and opportunities. Surprisingly, one aspect that remains unchanged is the mode of presentation. PowerPoint transitions seamlessly from the office to virtual meetings, yet unfortunately, static presentations fail to excite in this new digital space. Video presentations , on the other hand, offer a dynamic and engaging platform for sharing information effectively. According to Social Media Week , viewers retain 95% of a message conveyed through video.

• 30 Mar 2023

So you want to be the next Steve Jobs. Or Martin Luther King. Or any other dazzling orator you look up to. But you need a little something to add to your presentation ideas – you don’t want to bore people to death with Powerpoint.

Whether you’re creating a sales presentation, an event presentation, or just showing your travel video to Uncle Ron, we’ve compiled some of the best ways to get your audience seriously hyped up about your message.

Biteable offers online video presentation software, so we know a thing or two about making engaging presentation videos. In this guide, we share some of our favorite video presentation inspiration and show you some of the different types of presentations you might consider.

When you’re ready to make your own video presentation, head over to  Biteable  for hundreds of brandable templates, video scenes, and workplace-ready animations. With Biteable, making a video presentation is as easy as making a PowerPoint – only a whole lot more fun.

Create videos that drive action

Activate your audience with impactful, on-brand videos. Create them simply and collaboratively with Biteable.

Types of video presentations

If you’re looking to win over your audience with a presentation, videos are the best way to do it. According to Insivia, viewers retain  95% of a message  when they see it in a video, but only 10% if they have to read on-screen text.

When you’re making your presentation, you could either make your video the whole presentation, or just a part of the whole. Did you know, for example, that you can  embed a video in a Powerpoint document?  Either is possible with our video templates and it can be interesting to mix things up once in a while.

There are four main types of presentations:

• Informative
• Demonstrative
• Inspirational

Picking the right one will ensure you’re onto a winner with your video presentation. For example, if you’re onboarding some new employees, you might choose a video template that’s an informative presentation like this one:

Or, if you want to show off how something works, a demonstration presentation might be what you want to create:

A persuasive presentation would involve creating a video more like this charity infographic example:

And if you want something a little more inspirational, try something like this positive quote video template.

But that’s not all, folks! If you’d like to check out more awesome Biteable video templates, visit our  templates page here .

Creative (and fun!) video presentation ideas

You’ve now picked the type of presentation you need. But how do you get creative with your video?

First of all, it’s important your video is top-notch. Without high-quality graphics and production value, your message may fall by the wayside. Choose online  video presentation software  that’s easy to use and makes great-looking videos. That’s where Biteable comes in.

Whatever the topic of your presentation, your video format and design need to match the overall tone and message.

Delivering a corporate presentation on climate change? A fast-paced, wildly colorful template with upbeat music is going to feel a little off-message.

To identify how to design your presentation, think about the feelings you want to evoke in your audience. Want them to be crying with laughter? Moved to tears? Motivated into taking action? Pinpointing the emotions behind your presentation will help you choose the right template and make the best video possible.

17 great video presentation ideas

Now you’ve nailed down the type of video presentation you want to make, it’s time to master the finer details. Here’s just some of the ways you can make your message sing.

1. Start with a bold statement

A bold statement can capture your audience’s attention right from the get-go. Your statement should offer something slightly unusual and maybe even a little controversial. Something to make people sit up and take notice.

2. Tell a story

One of the best ways to get your audience’s attention is to tell a story – it’ll hit them right in the feels.

A personal, human story works because it the audience can relate to it on a personal level. Think about some stand-out examples of human stories that relate to your business or idea, and tell that story so people will connect with the central character. The bigger the emotion the better: love, longing, overcoming obstacles, things we’ve all had to deal with at some point in our lives.

Think about the  ‘story arc’  – how will you frame your message so the audience immediately empathizes?

If you’re selling trainers, perhaps you’ll talk about someone who’s training for a marathon. If you’re lobbying for women’s rights, perhaps you’ll tell a story of when a passing comment affected you deeply. Maybe you should think back to the decision that started your business, and start your presentation with that.

Here’s a great example of storytelling from one of the world’s top brands:

3. Use music

Music has great power to support and enhance the emotion in a video presentation, and has been proven to sustain an audience’s attention and aid in information retention. Music is used in movies to suggest an emotional state to the viewer, so why not in a video presentation?

Modern, up-tempo music will snap people to attention at the right moment, while slow, minor-key sounds relax the brain, which is useful for reviewing content so it can slip more easily into long-term memory.

It can be a struggle to find good quality  royalty free music , but here at Biteable we have a selection of great royalty free tracks (or you can upload your own if you’re that way inclined).

Music is one of the most critical (and often overlooked) aspects of any presentation. Here’s a good example of a Biteable template where the music does a great job of supporting the message.

4. Visual metaphor

Research has shown that combining pictures and text is one of the best ways to help people engage with and retain information. There’s something about how our brain works that makes text by itself far less memorable, so if you can combine something visual with your message, you’ll keep people’s attention longer and they’ll remember more of your presentation.

Talking to a group of people about taking action on something that scares them? A picture of someone diving or bungee jumping could work. Telling your boss how important that company retreat is next year? Show them an image of happy, relaxed people with their toes in the sand.

It doesn’t have to be obvious and clichéd, either. Closed doors, wide open roads, and lighting a candle all have subconscious messages that you don’t really need to explain. (Whatever you do, just don’t use the ultimate cliche: the overused  ‘water ripple’ .)

5. Use questions

Questions can be a great way to open a presentation, because they encourage the audience to think for themselves. It opens them up to a realm of critical thinking, which is perfect when you’re gonna sock it to them with your impactful message.

‘Did you know 15 billion trees are cut down each year?’

‘Have you ever considered what life would be like if you didn’t have to save money?’

The art of asking questions in a presentation means you can incorporate them into your video as a great lead-in. Combined with some appropriate music, it can really get your audience thinking about the issue, and then you’ll go on to explain exactly what your solution is.

Having a laugh can really do a lot to win over an audience. There’s no need to be too serious, and even if you’re dealing with a heavy topic, lightening the mood can work wonders.

Whether you’re looking to create a funny sales video, an event presentation, or a presentation for an interview — one thing’s for sure, you can’t go wrong by including humor.

7. Repetition

Simple. Effective. Powerful.

Repetition can be used in several ways: by offering several one-word sentences in a row (the repetition is in the rhythm), or by repeating a word or a key phrase several time throughout your presentation.

In his famous Stanford speech in 2005, for example, Steve Jobs concluded by saying  “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

Repetition is powerful. It drives home your key message and strengthens your position.

8. Motion Graphics

Motion graphics  are basically animation with text as a major component, and is a staple of what we do at Biteable.

When you use moving graphics in a presentation, it instantly captures attention. If your audience is just taking their seats, or are halfway through hearing your story, there’s no doubt they’ll sit up and take notice if you introduce some cool motion graphics, like this Meeting Tips example.

Although they can sometimes feel clichéd, quotes are a great way to impart a message in a presentation. Want your audience to understand something complex? A quote from Einstein should do it. Or would you like to say something meaningful and poetic? A couple of lines of Shakespeare should convey some wisdom.

10. Audio narration

Narration can give a different mood to your presentation, especially if the voice is powerful and the words are heartfelt. Use it to change the tone or pace of your presentation and it will certainly keep your audience hooked if there’s a danger of them losing interest.

11. Go bright with color

Color can have a huge effect on how your video comes across. Don’t be afraid to experiment. The contrasts of black and white can be extremely effective, but you can also grab people’s attention with some carefully-chosen primary and secondary colors, like in our Motion Graphics template.

12. Use illustrations

Illustrations are a great way to communicate information, especially if you’ve got lots to say. Whether you want to create a crowd of people or a cool depiction of some new fancy gadget, illustrations can draw the eye and make your presentation more interesting.

13. Infographics

When you utilize infographics, you can pack in a huge amount of data and information without confusing your audience. Think pie charts, digital numbers, and ascending animated graphs. These can show your audience boring data in an exciting way.

14. Create interesting transitions

The one advantage of video over a standard presentation is that you can do all types of funky things with transitions, like a whip pan transition, when the camera quickly pans between scenes. It’s a bit like a wipe, but much faster. Check out our full article on transitions  here .

15. Make it look cinematic

Adding a cinematic touch can help your audience feel receptive to your message because subconsciously, they will associate these elements with being at the cinema, eating popcorn, and generally having a good time.

16. Go retro

A cool, retro look for your presentation will make it hard to ignore. By going retro, you add a little bit of cheeky style to your message. You don’t need to go  quite as retro as the template below, but taking a step back in time is a sure way to add a little bit of zing to things.

17. End on a meaningful note

Your presentation will only give your audience a lasting impression if you end it right.

It’s important to let the audience know what you want them to do next: to visit a website for more information, to ponder an idea or new direction, or to take action toward a particular goal.

An attention-grabbing visual will work really well here, along with a meaningful end to the music – a change of pace, volume, or pitch.

What’s the takeaway message? A strong CTA (call to action) will ensure your presentation is memorable and much more likely to be talked about.

Video brings your presentation alive

Of course, we’re a little biased here at Biteable, but we’ve also sat through enough mind-numbingly dull presentations to know that video offers a delightful treat for your audience. It brings your message to life in a way no other medium can.

Ready to start crafting your presentation? Check out our range of templates  here .

Make stunning videos with ease.

Take the struggle out of team communication.

Try Biteable now.

• No credit card required
• No complicated design decisions
• No experience necessary

How to have Effective Communication in the Workplace

What’s the story – How to use storytelling to engage

• Search Search Close this search box.

Mastering Communication

Job Interview Training

Persuasive Business Storytelling

Art Of Influence

11 stand up comedy tips to improve public speaking.

• Written by Tim Chilvers
• Last Updated September 1, 2023

Looking for ways you can improve public speaking? Stand up comedians are considered the masters of public speaking, so studying their techniques makes good sense!

The best comedians make stand up look incredibly easy – like they’ve been doing it since they were born. They manage to engage their audience throughout the whole show.

Other comedians aren’t as polished. We feel their discomfort and it makes us wish we were any place but listening to their jokes fall flat.

With any form of public speaking, like stand up comedy, you can’t get up on stage and expect to be great if you don’t know your material inside and out, and how to work the audience.  Even the best public speakers need to practice their communication skills.

These stand up comedy tips can help you improve public speaking so you present like a pro:

1. Lighten the mood

Unlike stand up comedy, jokes aren’t required when public speaking but throw in a few here and there and you’ll make people sit up and take notice. Jokes help to lighten the mood, especially if your topic is somewhat dry and boring.

2. Understand your audience

A stand-up comedian thinks locally not globally when they craft their routine. It’s the same with public speaking. You need to think about your target audience, what you can give them of value, so they can leave feeling they’ve learned something. If you’re  injecting humour  they need to get the joke, otherwise, it might be met with incomprehension or could offend.

3. Tell the truth

The best comedians are masters of telling the truth about the human condition. We laugh because what they say is exactly what we all experience. As a presenter, you have the unique opportunity to do the same. By lightening ‘the truth’ with humour, you not only connect with your audience, you help them to see you as a fellow human being.

4. Tell a story

Another way you can copy a stand-up comedian’s technique is to  craft a story . The story might highlight a challenge you had to overcome at work or something that happened  in your personal life . If you link it to a point you’re making, or an idea you’re trying to sell, people will be more invested because you’ve transported them into their imaginations.

5. Learn from the best

Even if you’re comfortable with public speaking there’s always more to learn. Even the best stand up comedians study their craft and learn from the greats before them.

6. Be prepared to hustle

If you’re determined to be a good public speaker you have to work hard.  Jerry Seinfeld  likens it to construction workers, “ I realised that these guys don’t want to go back to work after lunch, but they’re going ’cause that’s their job. If they can exhibit that level of dedication for that job, I should be able to do the same. Just trudge your ass in .”

7. Think about timing

The best comics have impeccable timing, and know how to set-up a joke, when to pause and how to deliver the punchline. Jump onto YouTube and study the timing and techniques of some of the great public speakers, so you too can deliver a presentation with more impact.

8. Discuss your material

If you’re not feeling it, discuss your material with friends and colleagues. Bounce some ideas around and get feedback. Brainstorm. They might suggest topics or ways of presenting your material, or jokes that could work better.

9. Be prepared

No comedian does stand up without preparing their act – unless they want to get booed off the stage. Likewise, you should practice your speech over and over until you can recite it in your sleep.  Knowing your material  will give you greater confidence, and the ability to be more spontaneous with your language.  

10. Mute the heckler

Hecklers are the bain of stand up comedians, and public speakers, but heckling can be dealt with and even work in your favour. Above all never lose your temper with a heckler, always be kind and pleasant. Be prepared with a  few techniques up your sleeve  and you won’t have to let them faze you.

11. Enjoy the applause

So you’ve just delivered your best presentation yet. Congrats! But notice how comedians  enjoy the applause  then get off the stage? Don’t linger for too long or try and add on extras to your performance. A great stand up comic always leaves the audience wanting more.

As you can see, some of the techniques stand up comics use can be a powerful way to connect with your audience and improve public speaking. Want to master this art? Join us at our  next Public Speaking Skills  workshop.

The Colin James Method®  Facilitators train corporate executives to  improve their professional communication skills  with a proven methodology. Our highly trained Facilitators and Coaches are recognised for their experience in their fields and have worked with many individuals and organisations around the world to master the art of communication.

Increasing Sales Conversions through Building Trust: How Storytelling Builds Trust

The 4 Types of Communication – Definitions and Examples

Speaking With Confidence: Tips & New Training Tools

Deliver virtual training that works

Running an effective & engaging virtual meeting

Stay in the Know

Subscribe to our newsletter.

get in touch

Submit your enquiry.

Step 1 of 2

Your information will be used to send you emails in relation to your product or resource. We will only send you relevant information and we will never pass your information on to third parties. You can of course unsubscribe at any point. By sharing your email, you agree to our  Privacy Policy  and  Terms of Service . You can read our  Terms & Conditions  when making a purchase here.

Mastering Communication Online

Download a guide detailing how you can get ahead of the competition now.

Clicking download will keep you updated on Mastering Communications Online product only.

Your information will be used to send you emails in relation to your product or resource. We will only send you relevant information and we will never pass your information on to third parties. You can of course unsubscribe at any point. By sharing your email, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service . You can read our Terms & Conditions when making a purchase here.

Got any suggestions?

We want to hear from you! Send us a message and help improve Slidesgo

Top searches

Trending searches

hispanic heritage month

21 templates

mexican independence

67 templates

49 templates

indigenous canada

47 templates

independencia de mexico

14 templates

22 templates

Comedy Presentation templates

Life is hard enough to make everything serious (although if the situation calls for it, seriousness is sought), but we think that adding a little humor, laughter and fun never hurts. from slidesgo, we have organized a collection of google slides themes and powerpoint templates whose central theme is comedy to give it that touch of humor. and you, how would you do it maybe you can try downloading some of these designs.

• Calendar & Weather
• Infographics
• Marketing Plan
• Project Proposal
• Social Media
• Thesis Defense
• Black & White
• Craft & Notebook
• Floral & Plants
• Illustration
• Interactive & Animated
• Professional
• Instagram Post
• Instagram Stories

It seems that you like this template!

Register for free and start downloading now

Comedy tv show project proposal.

Are you a fan of comedy TV shows? Do you enjoy laughing until your stomach hurts? Well, we have just the thing for you! Imagine creating your very own comedy TV show that will have audiences tuning in every week for a good chuckle. That's where this amazing template comes...

Premium template

Unlock this template and gain unlimited access

International Joke Day Infographics

Laughter is therapeutic and gives a boost of optimism to our day. To join the celebration of International Joke Day, we have designed this colorful and creative template that contains several infographics with which you can explain the different aspects of jokes and comedy in general and, in addition, propose...

World Laughter Day

Laughter is food for the soul. Surely you remember a time when even your belly ached from laughing so much. In order to raise awareness about its healing effects, the first Sunday of May is celebrated as World Laughter Day. From Slidesgo we join this celebration with this fun template...

US National Tell A Joke Day

August 16 is US National Tell a Joke Day and since laughter is healing, we wanted to join this important celebration by designing this colorful and fun template, full of emojis, with which you can explain what this date is all about, its history, kick off the celebration by sharing...

Language Arts Subject for High School - 10th Grade: The Power of Humor

This template is NOT funny, in fact, it's pretty BORING. It's NOT EVEN good for a high school literature class to explain the power of humorous techniques like satire and sarcasm in writing an essay! Also, we have NOT included a wide variety of stickers. Haven't you figured it out...

Comedian & Guest Speaker CV

Getting chosen as the comedian and guest speaker for an event starts with making a good impression and standing out from the crowd, and this CV template will help you do both! Its fun and colorful design decorated with icons related to music, comedy and more, suggests a good time...

The Humor Limits Thesis

Sometimes in big events such as film awards galas, events happen that give so much to comment on social networks, in WhatsApp groups or in the coffee break during work that it becomes the subject of a thesis, focused from psychology or sociology. Where are the limits of humor? Are...

City Nightlife Comedy Talent Show Newsletter

Laughter is the best medicine, and good humor is paramount in a company. If you want to encourage it, this comedy club inspired newsletter template is perfect for you. It has a red background and eye-catching illustrations that give it a funny touch. The slides simulate a stage, on which...

Comedy for Everyone MK Plan

If you’re looking for a fresh template to brighten up your marketing presentations, you’ve come to the right place. In Slidesgo we’ve prepared this illustrative design specially for this purpose, and we believe that the combination of pastel blue and yellow will be eye-catching and interesting for your audience. The...

International Moment of Laughter Day

Laughter is the best medicine. To pay tribute to its healing power there is the international moment of laughter day, which is celebrated on April 14. We help you prepare a presentation with all the benefits it brings to our health with this fun template full of smiling emoticons and...

The Divine Comedy of Dante

Download the The Divine Comedy of Dante presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides and start impressing your audience with a creative and original design. Slidesgo templates like this one here offer the possibility to convey a concept, idea or topic in a clear, concise and visual way, by using different...

USA's National Humor Month

Did you know that April is National Humor Month? The goal is to raise awareness about the therapeutic potential of humor, as it has been proven that laughter helps relieve stress and improves our mood. Share facts and tips with this abstract style template with colorful shapes. You can point...

History of Comedy Lesson

Did you know that comedy is not a recent thing, but something that started way back? Satire, humor, concepts that have been around for centuries, so their history must be interesting, right? That's right! Use this template to give a lesson on the history of comedy. These slides will help...

International Joke Day

Where does the king keep his armies? In his sleeves! No matter how bad the joke is (the worse, the better, trust us!), there's a day dedicated to all of them: July 1! Original smileys and rainbows welcome you to this new template, which you can use to give a...

Funny Jokes and Stuff for Kids

Download the "Funny Jokes and Stuff for Kids" presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides and start impressing your audience with a creative and original design. Slidesgo templates like this one here offer the possibility to convey a concept, idea or topic in a clear, concise and visual way, by using...

The Cat that Hates Mondays & Loves Lasagna Minitheme

He’s cute, but also quite sarcastic! He loves lasagna and hates Mondays. He’s orange, a bit fat and doesn’t like to do sports. Do you know who we’re speaking about? This minitheme is dedicated to him, so you can speak about the history of this fictional character that so many...

Language Arts Subject for High School - 10th Grade: The Satirical Allegorical Novella

Allegories are a great way of sharing ideas and stories in both a literal and second level of meaning. Satire, on the other hand is the use of humour and irony to expose social or political situations in a more elegant and subtle way. Many literary works from the past...

Laugh and Learn with Language

Learning grammar is now more fun thanks to this Slidesgo educational template. Your students will love it. It is full of grammatical and spelling mistakes that they have to find out and correct. Test their knowledge and allow them to compete with their peers. It has a modern design with...

• Page 1 of 2

• About Reimagine Education 2024
• Delegate Registration
• 2024 Agenda
• 2024 Speakers
• 2024 Sponsors
• APPLY to the Awards
• Application Guide
• Terms & Conditions
• All Winners (2014-2023)
• *NEW* Student SDG Awards
• Meet the 2024 Judges
• Sponsor an Award
• Contact a QS Branding Expert
• Testimonials
• 2023 Showcases
• 2022 Showcases
• 2020 & 2021 Showcases
• Winners 2023
• Winners 2022
• Winners 2021
• Winners 2020
• Winners 2019
• Winners 2018
• Winners 2017
• Winners 2016
• 2023 Agenda
• 2023 Speakers
• 2023 Post Event Report
• Meet the 2023 Judges
• Meet the 2023 Grand Jury

Making humorous educational videos through an educator-comedian collaboration

Encouraging students to embrace online learning, using ai to teach ai in duke’s meng program.

• Uncategorized

by David Stolin

The beginnings

An educator and a comedian walk into a bar…

If this sounds funny, that’s probably because we don’t think educators spend much time around comedians. Yet when it comes to preparing top-quality online learning content, comedians are educators’ best friends.

This realization first struck me when I saw Sammy Obeid headline at a comedy club in California one April evening in 2018. (You may recognize Sammy as the host of the hit Netflix series “100 Humans”). Not only was he side-splittingly funny, but he held the tired, after-work audience in the palm of his hand even as he introduced mathematical concepts into his standup. I had been trying for some time to record online videos to support my classes, and by the end of the show, it was abundantly clear that I had much to learn from someone like Sammy. 

I reached out to him, and we began a collaboration that is continuing to this day. After very promising results on an initial home-made educational video, TBS Business School where I teach invited Sammy to Toulouse, France to collaborate with us in person (my colleagues and I describe the process in detail in Curran et al. 2020). As a result, over a dozen videos have been recorded to date, not only on finance (my own specialty) but also on international business, marketing, organizational behavior, and statistics and data science. This work has already received international recognition . The videos and the corresponding teaching notes are available from a dedicated webpage . For brevity (and fun), I will refer to such humorous educational videos as educational comedies, or edcoms – by analogy with situational comedies, or sitcoms.

Edcoms vs. sitcoms vs. educator humor

Sitcoms are widely used in teaching. To take economics as an example, according to Journal of Economic Education they include The Simpsons (Luccasen and Thomas, 2010), Seinfeld (Ghent, Grant, and Lesica, 2011), The Office (Kuester, Mateer, and Youderian, 2014), The Big Bang Theory (Tierney et al. 2016), Parks and Recreation (Wooten and Staub, 2019) and Modern Family (Wooten, Staub and Reilly, 2020). While the above articles refer to the approach whereby video clips from existing TV series (which were not conceived as educational tools) are matched to the most suitable learning outcomes, our approach is to start from the desired learning outcomes, and to inject professional-grade humor so as to facilitate their achievement. This allows one to have full control over which material is covered, focusing on the central message one is trying to convey, thinking deeply about the best way to communicate and highlight it by drawing on such staples of a comedian’s toolkit as metaphor, inversion, misdirection and repetition, and stripping away all the unnecessary verbiage to make the learning point (and the joke) as punchy as possible.  The benefits of such embedded humor are many: it becomes an organic mnemonic device; it rewards learning through releasing “feel good” neurotransmitters; it tests learning in real time; and it can even result in the learner becoming the teacher if the only way to share the humor with others is through retelling the learning material in conjunction with the joke.

An even more commonly encountered use of humor in teaching is “amateur” humor by the instructor. This use of humor is important and will always have its place in face-to-face teaching.  When it comes to pre-recorded educational videos, however, such humor is of limited value (Aagard, 2014). It is axiomatic that a collaboration between a professional educator and a professional comedian would result in a better integration of humor at the service of learning than either one could achieve on their own. Edcoms deploy professional-grade embedded humor as a weapon of mass instruction.

Embedding humor

Analogies are a key source of embedded humor, given how central they are to cognitive processing (Hofstadter and Sander, 2013). Here is Sammy using an analogy to explain why stock-picking is unlikely to be profitable for an individual investor: “ There are a lot of professional investors who are competing with you for the same profit opportunities. They probably have better training, better resources and more money at stake than you. Going against them is like going against a professional MMA fighter, when you just shadowbox at the gym on Saturdays. It’s a dumb idea. ”

What about other types of humor?  There are numerous taxonomies, but one that I find to be particularly useful in practice is by Scott Dikkers (2014), the founding editor of The Onion. In addition to analogy, he lists ten additional humor “filters”: irony (saying the opposite of what you mean); character (a comedic character acting on his or her traits); reference (to something the viewer can relate to); shock (approaching or crossing the boundaries of what is seen as socially acceptable); hyperbole (exaggeration to the point of absurdity or impossibility); parody (comic imitation); wordplay (puns, rhymes, double entendres etc); madcap (silly and nonsensical humor); metahumor (humor about humor); and misplaced focus (putting emphasis on a minor fact instead of the central one).  Not all of these filters are equally appropriate for edcoms. Shock should be used with extreme caution, and even then can backfire; wordplay humor may not work for non-native speakers; madcap and misplaced focus are likely to be distracting by definition; and metahumor is likely to require cognitive effort unconnected to achieving the learning objective (Mayer (2005) argues that  such extraneous mental processing undermines learning).  By contrast, the other five humor filters can play important supporting roles to analogy in embedding humor in edcoms, as illustrated below.

Irony: “ Penetration pricing. This is offering a deliberately low price to gain a bigger market share, before ideally raising prices later. But why would Apple do this now? It’s not like they are releasing a game changing 5G phone next year! ”

Character: “ Bust out your scientific calculator and it can tell you what is the chance that a normally distributed quantity will be less than 0.21 sigmas above the average. Or, if you can’t afford a scientific calculator like me, because you’re broke, you can look it up in a normal distribution table, like this one. ”

Reference: “ The ICC updates them [International Commercial Terms, or Incoterms] from time to time because the world changes and people change – just ask all my exes. ”

Hyperbole: “ What is finance? It’s the management of money. You find some change on the ground, that’s finance. ”

Parody: “ So I think it’s about time we (w)rap this up: “This is Sammy Obeid / I’ve shown you how debt is repaid / ’cause knowing loan amortization / can save you moans and aggravation.” And just know I did not write that. ”

As Dikkers points out, more sophisticated and therefore more rewarding humor tends to use a combination of filters. As you keep working with a comedian, you should strive to set the bar higher by increasing the number of filters in a given joke.

Producing an on-demand edcom

Another way of setting the bar higher is by working on a challenging edcom topic, even if you are unfamiliar with it beforehand. This is what we did on August 9 th , when Sammy and I gave an online workshop at the Academy of Management annual meeting . In it, we asked participants to propose to us a topic that their students struggle with, committing to record an edcom about it three days later. Now, the workshop received a fair amount of attention as it was a headline session and was voted the best session on teaching and learning , so we very publicly staked our credibility on the fact that one could take any topic and present it in a humorous way so that it is clear, memorable, and enjoyable to learn.

The topic that won out was Victor Vroom’s (1964) expectancy theory of motivation, something neither Sammy nor I had heard of before, although it turned out to be a standard topic in introductory courses on organizational behavior. After both of us read up on expectancy theory, an extensive consultation was held with the workshop participant who proposed the topic, which helped us understand the wider context in which the topic is typically presented, how it confuses students, and how it can be applied. At this point we decided to involve a recent psychology graduate who ended up guest-starring in the video and collaborating on scripting the video and preparing the corresponding teaching note (Mijangos and Stolin, 2020). We chose to structure our video as a (comically) brief presentation of expectancy theory, followed by two applications of it that presented humorous possibilities. Into this basic structure we incorporated humor; in fact, we used all eleven Dikkers (2014) humor filters, although madcap, shock and metahumor ended up in the outtakes, as shown and discussed in our “making of” video .

While I believe that the resulting edcom is successful – you be the judge – I would not attribute this to the topic being funny ex ante. During the workshop, we were not looking for an amusing topic, just for one that numerous students struggle with. Further, we did not find any particularly funny coverage of expectancy theory in any of the organizational behavior textbooks that we consulted, nor in videos explaining the theory. While the names of both the concept and its developer gave rise to wordplay humor in our edcom, it is generally not a problem to come up with wordplay or other humorous associations for any terms or names. Rather, I would argue that the combination of an experienced educator with an experienced comedian who are committed to working on making learning enjoyable is virtually guaranteed to result in an original, fun and insightful take on any topic – and the more you do it, the better you become at it.

An edcom manifesto

A short educational video with professional quality humor embedded into the learning material with the collaboration of a professional educator – what I call an edcom – may appear to be a rather esoteric product. Yet I believe edcoms have a key role to play in making education more effective.

Many learners are facing tough circumstances that make studying difficult not just logistically but also psychologically – and edcoms deliver a mood boost at the exact point it is most needed, i.e. when absorbing new material. Further, many learners come from educationally underprivileged backgrounds, and they will fall through the cracks unless they are ‘hooked’ both on a specific topic they are aiming to learn, and on learning in general – a role edcoms can play. Finally, many learners expend more effort and willpower in order to absorb and retain knowledge than needs to be the case – and edcoms help here, too.

A good question to ask oneself as an educator is: If my students have access to countless online educational resources prepared by my peers around the world, what is the best way for me to add value? A natural answer can be: offer them personalized instruction while curating existing resources, and incorporating the best ones into my class – hopefully including edcoms where available, for the reasons given above. But in parallel, creating one’s own edcom on a topic previously seen by learners as offputting is an amazing opportunity to help educate and engage a wider audience. It is also an opportunity to express oneself creatively and to grow as a teacher.

A good place to start is to read a book such as Dikkers (2014) that demystifies (at least somewhat) the process of writing a joke. The next step is to meet professional comedians – at a physical comedy club, or at one of many virtual ones (such as Sammy’s ); you are likely to be surprised by how approachable, curious, smart, and open to trying new things and finding new audiences many comedians are. To explain the potential collaboration, simply show them this article. While access to a video recording studio is nice, it is not necessary for getting started. Much more important is identifying a topic that is in need of being more engagingly communicated, and then attacking it with creativity and enthusiasm. An effective, enjoyable first edcom will likely convince your organization to help you make more. And most importantly, keep collaborating. You will have a lot of arguments with your comedian partner about whether to prioritize pedagogy or humor – but as your collaboration progresses, you will be finding more and more synergies between the two, and will be discovering new insights into teaching even on topics that you have covered dozens or hundreds of times before.

So, what happens when an educator and a comedian walk into a bar?  Find out for yourself… then set the bar higher.

Aagard, Hans P. (2014). The Effects of a Humorous Instructional Video on Motivation and Learning , Ph.D. Dissertation, Purdue University.

Allen, Michael W. (2016). Michael Allen’s Guide to e-Learning: Building Interactive, Fun, and Effective Learning Programs for Any Company (2 nd edition), Wiley.

Banas, John A., Norah Dunbar, Dariela Rodriguez and Shr-Jie Liu (2011). A review of humor in educational settings: Four decades of research, Communication Education 60:1, 115-144.

Curran, Louise, Annalisa Fraccaro, Jessica Grandhomme, Elie Gray, Guilain Praseuth, Katia Santrisse, Roman Skripnik, David Stolin, Maxim Zagonov (2020). Injecting humor into educational videos: How a business school collaborated with a stand-up comedian. In Dan Remenyi (Ed), The 6 th e-Learning Excellence Awards: An Anthology of Case Histories (pages 59-64). London: Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited.

Dikkers, Scott (2014). How to Write Funny: Your Serious, Step-By-Step Blueprint For Creating Incredibly, Irresistibly, Successfully Hilarious Writing , CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Ghent, L. S., A. Grant, and G. Lesica (2011). The economics of Seinfeld, Journal of Economic Education 42(3), 317-18.

Hofstadter, D. and E. Sander (2014). Surfaces and Essences: Analogy as the Fuel and Fire of Thinking , Basic Books.

Luccasen, R. A., and M. K. Thomas (2010). Simpsonomics: Teaching economics using episodes of The Simpsons, Journal of Economic Education 41(2), 136–49.

Martin, Rod A. and Thomas E. Ford (2018). The Psychology of Humor (2 nd edition), Academic Press.

Mayer, R. (2005). Cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In R. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology, pp. 31-48). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mijangos, Briana and David Stolin (2020). Expectancy Theory of Motivation: A Teaching Note .   TBS Business School. Available from https://tbs.bs/obeid .

Kuester, D. D., G. D. Mateer and C. J. Youderian (2014). The Economics of The Office, Journal of Economic Education 45(4), 392.

Tierney, J., G. D. Mateer, B. Smith, J. J. Wooten, and W. Geerling (2016). Bazinganomics: Economics of The Big Bang Theory, Journal of Economic Education 47(2), 192.

Vroom, Victor H. (1964). Work and Motivation . New York: Wiley.

Wooten, J. J. and K. Staub (2019). Teaching economics using NBC’s Parks and Recreation, Journal of Economic Education 50(1), 87-88.

Wooten, J. J., K. Staub & S. Reilly (2020). Economics within ABC’s Modern Family, Journal of Economic Education 51(2), 210.

About the author

David Stolin holds a PhD in Finance from London Business School, and has been a finance professor at TBS Business School since 1999. He conducts research on investment management, corporate governance and fintech, and has published in such outlets as Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and Management Science.

• Sponsorship Opportunities

• Share full article

Your Local Restaurant Is Doing Sketch Comedy

Once the realm of low-budget TV advertising, the restaurant commercial with owners and staff as actors has returned on TikTok.

Judy Wang makes delightfully bizarre TikToks to advertise her restaurant, Judy’s Family Cafe, in Galesburg, Ill. Credit... Judy's Family Cafe

Supported by

By Madison Malone Kircher

• Sept. 25, 2024

“Do not look at her, she’s going to try to sell us pancakes,” the TikTok video begins ominously.

A car drives slowly past a restaurant where a woman wearing tiny, wire-rimmed glasses with dark lenses stands outside holding plates of pancakes covered in blueberries and strawberries.

As the car rolls past the woman, she suddenly, seamlessly, appears in the back seat offering up the dishes to the passengers. “What are you looking for?” she asks.

@judysfamilycafe What are you looking for?@judywang #galesburgillinois #pancakes #海外创业 #breakfast ♬ original sound - Judy Wang - Judy's Family Cafe

There’s a pleasantly bizarre energy to the video that makes it hard to look away. Perhaps it’s the synth beats of the music, or the way the woman appears to stare beyond the camera and directly into your soul, but something resonated online. The video has been viewed more than 9.8 million times on TikTok since it was posted in early August and helped rocket the woman, Judy Wang, and her restaurant, Judy’s Family Cafe in Galesburg, Ill., to viral success.

Before the restaurant’s social media moment, Ms. Wang, 38, said in an interview that business at the five-year-old cafe, which serves all-day breakfast, was just OK. Now, she regularly sees customers coming in from out of state — some as far as New York — for a meal and to meet her. On Yelp, many recent reviews reference her social media content: “We drove two hours to visit after we saw her HILARIOUS videos.”

Victor Dantas, a 29-year-old waiter at the restaurant, helps Ms. Wang with creating the videos. He often guest stars alongside his boss and estimated their customer count on weekends has doubled since they started making videos in July.

@urbantandoorbristol We’re waiting for the duet @John Travolta 👀 #urbantandoorbristol #urbantandoor #parodysong #parodysongs #greaselightning #johntravolta #sandyanddanny #naan ♬ original sound - Urban Tandoor

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

Advertisement