In my still-brief career in Toastmasters, I have received feedback from members from my club, and other clubs, that the one area they want to strengthen in their public speaking skills is the use of humor.  From my experience, I have observed that many members have a common struggle of using humor to make a point, or even just to grab the audience’s attention.  Since I have never attended any TM meetings outside China, I have no basis for a valid comparison.  However, I felt that in many ways, the sense of humor differs between Chinese and Americans; And for the purpose of the article, whether and when humor is deemed appropriate can also differ between the two cultures.   However, I would like to point out some ways in which humor can be used in our speeches that can be valid and appropriate, regardless of culture, or subject.

There appears to be a distinct feeling in the Chinese culture, that humorous and serious situations are distinct and separate:  it is not appropriate to intersect the two worlds.  I see that played out in business meetings, in televised shows, and televised address of political leaders.  Witness how US President Obama naturally peppered in humor in his latest State of the Union Address.  Could that have been done by the Chinese leaders?  And if they did it, would it have been well received by the audience?  I believe the answers to those two questions are a resounding “No”.  Then, in what ways can humor be applied culturally independently?  We need to understand first the context of the message.

What is the message you want to deliver to the audience?  What is the nature of the message, and how do you want to audience to feel?   Are there cultural differences that would make humor inappropriate?  Perhaps, the audience is more accustomed to a purely didactic style of facts and figures.  Perhaps the use of humor, or anything construed as ‘not serious’ would adversely affect the “students’” cognitive process to absorb the material.  Let’s consider this.

At Toastmasters, most speeches are between 5-7 minutes.  Championship speakers such as Darren Lacroix and Craig Valentine believe that the audience can only remember and take away 1 crucial point in that time span.  The audience most likely are not in a ‘student’ mindset.  And the speakers’ objective isn’t to teach math or science and stimulate rote learning.   In most cases, we want persuade and motivate and move them by hammering in one key message.   Perhaps one day, if you have the opportunity to make a public political speech, or teach at a university, we will have to tweak the approach.  But for the sake of everyday communication, what is the most common media in either culture?  It is TV/Movies.  The successful shows use sights and sounds to grab our attention; use characters and plots and conflicts to draw us in; and of course, use humor in almost any movies to make anything memorable.   Most of the most memorable lines in movies are funny: And most don’t even originate from comedies.   That is because some of the deepest insights into life are uniquely expressed in a way that makes the audience say, “Ah Ha!  I get it!  That’s a witty way of looking at the pitfalls of life”.  When there is a tragedy, either we succumb to it (in which there is no reason for us to give a speech), or we overcome it.  Afterwards, as human beings, we could look back at those tough times and laugh about it.  When we make terrible mistakes, either we submit and surrender (again, not a good speech topic), or we learn from it and become stronger.  In self-deprecating ways, we can laugh at those mistakes.

The lesson is this:  we all experience the ups and downs.  The audience expects to be lifted up into an inspired state.  They expect that the speakers can pull them out from the gutters and see the world in a lighter, appreciative way.  Humor can do that.  Humor will allow you to connect with the audience, no matter how serious the speech.