How to add humor to a speech

"I've never seen anyone with the double whammy of humor and content that I saw from you today, Conor."

MHM

What if you had a complete, easy-to-follow system for

Adding Humor to your Presentation?

 

We're not joking! Keep reading to discover how acclaimed keynote speaker and award-winning humorist - IrishmanSpeaks Conor Cunneen will show how you can have your audience Learning AND Laughing so they will leave with:

A Smile on the face

A Spring in step AND

A memorable message from you that they will remember.

All because of you Adding Humor to your Presentation!

In just FOUR WEEKS, you will develop the ability to consistently CAPTURE and CREATE relevant humor to add to your presentations. 

The Net Result?

  • You will better engage your audience.
  • You will communicate more effectively.
  • You will get kudos from attendees for your ability to connect.
  • You will generate increased fees, repeat business and bookings.
  • You will get even more enjoyment from your presentations

 

But I'm not funny. I'm not a comic!

"Neither am I," says course creator - IrishmanSpeaks Conor Cunneen, but I have learned to engage my audience with good business content interspersed with a lot of appropriate humor and laughter.

"My secret is that I consistently CAPTURE the humor around me and add it in a relevant manner to my presentations. I know YOU can do the same.

"My promise is that In just FOUR WEEKS, you will develop the ability to consistently CAPTURE and CREATE relevant humor to add to your presentations. And if it doesn't work for you, just ask for your money back. I'll send it straight back to you - no questions asked - as I contemplate in my pint of Guinness what went wrong!"

 

"Conor's ability to convey powerful messages through business examples, storytelling and great humor is masterful."

Employee Engagement Presentation

Some evaluations are more - shall we say -  combative!!

" This was not breakfast! Continental breakfast maybe. If I had known, I would have pre-eaten something healthy. However the presenter (Conor) was very funny with an excellent message."

 

("I was not responsible for the breakfast!" - Conor)

Why this course is different to other Humor courses

 

Most humor courses tell you how to create humor without ever really showing you the results. It’s a bit like learning calculus in high school. You know the theory (in theory) but can’t quite figure out how to use it! 

This course is different to other humor courses because we'll - kind of - work backwards!!

I'll show you "the results" - Humorous material from my professional presentations - explain how I got there and why the audience laughed. When you follow the very simple concepts in Adding Humor to your Presentation, you will get your audiences laughing.

As IrishmanSpeaks, I position myself as a keynote speaker who provides Substance with Humor to Improve People, Performance & Productivity - with a Smile. My core objective is to leave clients with a solid and memorable business message. The various testimonials on this page indicate I achieve this  - as can you also - partly by adding relevant humor at appropriate times.

In Adding Humor to your Presentation, you will see many instances of presentations where I received very strong audience laughter. In this course, we will then forensically dissect the laughter and the material that generated it so you can do similar with your material. And I promise you, you can.

Example: 

Below I showcase one of my signature stories – The Mobile Discotheque – which features a chat (ahem)  I had with one of Illinois’ Finest! As you can see from the video (this was when I had hair) this powerful story on Choosing your Attitude generates a lot of laughter.  

I will explain the techniques I used to generate the laughter. These are techniques which you can use to make your audience laugh and feel better while listening to your powerful message.   

Remember this speech was NOT written overnight. Indeed, I continue to add little nuggets, quips to it to further ratchet up the laughter and make sure my audience remembers the powerful message I wished to convey that – You can choose your Attitude. 

 

"Conor was the perfect closing keynote speaker for our conference in Malaga, Spain. Frequently very funny, but always with a serious message, he kept our delegates well entertained."

SITE International

 

" Conor, I don't think I have ever seen an audience laugh so much yet leave with genuinely good ideas to improve the workplace."

 Aurora University

Adding Humor to your Presentation. What you will Learn

What you will Learn - I 

 

You will Learn you don't have to CREATE Humor

You will learn how to CAPTURE Humor that is all around you

 

The Power of L.A.U.G.H!  Huh!

L.A.U.G.H is an acronym for FIVE powerful concepts that will help you CAPTURE Humor, write funnier speeches and connect better with your audience.

L – Listen and Record. When you see, hear, do something funny, capture it. You never know when you will use it.

A – Anecdotes. You will appreciate that people laugh more often at anecdotes, quips and comments than jokes.

U – Uncomfortable. Quite often, THE funniest stories are where you or a friend recount something that went wrong. At the time it might have been uncomfortable, but now all you can do is laugh as you recount the story. We’ll find those Uncomfortable Anecdotes and help you craft a relevant message for your speech.

G - Google (on the Bing!) You’ll learn how to search for relevant, humorous material that can enhance your speech and have your audience laughing (and learning.) We are NOT talking about plagiarism.

- Hee Hee Hee to Ho Ho Ho. You will learn that the little comment, ad lib or quip that elicited just a little chuckle from your audience quite likely can be polished up to ultimately generate a raucous Ho Ho Ho.

"Conor is a great speaker! Fun and motivating at same time. I loved it."

Healthcare Conference

 

“Room was freezing. Speaker was excellent and very funny” 

 Association of Legal Administrators

What you will Learn - II

 

Telling a POWERFUL Message through Humor

 

The great French author Victor Hugo wrote "Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face."

Now, that is not exactly correct as Victor did not speak English. But if I left you with “Le rire est le soleil qui chasse l'hiver du visage humain” (Les Miserables), you might sign up for a French language course and there's very little humor in that!

Be it English or French, the logic about humor is irrefutable. Laughter you can generate will drive "winter from the human face" and help you better connect with your audience.

Mark Twain (that's the great man below) said the minute humor “crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place.”

Mark Twain was a very well traveled man whose efforts to learn French can be illustrated by his comment "In Paris, they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language."

That quote makes people smile. I did not create it. I CAPTURED it and have found reason to use it a few times in my presentations and of course on this page.

You will learn that if you use the L.A.U.G.H acronym and CAPTURE experiences that make you smile, you will develop content over a very short period for Adding Humor to your Presentation. 

You will learn that simple changes or additions to your current stories can have 'em laughing and learning.

You will appreciate that just changing a word or a phrase can make your story much more engaging and fun. 

At the end of this course on Adding Humor to your Presentation, you will know how to add wit, humor and zing to a personal story while providing a powerful message or lesson. 

Who the heck is IrishmanSpeaks - Conor Cunneen?

 

Adding humor to your presentation and speeches speaker as a young 'un

Your Instructor in his "Yute"

 

Wondering - How to add fun to your presentation and speech

Your Instructor in his non "Yute"

 

IrishmanSpeaks: Happily exiled in Chicago!

Hi, Conor Cunneen, here. I'm an Irishman happily exiled in Chicago where the Guinness is good, the people are friendly and I have been force fed more corned beef and green beer than I ever had in Ireland. (I'm not joking here, folks!)

I earn a crust as a keynote speaker with a mission to Improve People, Performance & Productivity – with a Smile. My goal for all presentations AND this program is to leave you with a Smile on the face, a Spring in the step AND Memorable, Actionable steps to help you achieve your objective – In this case Adding Humor to your Presentation.

In just FOUR weeks, you will develop the ability to consistently add humor to your presentations thus allowing you to better engage your audience,  communicate more effectively AND generate increased fees and bookings.

 

"Great Seminar. Interesting, funny and very useful."

American Bus Association

 

What you will Learn - III

 

How to win Humorous Speech Competition

 

Here’s something to surprise you and make you wonder does this guy have ANY idea what he is talking about!

You will learn that If you want to win a Humorous Speech Competition – Toastmasters or other – DON’T try and write a Humorous Speech initially. WTF! (Wow, That’s Funny – for those of you whose mind is in the gutter!)

My strong suggestion is to write your speech with your core message, THEN add the humor via the numerous tips, tricks and techniques you will learn in Adding Humor to your Presentation. It is rare for even the best humor writers to craft a very funny speech with one draft. It takes time. It takes re-working. 

 

"Loved his humor and positive attitude. Wished he could have spoken longer."

ASCOM

 

What you will Learn - IV

 

Political Humor (Good Luck), Current Affairs, Cultural Icons

 Now we're getting to the tricky bits. The great Mark Twain said "Suppose you were an idiot, suppose you were a Congressman, but I repeat myself!"

As you probably appreciate, political humor can be very divisive and most of the time, probably not worth it. It can, however, work very well with a partisan audience.

Learn the do’s and don’ts of political humor. Health Warning! Get political humor wrong and you’ll likely feel as bad as someone who has had a song written about them by Taylor Swift after another breakup! 

We’ll show you other ways to make fun of / with cultural icons like Taylor Swift, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, (see the editorial balance there), Tom Hanks, Dick Cheney, Prince Harry – In other words, Tom, Dick and Harry!

 “Conor has a wonderful way of using humor to deliver an important message.  It is rare to find a speaker with those qualities.  I didn’t want his presentation to stop.”    

 

CDBPM Law

What you will Learn - V

 

Compare 'n Contrast - Exaggeration -  Taking Things Literally - PowerPoint, ugh!

Just a few days ago, as my bride was heading out the door, she said to me, "If you are going out, the window upstairs is open."

My response! "Can I not go out the front door?"

We all can appreciate that she was telling me in a roundabout way to close the window before I left the house, but the literal version is quite funny.

In Adding Humor to your Presentation, You will learn the potential for humor in taking things literally or out of context.

You will learn that PowerPoint presentations can actually be funny. And that's not a joke!

Concepts like exaggeration, compare 'n contrast can be used very effectively to make your audience smile. Adding Humor to your Presentation will show you how.

More Post Webinar Comments on

Adding Humor to your Presentation

 

"I can definitely see us having you back, Conor.  Your presentation was the perfect blend of humor and education.  Loved it" 

PULSE Women's Healthcare Conference

 

"Conor was the perfect closing keynote speaker for our conference in Malaga, Spain. Frequently very funny, but always with a serious message, he kept our delegates well entertained."

SITE International

What you will Learn - VI

 

Finding Humor on the "Interweb"!

 

The largest repository of information on this planet is the good old "interweb" - Google, Bing, ChatGPT / AI.

You can literally find anything when you "Google on the Bing" including some wonderful humor appropriate for your presentation.

Adding Humor to your Presentation will provide you with wonderful Tips, Tricks and Techniques to find that humor without plagiarizing or worrying about lawsuits.

" Conor, I don't think I have ever seen an audience laugh so much yet leave with genuinely good ideas to improve the workplace."

 Aurora University

Questions on Adding Humor to your Presentation

 

Module I

 

 "Laughter is the closest distance between two people."

Victor Borge

 

The Power of L.A.U.G.H! 

featuring

  • Five lessons to CAPTURE Humor
  • FIVE videos
  • Five Quizes

L.A.U.G.H is an acronym for FIVE powerful concepts that will help you write funnier speeches and connect better with your audience.

L – Listen and Record. When you see, hear, do something funny, capture it. You never now when you will use it.

A – Anecdotes. You will appreciate that people laugh more often at anecdotes, quips and comments than jokes.

U – Uncomfortable. Quite often, THE funniest stories are where you or a friend recount something that went wrong and at the time might have been uncomfortable. We’ll find those Uncomfortable Anecdotes and help you craft a relevant message

G - Google (on the Bing!) You’ll learn how to search for relevant, humorous material that can enhance your speech and put a smile on their face. We are NOT talking about plagiarism

- Hee Hee Hee to Ho Ho Ho. You will learn that the little comment or quip that elicited just a little chuckle quite likely can be polished up to ultimately generate a raucous Ho Ho Ho.

Conor explains that the Original Title was NOT

Adding Humor to your Presentation!!

 

"You really delivered on your promise of providing a meaningful message to our employees celebrating up to 45 years of service and doing it through 'Substance with Humor'. "

 Riverside Healthcare

Module II

 

"Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations, and resentments flit away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.”

 Mark Twain

 

Telling a POWERFUL Message through Humor

 

featuring

  • Humorous story on Choosing your Attitude
  • Six Videos dissecting the story and why the audience laughed
  • Six Quizes

Humor helps you connect with your audience. Mark Twain -  probably the finest humorous speaker ever (and even longer than that!)  said “Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our hardnesses yield, all our irritations, and resentments flit away, and a sunny spirit takes their place.”

You will learn how to craft a humorous story – WITH a message. Simple concepts like self-deprecation, exaggeration, repetition, understatement, playing to your heritage, repetition, current events, quotations, repetition!! can be utilized to get ‘em laughing and learning.

I will forensically dissect one of my signature stories – The Mobile Discotheque, see above – which features a chat (ahem) that I had with one of Illinois’ Finest! As you can see from the video (this was when I had hair) the powerful story on Choosing your Attitude generates a lot of laughter.

I will explain the techniques I used which you can also use to add humor to your powerful story.

 

 

Conor, two points were obvious from your great presentation.

1) You had them laughing for 60 minutes.

2) You left them with memorable ideas around Goals, Attitude, Behavior that many have said they will take back to the workplace.

 National Grants Management Association

Module III

 

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”

Charles Dickens

  

How to win Humorous Speech or Tall Tales Contest

 

The great French author Victor Hugo wrote "Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face."

Now, that is not exactly correct as Hugo did not speak English. But if I left you with “Le rire est le soleil qui chasse l'hiver du visage humain” (Les Miserables), you probably would not be too impressed. Be it English or French, the logic about humor is irrefutable. Mark Twain said the minute humor “crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place.”

You will learn how you can add wit, humor and zing to a personal story while providing a powerful message or lesson which is a great formula for Humorous Speech Contest winning speeches.

As for Tall Tales contest! Well, if this isn't the best online course ever since Al Gore invented the interweb, my name is not Barack Obama!!!

"A true Irish Gentleman! Conor, thank you for the laughs and the life lessons around the Gift of GAB (Goals, Attitude, Behavior)"

 

St. Lukes Medical Center

Two Risk-Free Ways to Pay

 

Three Monthly Payments of

$97

 

"Laughter connects you with people" 

- John Cleese

 

Buy with 3 Easy Payments

A One-time Payment of just 

$279

 

"Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine."

- Lord Byron

 

Buy Now - Get an extra Bonus

The Choice is Yours.

Zero Risk with 30 day money back guarantee

Module IV

 

"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face."

 Victor Hugo

 

Political Humor (Good Luck), Current Affairs, Cultural Icons

For many, this module is the most fun and often the most challenging. How do I craft political humor that won’t offend someone? Now, THAT would be really difficult, but you can craft political humor that will get a raucous reception to the right audience and if you say it to the wrong audience, it will also get a raucous response!!  

Current affairs and cultural icons are prime candidates for humor. You will learn how you can make fun of the idiosyncrasies of the rich and famous and the importance of punching up rather than punching down. 

 We’ll show you other ways to make fun of / with cultural icons like Taylor Swift, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, (see the editorial balance there), Tom Hanks, Dick Cheney, Prince Harry – In other words, Tom, Dick and Harry!

One related piece of advice. Don’t ever break up with Taylor Swift unless you want a song written about you! 

"It was genuinely funny and informative. I laughed and learned a lot about myself."

Nurse evaluation AMSN

Module V

 

 “There is little success where there is little laughter.”

 Andrew Carnegie

 

Compare 'n Contrast - Exaggeration -  Taking Things Literally - PowerPoint, ugh!

For many, this module is the most fun and often the most challenging. How do I craft political humor that won’t offend someone? Now, THAT would be really difficult, but you can craft political humor that will get a raucous reception to the right audience and if you say it to the wrong audience, it will also get a raucous response!!  

Current affairs and cultural icons are prime candidates for humor. You will learn how you can make fun of the idiosyncrasies of the rich and famous and the importance of punching up rather than punching down. 

 We’ll show you other ways to make fun of / with cultural icons like Taylor Swift, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, (see the editorial balance there), Tom Hanks, Dick Cheney, Prince Harry – In other words, Tom, Dick and Harry!

One related piece of advice. Don’t ever break up with Taylor Swift unless you want a song written about you! 

"Conor nailed it on every level.

Learning, Laughter, Leadership"

Association Registered Nurses

Satisfied client

 

 

"So funny and insightful. If you ever need an endorsement- don't hesitate. In fact if you run for governor, send us a ballot!!! 

 

Nurse Educator, New York

 

 

His message, filled with wit and humor, makes such great sense and is so easily applicable to so many people. 

His gift of GAB speech, is nothing short of spectacular 

Benet Academy

Two Risk-Free Ways to Pay

 

Three Monthly Payments of

$97

 

"Such a laugh was money in a-man's pocket, because it cut down the doctor's bill like everything."   

Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain 

 

Buy with 3 Easy Payments

A One-time Payment of just 

$279

 

“From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!”

Dr. Seuss

 

Buy Now - Get an extra Bonus

The Choice is Yours.

Zero Risk with 30 day money back guarantee