Many public speakers will inject humor into a speech. Many will begin with a funny anecdote, or use one to make a point. If the speaker can pull it off, something far from guaranteed, it can work well. Everyone loves a good joke or a funny story. It can be a great way to loosen up the audience right at the beginning, especially when the speaker is unknown.

But not every speech has to contain humor. Sometimes it can even work against you.

There are some topics where humor simply isn’t appropriate. War, child abuse and a whole array of serious subjects just don’t lend themselves to amusing tales. Trying to do so will almost always alienate the audience, making them hostile to the speaker. That’s the last thing you want. An angry crowd isn’t geared toward listening carefully or sympathetically to what you have to say.

Selectivity and good taste will carry you far, here. Ask yourself if you would find the story amusing and appropriate. Then ask a couple of close friends or relatives. Widen the circle to include one or two people who don’t know you that well. Ask for objective feedback. Sometimes the occasion won’t be right. People find things funny at some times but not at others. But getting a sampling will help you decide.

Make sure the material is right for you. Not everyone is funny. Even a good joke can be badly told. In fact, at least half of a successful joke is just that - style. The late Johnny Carson often used (perhaps deliberately) so-so material. But he had the skill to put a spin on it that usually made the audience laugh. More contemporary comics like Jon Stewart are similar. They know how to make people laugh.

That skill can be learned (to a degree), but most public speakers are not professional comedians. Public speakers have much to concentrate on. If humor doesn’t come easily it may be better just to avoid it, or at least work up to it.

The humor should be an adjunct, not the main goal. Humor is best used not as a crutch but as a walking stick. It can help you get where you want to go, but the focus should remain on the topic and the content of the speech.

Humor can capture the essence of a point in a captivating way, or it can be a distraction. When it works the former way, it will help you convey as nothing else can just what you are driving at. It will be memorable, people will repeat the story. But when it doesn’t fit the topic, when it’s just thrown in to liven up an otherwise dull speech, it works against you.

If you can incorporate a funny story, one that the audience will actually find amusing, it’s a great tool. But a series of amusing stories is not a public speech, it’s a comedy performance.

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