TED 6: Lighten Up
Use light, natural humour from real stories, not jokes you found online.
A meta-analysis finds humour raises attention and liking but does little for credibility, and badly judged humour can hurt.
Why it works
A light moment relaxes the room and makes people like you. Gallo advises observations and stories, not set-piece jokes. But humour does not make your argument stronger.
How to do it
- Look for funny moments in real events.
- Make yourself the target, never the client.
- Test it on one colleague first.
- Skip it if the room is formal or the news is bad.
What to say
The first time I visited a potato farm, I wore white shoes. That was my first lesson.
I asked one candidate why he left his job. He said: monsoon.
Avoid
Jokes about religion, caste, region or gender. One bad joke can lose a client.
Example
Opening a talk to agri students in Ludhiana, Jaspreet joked about his first bike breaking down on a farm road. The room relaxed and listened.
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