Concentrating on a talk can be difficult, and humor is a fantastic way to engage your audience. The laugh overrides the defenses of others, and suddenly you find yourself with an opportunity to communicate with them Tips from Tom Rielly:<ol><li>Tell anecdotes that relate to the topic, where humor comes naturally.</li><li>Have a funny comment handy in case you screw up. The audience has also been through similar situations and you will gain instant sympathy.</li><li>Include humor in the visual elements.</li><li>Use satire.</li><li>If you are not a funny person, don't try to be. Try it with people you know and see if it works.</li></ol>

5 tips to make people laugh

There are speakers who use humor to deliberately get rid of their ego. Criticizing oneself, badmouthing oneself, is something that, if done by the right person, can be very good.

fight it

"Nothing damages the perspective of a speech more than the feeling that the speaker is a braggart" - Chris Anderson

Put aside your ego

Be yourself. The worst talks are the ones where someone tries to be who they are not. If you normally like to fool around, fool around. If you are emotional, be emotional. The only exception is arrogance, self-centeredness. If you're arrogant, self-centered, you have to do everything you can to not let it show.

be Yourself

Ego comes in many forms, forms that may actually be invisible to a speaker who is used to being the center of attention.<ul><li>Allegations of important acquaintances</li><li>Anecdotes that seem designed only for bragging purposes</li><li>Speaking well of yourself, or your company's accomplishments</li><li>Focusing all the talk on oneself, rather than on an idea that might be useful to others</li></ul>

avoid it

Chris Anderson is the curator of phenomenally successful TED talks - over one billion views and counting. He is passionate about the importance of public speaking, something he describes an a crucial life skill and which we should be teaching in school, and of the amazing power of direct human-to-human communication, recorded on video, in the internet age. It is now possible to share ideas with millions around the world (as evidenced by the success of TED itself, whose most popular talk has been viewed 31 million times). In his first book, Talk This Way, he shares his passion for public speaking and offers a master-class in how to do it - not just how to give a great TED talk, but how to stand up and speak persuasively in front of any size of audience, whether that is a school classroom, making a video blog, in a business meeting or at a conference. The book brings together his experience of over two decades as the curator of TED, in which time he has listened to over one thousand stage talks, with advice from 30 of his all-time favourite TED speakers.

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Chris Anderson is the curator of phenomenally successful TED talks - over one billion views and counting. He is passionate about the importance of public speaking, something he describes an a crucial life skill and which we should be teaching in school, and of the amazing power of direct human-to-human communication, recorded on video, in the internet age. It is now possible to share ideas with millions around the world (as evidenced by the success of TED itself, whose most popular talk has been viewed 31 million times). In his first book, Talk This Way, he shares his passion for public speaking and offers a master-class in how to do it - not just how to give a great TED talk, but how to stand up and speak persuasively in front of any size of audience, whether that is a school classroom, making a video blog, in a business meeting or at a conference. The book brings together his experience of over two decades as the curator of TED, in which time he has listened to over one thousand stage talks, with advice from 30 of his all-time favourite TED speakers.