In November of 2008 the number of jobs lost for that month was 533,000. We are entering troubling economic times in the U.S. and globally.

Even in hard times there is still public speaking opportunities for those who are aggressive and positive forward thinkers. That is also true when it comes to public speaking opportunities.
Did you know that if you can use humor and make people laugh you will keep having more and more opportunities in motivational speaking jobs.
I wait until I’ve opened a mouth wide with laughter…Then I pour a
dose of truth down it. –Charles Spurgeon

Well said. The proper use of humor in your motivational speaker jobs has effects well beyond its
entertainment value. It loosens up the crowd, and opens them up to your message. I have my own “humor file” of about two hundred pages. It contains humorous stories I’ve heard and jokes I’ve been told or have seen on television, in newspapers, magazines, and e-mails. I read maybe a book each month on humor, constantly looking for gems. Whenever I use one of the jokes from my file, I go back in the book and write down where I used it, for whom, and the response it received. Then, I might rework it, reword it and use it again later. I make it a point, though, to never build any speech around humor. I wait until the speech writing is completed, then look for a place where an appropriate joke or humorous story might “stack on.”

Humor can soften controversy and relieve tension. It can get the audience’s attention back if they’re drifting. And, most importantly, it can make them like you. Everyone enjoys spending time with someone who has a sense of humor, and if the audience enjoys spending time with you, you’ll have a much better chance of achieving your objective than if they don’t…never apologize for a joke in any way. No “Stop me if you’ve heard this one” or “Indulge me for just a moment.” No shrugging or other apologetic body language. If the joke is in the speech, you should already have determined that it’s appropriate, relevant to the material, and worth telling.” TCS

So, please don’t stop me if you’ve heard this one.  Find good comedy material, develop it, and practice it for all your public speaking jobs. Go to comedy clubs and watch stand-up on television. Examine how jokes are told well. Look for timing, pauses, facial expressions, body language, etc. Now, go put some smiles on some faces!

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We often think of the comic who can’t get a laugh a performance that bombs. Did you know that in your public speaking jobs that going past your allotted time can turn a good speech into a bomb? It is called Overtime public speaking.”Stand up so you’ll be seen. Speak up so you’ll be heard. And then
sit down so you’ll be appreciated.”–John Davies, Business Speaker and Trainer

Ready for a stiff motivational speaker to motivational speaker challenge? I submit there is a direct correlation between the overtime minutes of a speech and the Motivational speaker’s ego! If you just had a distinctly negative reaction to this theory, the red warning ego light may be flashing– Ego! Ego! Addressing an audience is a blessing; not stopping in time is a curse. “Leave ‘em wanting more” is an adage most business speakers can quote, but few can follow. Even when we know that it is always advantageous to cease while the fire is still hot, the dreaded ego too often has the last word (or words). While I was visiting a friend in Texas, a motivational speaker I know invited me to sit in on his Saturday morning class. This presentation skills workshop was scheduled from 11 to noon. The class was fantastic, and we were all involved and learning a great deal. However, high noon was approaching quickly, and I noticed that people were getting just a little bit antsy. The bell to end class rang at noon, and the teacher went on as if he hadn’t even heard it. Students still listened to him, but I could sense a significant energy change. A few of them began gathering their books together and looking at their watches as polite signals to the teacher that it was time to go. He continued to speak. Ten minutes later the late-bell sounded. He responded that he had one more thing to say regarding this…and another regarding that… He talked on until about twelve-twenty, when all of a sudden he paused and said, “How’s everybody feeling right now?” There wasn’t a word in response. “Please be honest,” he said. “How is everybody feeling right now about the fact that this class went twenty minutes late?”
Finally, it began to come out. “Well, I’ll be honest with you. I really like your class and always look forward to it, but this is kind of an inconvenience for me. I had a twelve o’clock appointment with
someone.” Someone else added, “My wife has been upstairs for twenty minutes! She always picks me up at twelve, and we go out and have lunch together.”

Similar comments were also made. The teacher then surprised us all by informing us that he had held us overtime on purpose, adding that he would never again hold us past twelve o’clock. “But as future preachers and teachers,” he concluded, “I want you to remember how this feels. I want you to remember how important it is not to keep people overtime.” This was a major motivational speaker training lesson for me because, even though he had one of the most enthralling motivational speaking careers speaker business I knew, people resented even him for going overtime. Just don’t do it.

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