1. They make me look smarter.

2. They give me interesting fodder for conversation with my husband.

3. I read more blog posts in one week by Seth Godin than I had in the last several years. I don’t mean to neglect Seth. He’s smart. I like him. I learn from him. But I stray from reading blogs in general because I can’t seem to find the time. Reading feeds over eggs and coffee carves out time to learn from the masters.

4. I learned about new paths to productivity.

5. What I read in feeds last week had either a direct connection or impact on what I do every day for work. It remains to be seen if I can keep up with my feed reading over time. In the meanwhile, I’ll absorb as much knowledge as I can to expand my understanding of this ever-changing industry and to improve what I do and how I do it.

Or, do you have the belief that you are, simply, not funny at all?

As the cliché saying goes, laughter is the best medicine and people today are drawn towards humor like bees to honey simply because cynicism has been ingrained in today’s culture. Thus the value-add of humor in public speaking. While, this may be the case, a lot of people out there find themselves lacking the skill sets to pull off punch lines effectively and effortlessly.

Though humor is commonly believed to be an elusive art to master, I think otherwise.

The great comic Jim Mendrinos once shared,

“In order to be funny, you got to first know what makes you laugh as this will give you obvious clues to what makes other people laugh.”

There are many forms of humor, ranging from normal banter to exaggeration techniques.

Hence, make an effort to build a humor bank!

It will be great to start off by observing yourself and the people around you. Jot down the comical instances which occur – there has to be noteworthy ones each day! You will never know when these instances will come in handy as ammunition for your speeches. Also, be willing to watch stand up comics. Not because you are trying to be a stand up comedian when you speak - that would be inappropriate. Rather, you can see how their use timing, intonation and facial expressions to deliver humor.

On the day of your speech, get to know the audience!

As Scott Friedman of Advanced Public Speaking Institute suggests,

“the more you know about the audience, the more opportunities you will have to play with them”.

Understand the dynamics of the audience, as this will make it easier for you to relate to them through your language, tone and the framework of your speech. As mentioned above, different people find different things funny. So, knowing your audience allows you to cater your humor
to the intended group in mind properly – chances are that knock-knock jokes are unlikely to work for adults as opposed to primary school children!

Also, be sure to know the intention of the speech and what you intend for the audience to get out of listening to you. Time is a precious commodity these days, and implanting suggestive and timely, yet relevant humor, will be a very effective way to make your speech more memorable without having to drone on and on with examples.

Establish and maneuver your speech around this purpose, bearing in mind what works for you, as well as the target audience, in creating your stories or punch lines.

1. Don’t use recycled jokes and stories, the faux pas of public speaking. As you have probably experienced this yourself while listening to speeches before, hearing familiar stories countless times before are bound to elicit groans instead of laughs.

2. Don’t laugh at your own jokes while reciting it — self-control is important! The best way to pull off a punch line is always with a straight face. This will catch the audience off guard and intensify the humorous effect.

3. Don’t give the audience too little time to savor your punch line. Let them digest and laugh before you move on! This will allow the audience to catch the subsequent stories after that.

4. Don’t ever explain your jokes or punch lines! If the audience fail to get the joke, move on. Explaining the joke will not help matters, especially when the funny moment did not, have not, and will not come. To lighten the tense mood at this instant, though, some self-effacing humor may work. (read the rest HERE)

(ht: Public Speaking Blog)

Providing an atmosphere of worship enables group members to demonstrate their faith in a tangible way and also experience worshiping the Lord together. Worshiping together in a small group setting can be an excellent facilitator for moving people towards true transparency where they begin by focusing not on themselves but on the power of our Lord.

Remember that since Worship is more than singing, you don’t have to be a singer to lead it. Jesus demonstrated many ways to worship: He prayed, He taught, He was baptized, He fasted, He quoted scripture, and He sang (Matt 26:30). Today singing is a very popular form of worship.

Of Course, all the small groups I have been in would much rather sing than fast. As Music is a language that speaks very well to the thirsty soul and creates a genuine sense of community within the Group, incorporating music into the small group worship experience has great benefits.

Today the general model for contemporary worship in most congregational worship services is 4 people in a band with one lead singer. This model can be easily adapted or changed to fit worship in a small group setting. You can easily use the songs from today’s contemporary worship artists in a small group context as well as the Hymns of our faith.

Here are some of my tips for small group worship. Sing fewer songs using less time than in a larger worship service. My experience in a small group is that I can sing a song for them to listen to and ask them to join in when they know it.

Everyone singing is not the goal (it’s nice). The goal is that the group connects with God and each other.

Music is a great part of small group participation but that participation involves more reflection and introspection. Don’t stop between songs. Avoid trying to manipulate the small group into a pep rally is if everyone singing at the top their voice is what makes a quality worship experience. Small group members do a lot of listening, and that’s just fine.

Pick songs that are easy to sing. Using only the choruses of well known songs encourages participation. Choose songs that have very singable words, a simple melody and limited musical range, let’s say a one octave range. Songs like “Here I Am to Worship,” “Lord I Life Your Name on High,” “More Love More Power,” many of the Passion songs, and most of the CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing Incorporated) Top 100 songs are easy to sing.

Most of all, remember that worship is more than music. It’s a lifestyle.