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How To Use Humour In Toastmasters Speeches

Public speaking can feel intimidating, especially when you’re trying to hold an audience’s attention. One of the best tools you can use to keep people engaged, and even entertained, is humour. At Toastmasters, you’re not just learning how to speak, you’re learning how to connect. And humour is a powerful connector.

You might think Toastmasters’ speeches need to be stiff, starchy, and serious. But serious speeches can lose steam fast. Add a little humour, and suddenly your message becomes memorable.

What many newcomers don’t realise is that Toastmasters International even holds Humorous Speech Contests at the district level. That’s how much they value laughter in communication. So let’s look into how and why you should use humour in your next Toastmasters speech.

How To Find Humorous Situations In Life To Add To Speeches

You might think it’s tough to find anything funny to include in your speech, but humour is everywhere if you’re paying attention.

For instance, if you travel to work by car, train, or bus, you’ll likely spot something funny, or something you can describe in a funny way.

Back in the 1970s, I was traveling through central London with a friend in his Hillman Imp, and the police stopped us and asked what we had in the boot.

If you remember the Hillman Imp, the engine is in the boot. We still laugh about that to this day.

Then there was the time I took a train to York and asked for a coffee from the tea trolley. After a bit of confusion, I took a sip, only to realise it was green tea. I can laugh now, but at the time it was a shock.

Nature is another great source of humour. Watching squirrels or birds, for instance, can offer plenty of comical material if you describe it in the right way. Almost anything you observe can become comedy gold with the right delivery.

Use Personal Stories For Natural Humour

Relatable experiences, especially ones with a bit of unexpected twist, tend to get the best laughs. You don’t have to be a stand up comic to be funny. Just be real and slightly self aware.

Tailor Your Speech To Your Audience

There are some funny stories that won’t work for every crowd. You need to judge what’s appropriate for your Toastmasters group.

Think about the age group, professional background, and cultural differences of your fellow members.

What might be hilarious down the pub on a Friday night might not go over as well during a Toastmasters contest. Know your crowd, especially when you’re trying to land a punchline.

It’s OK To Use Props

Sometimes, visual humour works better than spoken humour. Remember the coffee story? You could use a prop like an empty cup and act out your reaction to green tea, it adds an extra layer of fun.

Timing Is Everything

Finding something funny is one thing, delivering it well is another. If your audience starts laughing, let them finish before continuing. Don’t rush past the moment.

Also, pauses are powerful. When telling the Hillman Imp story, I paused right after the policeman asked, “What do you have in the boot?” Then said: “The engine.” That extra second made all the difference.

Get Advice From Others

Before performing your humour laden speech, always run it past a mentor or a trusted advisor. Some conversations are not fitting for the Toastmasters environment and could cause offence.

I once had a joke that I wanted to include in my speech at Toastmasters and I wasn’t sure if it was too near the knuckle. I ran it by 3 different members and they all said I should leave it in.

I went ahead and told it and got the best reaction to any jokes in my speech. But without their input and helpful advice, I would have missed out on my best ever audience reaction.

Don’t Try To Write A Funny Speech

When you write your Toastmasters speech first draft, concentrate on the actual speech. This allows you to focus on writing a clear message. If you try to add humour at this early stage, the result is often disjointed and doesn’t necessarily make any sense.

Once you have your speech written, you can then think about adding some humour. Some people like to start their speech with a joke, but you need to be aware that the first sentence of your speech sets the tone for the whole speech.

If your joke falls flat, it sets the stage for the rest of your speech to be a flop. So just think of humour as the decoration added to keep an audience interested and not the whole point of the speech. What’s most important is the message you’re trying to convey.

Look For Funny Opportunities In Your Draft

Once the first draft has been completed, you can then look at areas where jokes can be added. For instance after relating the coffee/green tea incident and getting a laugh from using the cup as a prop. 

I went on to reenact the whole drinking and reacting to the taste two more times during my speech and it got a laugh each time.

Use Self Deprecating Humour

Humour is subjective and not everyone has the same sense of humour. Which means sometimes a really funny joke can fall flat on its face simply because you’ve told it to the wrong crowd.

One way to avoid this is to concentrate on self deprecating humour. Making fun of yourself is less likely to offend anyone else. A good way to use self deprecating humour is to exaggerate something you’ve noticed about yourself.

For instance, if you are losing your hair, find something humorous to say about it. You could say something like “they say grass doesn’t grow on a busy street, my head must be a motorway”

Above All Else, Have Fun

I have found that in life, joy is contagious. So if it’s obvious that you’re enjoying your time standing in front of your fellow members and telling them humorous situations that you’ve observed, they’ll pick up on it and start to enjoy it with you.

You can literally create the atmosphere in the room simply by the way you deliver your speech. If you come across as overly nervous or shy, that will convey the message to your audience that you don’t really want to be there and they’ll soon lose interest.

Whereas if you look like you’re having fun, that’s the message your audience will pick up on and they’ll start to have fun as well.

Quick Humour Tips For Toastmasters

Let’s finish with a brief summary of all that’s been said in this article;

• Observe life around you
• Use visual props when you can
• Time your pauses for maximum effect
• Ask for feedback on edgy jokes
• Don’t force the funny, let it emerge
• Use self deprecating humour
• Have fun

Leave Them Laughing & Remember Why You’re There

Humour is a powerful tool, but it’s not about being the funniest person in the room. It’s about connecting, engaging, and making your message stick. Toastmasters is a safe space to experiment, grow, and discover your unique voice. 

So don’t be afraid to take risks, tell your stories, and share a laugh. The more you enjoy yourself, the more your audience will too, and that’s when the real magic of public speaking happens.

SEE ALSO: How To Take On The Grammarian Role At Toastmasters

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