Nancy Duarte has studied this structure and has outlined a fantastic visual sequence for a compelling presentation.  She demonstrates this formula by showing how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Steve Jobs both used it during their most famous speeches.  Take a look at her Tedx talk and pay particular attention to the mentions of humor in Steve Jobs speech.

“I’ve ordered every federal agency to eliminate rules that don’t make sense. … We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill — because milk was somehow classified as an oil. With a rule like that, I guess it was worth crying over spilled milk.”

OK, not great.  But, better than if he had not used any humor.

There is a nice analysis of this joke with some funny ad libs from Jon Lovett here:  Obama’s Milk Joke 2 Percent Funny

I’m a fan of bad jokes used on very rare occasions.  Mainly because we all love to groan at a bad joke.  Even famous comedians use them.  The key to a successful bad joke is to be funny after it bombs.  We call that a saver line.

Once, Johnny Carson told a joke about the Lincoln assassination.  The audience didn’t laugh.  So, Johnny turned to Ed McMahon and said, “Still too soon.”

The audience roared.

Bad jokes are not inherently bad unless you use them too much or you don’t prepare for the fallout.  I’d much rather see the President use a joke that bombs rather than not use one at all.  But, what I’d really like to see is the President using a great saver line.  In other words, if he had just milked his failure a little bit, it might have worked out better!

“I Have a Dream” Holds 5 Lessons for Speechwriters

Watch how they take the routine, every day experiences of participating on this type of call and turn it into comedy brilliance.

This is a great example of how to add humor to a presentation. You address a concept or idea and then make the delivery of it funny.

For instance, Jumbo Shrimp is a disconnect because it’s different but is connected because it ties the two incongruent ideas together in a common culinary phrase.

Recently I read that there is a Facebook group called, “I Hate Reading.”

The humor, or the congruent incongruity is this: The members of this group keep up with other members by reading what they write.

Duh.

Important point: Before going on stage, I checked to make sure that the hurricane was not reeking massive amounts of death & destruction. Had it been doing so would have made the line seem insensitive. Because the damage was considered mild, and people were relieved, the line was able to work.

One other note: You can use this kind of line whenever something momentous happens in the news. I remember introducing Jack Canfield to an audience the morning after Saddam Hussein had been captured. My opening line was, “I know you’ve been trying to get Jack Canfield to speak to your group for a long time. As a matter of fact, his office manager even said, “Yeah, they day they pull Saddam Hussein out of a hole in Tikrit is the day Jack speaks to the group. So, ladies & gentlemen, please welcome Jack Canfield.”
Again, a huge laugh. Keep tuned to the news for opportunities like this for humor.

As a lesson in what not to do, please take a look at this Australian newscaster who tried to tell a Dalai Lama joke to the, well, Dalai Lama.