I saw a speaker a while ago on the dangers of the industrial military complex. The speaker was fantastic. He used a wide array of images, charts, graphs, and some text lines. He sort of mimiced the Colbert Report in the sense that he would ask a question and then on his screen have the answer sort of mocking what he was saying. This type of humor really kept the audience intreged and ingaged. One of the things that he did well too was not a lot of text. Quotes are good, but long quotes or just blocks of information in text really make the audience loose intrests, or make them focus on what is on the screen rather than what you are saying. I think the only thing that he could of improved on more was the information provided, it was a little on the light side when it came to concrete information. Not saying he wasnt correct in what he was saying he just needed to back it up with a little more sources for information
I actually have never been to a presentation where the information is presented in a funny kind of way. What I bet it does work to keep the audience engage. I also agree with you that some times when people try to make their speech more "casual", it can come out not as credible. Also, if you rely to much on your presentation media you might forget important information that was supposed to be included on your presentation. I think if your speaker was talking about the dangers of the industrial military complex then maybe his speech needed to be a little more supported by strong evidence.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous idea to do a spin off a show on tv! The Colbert Report is always a funny show. I think the idea of humor in a speech is a great one. I think it would make me much more interested in what the speaker had to say. I would want to know what was going to happen next. Blocks of information are not always good, I agree, but I think a short quote, something with a lot of impact would do just fine. I also agree with LOLA that casual does not neccesarily mean truthful. It can make you seem insincere.
ReplyDeleteI too enjoy humor when listening to a speaker. Humor is a great way to capture the audience. A speaker has to be careful though not to go overboard with the comedy to the point where the audience doesn't take them seriously. Also, if the topic is of a more serious nature, then humor might not be appropriate and may even be offensive to some audience members. For most speeches however, I think a little humor is a fantastic way to engage the audience, lighten the mood, and make a speaker feel more comfortable. After all, when a speaker feels comfortable speaking to his or her audience, the speech will normally go a lot smoother and have a better outcome.
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