Many people equate the ability of being funny with the telling of jokes. This is not the case as you do not need to learn to be humorous in order to deliver effectively a joke. But I am going to look at some pointers on specifically how to handle jokes. I'm not going to give you public speaking jokes, but I will help you select ones appropriate for your situation.

Where people fall down with jokes is in their initial selection, their remembering of the joke and their delivery of the punchline.

First of all you have to consider the situation that you're going to be delivery your jokes in. If you're out with friends, in a social environment then, presumably, you will know what types of jokes are appropriate to tell to this particular friend and what aren't.

Get on to your favourite search engine and look for some jokes that might be suitable for your circumstance.

If you are to deliver a presentation in a business situation, then the rules are going to be completely different. Here's a quick snapshot of the subjects that I would avoid:

1.Racial. I think this pretty much goes without saying, but I wanted to be as explicit as I can and not leave any stone unturned.

2.Sexist. Again I think this goes without saying. Using this sort of humour can offend over half your audience. Why that much? Well, anti-women jokes will alienate the women and you may even have married couples present which means you'll alienate some guys too.

3.Disability. Humour that mocks any sort of disability is also a no-no.

4.Sexual in nature. Avoid humour that is sexually explicit that could cause potential embarrassment.

5.Political. This seems innocuous compared to the other topics, but why run the risk of dividing your audience or offending the person who pays you?

6. Religion. You might be a Believer, but what if you speak to a room full of people who aren't? Or vice versa. Mocking any sort of religion is a big no-no. Even the Jedi Faith.

I would also avoid making derogatory comments about the organisation that you're speaking for, unless you don't mind not getting paid.

When using street jokes, it is best if you are able to tell the joke in your own words. That way it will help reduce the possibility of you forgetting it. Go over it several times so you get used to the important elements that will feature in the set-up part of the joke.

Say the joke out loud and change words that you wouldn't normally say. The closer the joke is to your own natural speech rhythm, the easier it will be for you to tell it and the easier it will be for your to remember it.

By editing the joke you are able to get to the punchline a lot quicker. Being succinct in this way is ideal for humour.

This will also help you remember the punchline, which is one of the elements that people can forget. The punchline is very important as it allows you to generate the laughter.

That said, it is not more important than the set-up line. The set-up line is all the information that occurs before the punchline. Without that information to establish the situation and story of the joke, the punchline will fail.

As an example here's a punchline from Gilbert Gottfried:"Is it hot in here, or am I crazy?" Hilarious, right? Not unless you already know the joke. Which means that you need to recall the information provided by the set-up.

Let me put you out of your misery and give you the set-up line: “Last night I was having dinner with Charles Manson, and in the middle of dinner he turned to me and said...” Now you've got the final piece of the jigsaw the humour makes sense.

So select a joke, make sure that it's not going to offend anybody. Practise saying the joke out loud which will allow you to edit it to fit your own way of speaking. Practise saying the joke several times as this will also allow you to remember it.

Jason Peck is a Humorist, Speaker and Consultant based in London, England. For public speaking tips and to learn how to add humor to your speeches and presentations to win over your listeners visit: Pro Humorist.

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