Petite Powell

Introduction Entertaining speeches are meant to be enjoyable to the audience. The speeches are also known as After-Dinner speeches because they are usually given after a meal such as a business luncheon or after a dinner for an organization. Although the speech may need to have some informative or persuasive points to it, the over-all to should be to entertain.

Starting Point You must be able to grab the audience's attention and interest. You should also let them know what or who you will be talking about. You must also get a feel for the type of audience you are going. You may need to have a few different versions of your speech written so that you may be prepared for any unexpected change in venue.

Humor Although a sense of humor is needed, gut wrenching joke-telling is not required. You must keep in mind that any humor you may use should be as mild as possible, so that you do not offend anyone in your audience. Although you may not notice anyone that you may offend by telling a particular story or joke, it is still not recommended to say things that: make fun of a person's race or ethnicity make fun of a person's religion are obscene make fun of a person's political party make fun of a person's gender

Stick to the subject Make sure the humor relates to the subject. If you are giving a speech about helping the environment, don’t start talking about having babies. You may lose credibility and the audience may become confused or may lose interest in your speech if you suddenly talk about things that are not related to the original subject of your speech. If you do need to go off subject, make the comment or story short. Also, you should inform the audience by making a statement such as, "Excuse while I go off subject for a moment, but.....". This will ensure that the audience is aware that you will be back on subject momentarily.

Be Optimistic You must be optimistic. Start out with no expectations. When using light humor while telling a story or talking about a personal experience or observation, you need not expect the audience to fall over with laughter. A small chuckle or a smile may be the only response you get when you are saying, doing or talking about something that you may find humorous. You may not even get a single response at all. Everyone has a different sense of humor, so you should not be offended or get upset if no one finds your jokes or statements humorous at all.

Conclusion The obvious purpose of this speech is to engage the audience on a lighter level. Don't confuse this speech with stand-up comedy. While there is an element of humor in the entertaining speech, there are some key features which should be recognized: You must be able to grab your audience's attention and keep it. Your speech can be about nearly any topic under the sun. You cannot be rude or offensive to any one person or group of people. You must stick to the original subject. You must be optimistic and not expect everyone or anyone to laugh. You must be prepared for any foreseeable changes to the audience or venue. (Orange City Schools, Date Unknown)