Humour is undeniably a must have tool in a professional speaker’s toolkit. It instantly draws and holds audience’s attention; it brings life to the talk; it embeds the speaker’s message in the mind of the audience. Having said this,
there is also another reality which cannot be ignored – “there exists a thin line between laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humour and hurt” (Erma Bombeck).
Before moving ahead, I invite you to “pause” for a moment and recall an incident when someone said something to you or about you in jest and fun, but you felt hurt. Just like you perceived what was said as hurtful, similarly your audience can perceive your humour differently. Two such cases come to our mind in which difference in perceptions
created crisis:
1. Oscar 2022 Slapgate incident: Compere Chris jokingly compared Jada to Demi Moore’s bald avatar in GI Jane and remarked “Jada, I love you – I can’t wait for GI Jane 2”. Since Jada is suffering from ‘alopecia’ (a disease in which you lose hair), Wills Smith perceived the remark as fun being made of his wife, got angry and slapped Chris.
2. Turkey Threatens Germany: German comedian Jan Boehmermann jokingly made fun of Turkish President on TV. His humour was acceptable in German culture, but not in Turkish culture. Turkey took offence at it, resulting in a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
Both the incidents were avoidable. Chris needed to show sensitivity towards Jada’s medical condition by avoiding comments on her baldness; and Jan had to be mindful of the differences in German and Turkish cultures. Both unknowingly crossed the line between humour and hurt.
Since humour cuts both ways, as professional speakers we need to remember:
1.One size does not fit all – what works for some, may not work for others.
2. Sexist, racial, sexual, gender, country, religion, culture driven humour is often suicidal.
3. Double meaning humour, no doubt evokes laughter, but also creates controversies.
4.Understanding the composition of the audience is key to use humour effectively.
5. Not to force fit humour.
6. Lastly, humour being a double-edged sword, use it cautiously and judiciously.
