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Humor Category Archive

Humor: How to Make Your Boss Laugh

Sunday, April 9th, 2006

Although I don’t have a boss, I understand that keeping one’s boss happy is a big priority for many people in the workplace.  Humor can help you build and improve your relationship with your boss without appearing like a suck-up and without requiring you to take on extra work.  It can even give you more job […]

Humor: In the Workplace

Saturday, April 8th, 2006

There’s a time to be funny, and there’s a time not to be funny.  For most people it takes only basic common sense to know the difference.  But sometimes people use humor inappropriately.  Actually in most situations it’s not the use of humor that’s inappropriate but rather the type of humor.  Telling off-color jokes in a professional […]

Humor: Sources for Humor

Friday, April 7th, 2006

Many people think the best way to open a speech is with a joke, and in some situations that can work well, as long as you aren’t merely retelling an old joke your audience has heard before.  The best speakers incorporate abundant humor throughout their speeches.  In the Toastmasters International speech contest, it’s common for a […]

Humor: How to Write Funny Lines

Thursday, April 6th, 2006

My friend John Kinde has been speaking in front of audiences about as long as I’ve been alive.  By his own admission, John was not born funny.  During the Cold War, he managed a nuclear weapons training facility, and he found humor an effective way to release tension in what could be a very stressful job.  Over a […]

Humor: How to Develop a Sharp Wit

Wednesday, April 5th, 2006

My friend, fellow Toastmaster, and fellow improv performer S. Frank Stringham (he actually goes by “S” as his first name) has been in the entertainment and motivational speaking industry for 25 years.  He’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever met — a singer, a comic, a pianist, and one of the world’s top balloon artists.  […]

Humor: Laughing Your Way to Health

Tuesday, April 4th, 2006

If there’s such a thing as a born comedian, my friend George Gilbert would certainly qualify.  He’s been performing before audiences since he was 11 years old, and his parents were a popular comedy duo who traveled and performed with Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, and many other famous comedians.  After doing comedy for decades and witnessing […]

Humor Series

Monday, April 3rd, 2006

For the remainder of this week, I’ll be blogging a series on humor as it relates to personal development.  Several of my friends are humor speakers with decades of experience, and they’ve agreed to contribute plenty of interesting content for this series.  All of them have started blogs of their own this year (thanks in […]

Humor Skills

Wednesday, December 14th, 2005

Can humor skills be developed?  Yes, absolutely.
I’ve had a strong sense of humor since I was a child.  I would sometimes get in trouble for making witty commentary in class, causing the room to bust out laughing.  In fact, I still do this today in group situations.  But this always came to me as a natural skill […]

My Favorite Feedback

Friday, November 18th, 2005

Virtually every week I receive reader feedback that could be generalized to the following template:
Steve,
I’ve been a long-time reader of your blog now and have found [ a few | some | several | many | most ] of your insights very helpful.  I am not normally one to criticize, but I feel compelled to say something, as lately […]

Humorous Speech Contest

Sunday, October 24th, 2004

Last night I competed in my Toastmasters’ division humorous speech contest at the California Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. It was very competitive, and I took home second place. The first place winner was Linda Bown, who gave a great speech titled, “Oh, Clutter. My Clutter.” Her particular club, Jackpot Speakers, specializes in coaching its […]



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