Know the Audience's Sense of Humor
You are appearing on a local TV talk show about gardening to discuss your experiences. You have been asked to speak to a Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter in favor of a candidate for Congress.
Each of these venues would provide an opportunity for some levity to bond with the audience. But if you do not give sufficient attention to your choice of humor, you could get into trouble right away. On the talk show, you make a crack about another expert who “obviously hasn't been outdoors in a few years” (not realizing she is a favorite of viewers). At the VFW, you remark that the opposing candidate should take advantage of his proposed healthcare program to get a spine transplant (although he is a veteran and your candidate is not).
Alert
William Shakespeare said, “A jest's prosperity lies in the ear of he who hears it, not in the tongue of him that makes it.” You might think a line is funny, but your audience does not and could even be offended. Test with someone who knows local taste before you jest from the podium.
A little research would help avoid getting off on the wrong foot (and then putting it in your mouth). In the case of TV, you should watch the show, listen to callers, and ask the host about her audience and recent guests and topics. In cases like the VFW speech, you can study the organization's Web site and your opponent's position papers before speaking, not just your own candidate's information. If you can get to an event early or there is a dinner, chat with the guests. If you are speaking out of town, look at the local newspaper's Web site.
Watch Your Tongue
Unless you know the audience very well and have spoken to it before, there are danger zones to avoid. Obviously, race, ethnicity, handicaps, religion, and sex are minefields. Additionally, a whole range of other areas can be politically incorrect for different audiences, from jokes about women to weight.
That does not mean you can never joke about stereotypes. Someone of Irish heritage who is involved with the local Irish community year round (not just on March 17) can get away with citing the late Pat O'Brien's comment that “it's a good thing that God created whiskey. It kept the Irish from ruling the world.”
Alert
Political audiences love to laugh at their opponents' alleged beliefs and can get an equal kick being teased about their own stereotypes. But post-9/11, you have to be careful about the types of jokes you make about terrorism and patriotism.
Some occasions, like a funeral, are solemn, but that does not mean humor has no place. Friends may recall funny things the deceased said or did and make laughter part of the grieving process. But it would not be advisable for a stranger to crack a joke that was not very well informed by friends or family.
As a rule, never use profanity from the podium. Think of yourself as on radio, where performers restrict themselves to avoid FCC fines and can still be entertaining.
Good-Natured Insults
Don Rickles and Joan Rivers draw sell-out crowds for their outrageous insults. It is unlikely you could pull that off, so do not make the attempt just to be different from other speakers. But if you feel you know the boundaries for the group you will be addressing, you might get away with some ribbing.
Maybe the company manager is a clothes horse and always late for meetings, so you can comment that she has a good excuse: she has to make a costume change between scenes. Or the Board of Directors has decided to make sure she is presentable as a spokesperson for the company, so it is now allocating 25 percent of its profit for her wardrobe. Or she is late because she is frugal: she did not want to spend money on this year's calendar.
