It seems like a lot of old public speaking books seem to believe
in the strategy of telling the audience a joke at the beginning
of a speech in order to break the ice.
That isn't a bad idea, but it won't work if you JUST tell a joke.
Rather, make sure that your joke (or story, or example) fits in
with the topic of your speech. It's my belief that speeches
should be unified from beginning to end. That means that
everything should relate to your main point.
In other words, if you use a joke or story, use one that will
introduce your topic and main point. This kind of joke will be
much more powerful than one that is just funny.
There's an old story about a speaker who walked up to the podium
and said "SEX" in a loud voice. After a long pause, he continued,
"Now that I have your attention, let's get on with the annual
budget report." While this approach will probably wake an
audience up, it does nothing to get them ready for the rest of
the speech. In fact, doing this kind of thing will probably turn
the important part of your talk into one big letdown.
About the Author
Ron Sathoff, manager of http://InternetWriters.com, offers a full
range of services to business and professional speakers,
including speech writing and editing, personal coaching, and
presentation development. You can reach him at ron@drnunley.com
or 801-328-9006.