Writing Tip of the Week – September 30th

Be funny — but not too funny — at the right places.

Try to include a little bit of humor in your writing (this is especially true if you’re writing for a business audience). In a speech or a presentation, insert something tastefully funny into it and you’ll win over your audience that much quicker.

Not sure if something’s funny? If you have to ask, it’s not (see my previous point above).

Don’t make your whole speech a series of jokes though. Part of the art of being really funny is to know when to stop.

One other suggestion: humor is a great way to get people to remember a part of your writing or speech. So don’t make a joke and then launch into a twenty slide speech on last year’s sales figures. Integrate humor into the parts of your writing that you want to be memorable.