Ifyouintendusinghumorinyourtalktomakepeoplesmile,youmustknowhowtoidentifysharedexperiencesandproblems.Yourhumormustberelevanttotheaudienceandshouldhelptoshowthemthatyouareoneofthemorthatyouunderstandtheirsituationandareinsympathywiththeirpointofview.Dependingonwhomyouareaddressing,theproblemswillbedifferent.Ifyouaretalkingtoagroupofmanagers,youmayrefertothedisorganizedmethodsoftheirsecretaries;alternativelyifyouareaddressingsecretaries,youmaywanttocommentontheirdisorganizedbosses. Hereisanexample,whichIheardatanurses'convention,ofastorywhichworkswellbecausetheaudienceallsharedthesameviewofdoctors.AmanarrivesinheavenandisbeingshownaroundbySt.Peter.Heseeswonderfulaccommodations,beautifulgardens,sunnyweather,andsoon.Everyoneisverypeaceful,politeandfriendlyuntil,waitinginalineforlunch,thenewarrivalissuddenlypushedasidebyamaninawhitecoat,whorushestotheheadoftheline,grabshisfoodandstompsovertoatable byhimself.“Whoisthat?"thenewarrivalaskedSt.Peter.“On,that'sGod,"camethereply,“butsometimeshethinkshe’sadoctor." Ifyouarepartofthegroupwhichyouareaddressing,youwillbeinapositiontoknowtheexperiencesandproblemswhicharecommontoallofyouandit'llbeappropriateforyoutomakeapassingremarkabouttheinediblecanteenfoodorthechairman’snotoriousbadtasteinties.Withotheraudiencesyoumustn'tattempttocutinwithhumorastheywillresentanoutsidermakingdisparagingremarksabouttheircanteenortheirchairman.YouwillbeonsafergroundifyousticktoscapegoatslikethePostOfficeorthetelephonesystem.Ifyoufeelawkwardbeinghumorous,youmustpracticesothatitbecomesmorenatural.Includeafewcasualandapparentlyoff-the-cuffremarkswhichyoucandeliverinarelaxedandunforcedmanner.Oftenit'sthedeliverywhichcausestheaudiencetosmile,sospeakslowlyandrememberthataraisedeyebroworanunbelievinglookmayhelptoshowthatyouaremakingalight-heartedremark. Lookforthehumor.Itoftencomesfromtheunexpected.Atwistonafamiliarquote“Ifatfirstyoudon'tsucceed,giveup"oraplayonwordsoronasituation.Searchforexaggerationandunderstatements.Lookatyourtalkandpickoutafewwordsorsentenceswhichyoucanturnaboutandinjectwithhumor. 1.Tomakeyourhumorwork,youshould. A．takeadvantageofdifferentkindsofaudience. B．makefunofthedisorganizedpeople. C．addressdifferentproblemstodifferentpeople. D．showsympathyforyourlisteners. 2.Thejokeaboutd octorsimpliesthat,intheeyesofnurses,theyare. A．impolitetonewarrivals. B．veryconsciousoftheirgodlikerole. C．entitledtosomeprivileges. D．verybusyevenduringlunchhours. 3.Itcanbeinferredfromthetextthatpublicservices. A．havebenefitedmanypeople. B．arethefocusofpublicattention. C．areaninappropriatesubjectforhumor. D．haveoftenbeenthelaughingstock. 4.Toachievethedesiredresult,humorousstoriesshouldbedelivered. A．inwell-wordedlanguage. B．asawkwardlyaspossible. C．inexaggeratedstatements. D．ascasuallyaspossible. 5.Thebesttitleforthetextmaybe. A．UseHumorEffectively. B．VariousKindsofHumor. C．AddHumortoSpeech. D．DifferentHumorStr ategies.
