Using Humour to Drive Business Engagement

You can get a room full of the C suite to learn one slide if you make them laugh even once at the right moment. Humour isn't just a nice thing to have on top of the content you're delivering, it is a tool. Done well, it's the fastest marching orders out there: It reduces resistance, adds up to useful focus and helps people remember what matters. Use it badly and you earn embarrassment, anger or an empty room. That's the cold trade off, and it's one worth getting right.

Why humour matters (and why some people still resist it)

There's a persistent myth in corporate Australia that seriousness is the same as being credible. I disagree. We put on a serious face to demonstrate rigour, but not warmth. The best presenters I've trained in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane use elements of each which work best for them. They've got the data, and they've got a wink. They can be comic without being flip.

Yes, some readers will prefer the dry and data rich straightforwardness of presentations to computer scientists. That's well and good, but the evidence and even practice suggest something else. Humour isn't just about laughter. It's a social lubricant that speeds up connection between people. It defuses energy, grabs attention at critical moments and makes information stick. And those who promote staff engagement see some very real Business benefits: Gallup finds that highly engaged business units realise a 21% increase in profitability. So when laughter supports engagement, it's not mere frivolousness, it's commerce.

Humour is cognitive oxygen. It releases your listeners from the need to defend themselves. When people laugh, they let down their defences, and the brain becomes more open. Another way to put it would be this: humour forms a moment when attention and memory match up. But, and this is important, that moment has to be manufactured and wedded to your message.

Types of humour that actually work at work

You don't have to be a stand up comedian. You want a few low risk, high return reliable weapons:

• Self deprecating humour: Acknowledges imperfection. Makes you human. Use infrequently, and not at the cost of sounding authoritative. When it comes to opening with humour, a one liner about your own nervousness or minor mishap is usually just the right touch before quickly advancing. Leaders with a sense of humour, who can laugh at themselves are often loved by people. They don't like leaders who constantly sell themselves short.

• Observational humour: The truth in everyday absurdities. "The projector only goes out when slide 23 is the good stuff", everybody gets these moments because we've all been there. It's inclusive, not usually offensive and works great for transitions.

• Relatable anecdote: Anecdotes need to be succinct stories of a real life situation that are hopefully twisted just a bit. Keep it short. Make the point obvious. Use it to illustrate a point, not as end in itself.

• Light irony and understatement: Aussies especially like their humour drier than the outback. Light play with words translates well. A subtle, ironic aside can drive home a point with utmost elegance.

What not to do (and why having restraint is a skill)

There are lines you don't cross. Religion, race, gender, personal tragedies, anything that can be seen as punching down is off limits. Politically aimed snipes are dangerous unless specifically on target and precisely adjusted. And sarcasm can sound like contempt. Stereotypes jokes are both lazy and dangerous.

Nor should you take the "shock for shock's sake" route. It unhelpfully distracts from the punchline, not the cause. Your joke should underscore the point you want your joke receiver to actually get from the moment, not be what they take away.

Timing, pause and rhythm of delivery

Timing is the body language of humour. The same line can land beautifully or fail utterly depending on where you stick it.

• Strategic placement: Use light humour to start a session, as an icebreaker, and reserve the most biting, memorable joke for a transition or to introduce the slide you want people to remember. Because then people are listening.

• The pause: The pause is the unsung hero. A well placed silence after a line creates room for the audience to digest and laugh. The joke disappears without the pause of course into the next sentence. Practice the pauses until they feel like second nature.

• Watch the audience: If the laughter is light, resist trying to tell another joke. Adjust pace and tone. The best presenters read micro reactions and adjust. It's a muscle, and it gets better with practice.

Vocal variety and non verbal tools

Your voice is a tool. Humour is a matter of the inflection, pacing and volume. An exaggerated whisper, a slow dishing out of syllables or a momentary spurt of acceleration make for comic texture, used infrequently.

Body language counts too: a little shrug, an eyebrow raised in surprise, a pregnant pause as your gaze wanders round the room, these enhance a spoken line. And let the wit be cross modal: words and gesture equal stronger impact. But don't overdo the choreography, it should feel natural, relaxed and conversational, not practised.

Anchoring learning in laughter

Laughter is a memory aid if it's attached to a lesson. Here's the trick: To land that punchline, anchor it to the takeaway. And if you want people to remember a three point process, hang each step on an image that's small and memorable or a light story. The laughter serves as an emotional price tag. The tag is what people come back with later.

Actual example: rather than delivering a dusty old checklist, tell a brief anecdote in which you fluffed step two just a little bit, made light of it in some way and then reveal how step three fixed everything. All that little chuckle from step two is the mental bookmark.

Audience attention and cultural sensitivity

Know your audience. I have conducted workshops for federal public servants and startup founders, and the calibration is always different. International entries have very different humour thresholds. Remote audiences? You have to be able to see more cues so you can match the response.

In a United Nations of Australian workplaces, shun local slang that alienates. All else being equal, prioritise observational comedy reliant on common experiences and work life scenarios rather than cultural references.

One quick practical tip: Check on audience composition in advance. Pre session polls help or ask the organiser. It's not a downer, it's professionalism.

When humour misfires (and how to recover)

It's going to happen. Sometimes timing is bad, sometimes a joke misses the room. Important thing is the recovery:

• Lightly acknowledge it: Grab your own subtler form of self deprecating line along with it, preferably one that lets all know that you know, "Well, that landed like a lead balloon!" Then the room can move right on forward.

• No doubling down: Attempting a more ambitious joke to cover up a weak one frequently makes things worse.

• Redirect with elegance: Get back to your data or next story. If you march confidently, the audience will follow.

Balance (humour is the spice, not the dish)

The big rule: message first, funny second. Too much humour and the presentation starts to resemble a variety show; too little and it feels cold and forgettable. Shoot for a rhythm: islands of lightness in the seriousness. Depending on where the frame of your presentation is for a given talk, one or two well placed laughs per 10 to 15 minute interval generally suffices to raise focus without detracting from your argument.

Two opinions some will disagree with

1. Training sessions that outlaw humour are worse than wasteful. They foster rigidity and passive listening. I realise that some HR leads prefer conservative tones, but banning all levity guts the human connection that can make teaching and learning possible. Risk tolerant brokerage is typically associated with increased engagement.

2. Corporate comms should be funny, and a lot of the time. Far too many institutions receive every message as a decree. Injecting warmth and a hint of humour in internal comms doesn't detract from authority; it boosts both readership and adherence. And yes, there are those who will insist upon utter formality. I don't buy it. Teams that laugh together are more likely to work with each other after a session.

Measuring impact (the sensible way)

If you are going to bake comedy into training or keynotes, measure it. Pre session and post session surveys to test recall of key points are fine. Watch behavioural indicators: the questions asked, what happens as a result and the outcome of meetings.

Tie Those Engagement Survey Results to Behavioural Metrics. More formally, tie engagement survey results back into behavioural metrics.

An actionable playbook to get underway

• Think Small. Replace a dry anecdote with an entertaining one
• Practice pauses and inflection by the fireplace
• Test jokes on your trusted staff member in need of candour
• Tape what you practice! The camera is unforgiving, and instructive
• Develop a bank of safe, reusable lines and one or two personal stories that will never fail you
• Track the reaction, test and adjust as needed

We conduct that work every week, in half day workshops in Parramatta, bootcamps in Melbourne CBD and remote sessions across Perth. The difference between teams is not talent; it is the willingness to practice the craft of delivery. Humour is a craft.

A few myths worth busting

• Myth: Professional speakers are not allowed to be funny! False. The strongest speakers mix credibility and warmth. You CAN be straight forward, data driven and still human.

• Myth: Humour belittles serious topics. Unless it comes in the form of humanising the message. In fact, it can help difficult subjects feel more approachable and actable.

Final thought (a practical challenge for you)

No re decorating your slides. Practice one anecdote, one observational aside and a pointed pause. Test it out in your next team presentation. See what happens. You could end up with more than a laugh: you might get action.

Sources & Notes

Gallup. (2017). State of the Global Workplace. Gallup Research Report, highlight finding: 21% greater profitability in highly engaged business units.

Banas, J. A., Dunbar, N., Rodriguez, D., & Liu S. J. (2011). Humor in the classroom: A review of the literature. Communication Education.

Deloitte Australia. (2019). Global Human Capital Trends, Australian perspectives (report on engagement, learning culture and business outcomes).