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Are Jokes Good To Use During A Training Session? By Robert Bacal
There's an easy answer to this, and it applies to training sessions, speeches and presentations.
The answer is NO.
Jokes are those canned things some people feel are important to lighten up the group, but using them is just so problematic because:
It's hard to find really good jokes that are relevant to the content.
Many jokes are simply too inappropriate to use and likely to offend someone.
Jokes are pretty lame humor. Participants know you didn't create them, and there is always a risk they'll find them stupid.
What To Do Instead Of Jokes In The Classroom - Stories
Trainers use jokes because they believe humor can be a good thing, particularly early in a training session or speech. They are right in principle.
Rather than telling a joke or two, the best thing to do is tell a real story that is funny or is compelling at a human level. Your stories can be amusing, create a sense of relevance, and can be much funnier than a canned joke.
Stories need not be one hundred percent real and you can embellish them to make them more interesting, and so they have a learning point, while, at the same time, creating amusement and lightening up the class atmosphere.
More on beginning a training session, or speech in an effective way.