For my final blog on humor in public speaking, I’m turning to wit.  Wit is the humor that creates charm, impresses with intelligence, and gets the girls.  So be witty.

Of course, that’s easier said than done.  How do you achieve wit?  I have three suggestions, but first begin by watching J. J. Abrams, the TV and movie producer and director of hits like MI-3, Lost, and the new Star Trek : http://tinyurl.com/6649cn.  The talk is witty, as is the man.  This TED.com talk is also full of insights into creativity that will stick with you once the wit has worked its charm and moved on. 

First Suggestion:  Don’t try too hard.  Wit flows from passion for the subject.  If you feel strongly about something, you will find wit in the subject and you will share it with your audience.  Unless of course you’re a corporate accountant who’s idea of fun is a late night with a multi-celled spreadsheet. 

That said, one of the wittier speakers I’ve heard was a lecturer on accounting, who used the Wells Fargo company as his example, back in the day when it had to account for losses of the strong box because of marauding Indians.  His passion for the subject of accounting led him to this witty way to explain an otherwise dreary subject. 

Second Suggestion:  Wit is all about upending expectations.  The wit is in the surprise.  J.J. shows a clip from the “Lost” pilot episode, with a downed aircraft and lots of gore and mayhem, with very impressive special effects.  He says, “Ten years ago if we wanted to do that, we would have had to kill a stunt man…. Take Two would have been a bitch.”  You’re not quite sure where he’s going, but the second sentence is witty because it is surprising. 

Third Suggestion:  To be witty, take the subject, but not yourself, seriously.  Wit begins with yourself, with self-deprecation.  It’s one reason why the British are so much better at it, culturally speaking, than Americans.  The British are expert self-deprecators, probably because they have to put up with more pomposity in the form of 2,000, rather than 200, years of tradition and history.  But when pressed, we can do it too.  J. J. Abrams says, of filming Mission Impossible III, that his favorite scene is the one that involves shooting a dangerous drug up Tom Cruise’s nose.  He says, “I quickly learned that there are 3 things you don’t want to do.  Number two is hurt Tom’s nose.”  The scene, which you should now go back and watch again, actually has Tom Cruise’s hand shooting the dart-filled gun up his own nose (because he knew how hard to push). 

That’s the magic of the movies.  And that’s wit.