The quote is from the opening of Bence Csalár’s speech and is an excellent example of self-defeating humor. Bence is a fashion journalist and expert who delivered his speech in Hungarian at TEDx Budapest Metropolitan University. 🔴 I am writing three posts on some of the humorous instances of the speeches, and this is the English version of my second post (the first one relied so much on the Hungarian language that I decided not to translate it).
Bence not only wrote an effective opening, but also delivered it skillfully:
…What should I wear… [tactical pause] And I should lose weight [tactical pause, audience laughing, tactical pause] You can guess which one was a success.
Let’s analyze this from the perspective of humor styles. Martin (et. al.) differentiate between four humor styles. Bence’s opening is a fine example of self-defeating humor. When using self-defeating humor, the speaker puts themselves in the target and makes fun of themselves. Generally, the speaker is in a higher hierarchical position than the audience. If the distance between the speaker and the audience is too big, the audience will be less open to the speaker’s message. You can decrease this distance by using self-defeating humor. It shows some vulnerabilities of the speaker and brings them closer to the audience.
Bence used this technique outstandingly. He created a good mood, which he kept throughout his speech. When you use such techniques, your audience will not only have a good time, but they will also be more open to your message and more likely to remember it. The good news is that anyone can learn to use these tools of humor. Why not try them? 😎
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You want to know how it all went in Hungarian? The Hungarian version of the post is here.