Public_Speaking_Hits
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A Helpful list of quick and useful public speaking lines
Public Speaking Hits
A Helpful list of quick and useful public speaking lines.
Table of Contents
-
Something Went Wrong
- Story or Joke Bombs
- Computer Crashes
- Failing to Speak Clearly
- Someone Trips or Falls
- Disturbance or Distraction
-
Speaker Seasoning
- Openers
- Emcee
- Closers
- Questions
- Late Entry
-
Time Buyers
- Q&A With Audience
- One Liners
Contributors: Feel free to add your own lines or properly acredit other speakers who's material is notable. This OS repo is meant as a guide of resources for everyone who's looking to equip themselves for the exciting world of public speaking.
🚫 Something Went Wrong
These lines are for situations where things go off the rails. It's important in times like this to find a way to keep and guide the audience's attention.
Story or Joke Bombs
- Pucker your lips and imitate a bugler playing Taps - Dick Flavin
- "Here's another you might not care for" - Ron Dentinger
- "That was a subliminal joke, you won't laugh, but your liminal thinks it's hilarious" - Anon
- Pretend to write in a journal and speak aloud, "Never do that joke again", then slam book - Anon
- "If silence is golden, that joke is worth abotu $40,000" - Alan Pease
- Think of a person who's very likable and has a sense of humor, and then say "That's the last time I ever do ______'s jokes" - Gant Laborde
- "Services for that joke will be held 2pm on Sunday" - Current Comedy Newsletter
- "It was nothing. You can tell by the applause." - Tom Ogden
- "Well, I've always been told that laughter is the best medicine. I guess that joke was more of a placebo." - chatGPT
Late / Delay
- "Sorry I'm late. I circled the parking lot for an hour. There were plenty of parking saces, I was just scared to come in." - Current Comedy Newsletter
- "Don't pay the randsome! I've escaped!" - Ed McManus
- "Sorry I'm late the parking lot was full and it took me quite a while to sell my car" - Terry Paulson
- "My sundial needs new batteries" - Deanna Jean Brown
Computer Crashes
- "Looks like we've got a little glitch in the system. I guess that's what I get for using technology from the 90s." - chatGPT
- "Well that's one way to make an exit" - Gant Laborde
- "The rest of my presentation will be done via interpretive dance" - Anon
- Use the talk to justify the situation, if you're talking about how hard it is to do things in production say "This is a prime example" - Swyx
- Utilize the competition in humorous blame, "I guess the computer must prefer ________" - Kent C. Dodds based on a Barney Fife joke
Failing to Speak Clearly
- "To help you, the rest of my speech will be dubbed in English" - Terry Paulson
- "Well I guess I hit the stumble button" - chatGPT
- "For a moment there, I thought I was at the Dentist" - Gant Laborde
- "Wow I seem to be rejecting this tongue transplant" - John Nisbet
Someone Trips or Falls
- "All that money spent on breakdancing wasted!" - Gant Laborde
- "Tah Dah!" and put your hands in the air as if planned - Terry Paulson
- "Did you notice the world 'graceful' wasn't in my introduction?" - Terry Braverman
- "OK, who planted the banana peel?" - Anon
- "Hey, it's an acquired skill" - Bob Burg
- "That's a strange place to put a speedbump" - Current Comedy Newsletter
- "I could have sworn I fixed that" - Anon
- "You'll have to forgive me, I haven't been myself today... I know some people are hoping I'll stay that way" - Leonard Ryzman
Disturbance or Distraction
- "I had a friend who died from a sneeze like that, of course, he was standing in his neighbor's closet" - Charles Jarvis
- when an audience member makes a fowl sound, "Is that accident or opinion?" - Alan Pease
- audience members argue or talk loudly - "I think the party you're looking for is down the hall" - W Mitchell
- microphone feedback, someone coughs loudly etc. just look disgruntled and say "critics!" - Gant Laborde
- loud conversation - "Oh good another speaker, I thought I was gonna have to do this alone" - Ron Dentinger
- "You have the right to remain silent!" - Jack Anderson
- lound noises from people - "Remember the days when alcoholics wanted to remain anonymous?" - Terry Brewer
- "I'm flattered, but please save your applause for the end." - chatGPT
🧂 Speaker Seasoning
Lines to throw in to make your audience engage, excited, and keep things on the right foot.
Openers
- "My father always said, if you want a room of people to listen to you, start off with a quote from me... thanks Dad" - Gant Laborde
- "Last night I tried to eliminate anything in my speech that seemed in any way dull. So in conclusion..." - Terry Paulson
- "Good evening, everyone. I'm honored to be here tonight, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure I got invited by mistake." - chatGPT
- After having some microphone issues, when verifying a microphone is live "I know a Polish guy who's a great sound engineer, I also know a czek one too, check one two" - Anon Joke - Gant Laborde used
Emcee
- "It takes guts to do what this person is going to do. It also takes guts to be a an organ doner." - Anon
- "This next person just told me I have two faults. They think I'm bad at listening, and... something else." - Anon
- "Is everyone back from the break? If you're not back please raise your hand. (look around room) If you're a rebel don't raise your hand. (crowd laughs) If you have telekenisis raise my hand. (fight your hand raising) Well done!" - Gant Laborde
Closers
- "I need to go. They don't even know I left the hospital." - Gene Mitchener
- "I see we have run out of time before I have run out of things to say - that's what you get when your speaker is a manic expressive!" - Lilly Walters *Before I close and get my standing ovation..." - Mikki Williams
Questions
- When no one answers "Any questions? (silence) any second questions? - Allen Klein
- When you don't like the question "Please save all questions until I'm finished and well on my way home" - Current Comedy Newsletter
- "Someone asked me that same question last week, and I'm going to dodge it the same way I did last time" then move on - Garry Apple
- When you can't hear the question, "I used to have all the answers, now I don't even have the questions!" - Eileen Mason
- "They say you get smarter when you know what you don't know, so I must be turning into a genius!" - Lilly Walters
- "Hearing no questions, I guess that means my presentation was perfect!" - Gant Laborde
- "Does anyone have any questions? Oh I do!" raising your own hand and ask yourself a question - Barry Eigan
- "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you. Were you asking for my autograph?" - chatGPT
Late Entry
- In a cute manner, "Did you bring a note from home?" - Mikki Williams
- "About time you showed up, I was starting to think I was going to have to give the whole presentation myself." - chatGPT
- "Everyone in the room just sang a song, now it's your turn" - Jimmy Calano
- Obviouysly end a ficticious story that is meant for the later arriver "...And after I finished saving the bus full of orphans that's when president offered to make me King of the moon, which I humbly turned down. The End! Any questions?" - Gant Laborde
- "You have to clean the erasers after class" - Tom Antion
- "Oh great! I have to start all over again (sigh) Hi, my name is..." - Gene Mitchener
⌚ Time Buyers
These tricks help you buy time for when a computer crashes, an assistant is in the bathroom, or you simply don't know what else to say while something tests your audience's sweet attention.
Q&A With Audience
Q: How do you make holy water?
A: You boil the "hell" out of it.
Q: Why did the strawberry cry?
A: Her mom and dad were in a jam.
Q: What do you get when you boil your funny bone?
A: A laughing stock.
Q: If April showers bring May flowers, what do May Flowers bring?
A: Pilgrims
Q: Why is "dark" spelled with a "K"?
A: You can't "c" in the dark.
Q: Why did the electrician fall in love with every girl he ever met?
A: He couldn't resistor. WAT!? That joke hertz
Q: Why did the dog bowl always come in last?
A: He was lapped.
Q: How did the hacker escape the police?
A: He ransomware
Q: What do you call a magician who's lost his magic?
A: Ian
Q: What's the opposite of lady fingers?
A: Mentos
Q: What happens when you mix a joke with a rhetorical question?
A: ...
Q: Why can't the green pepper practice archery?
A: Because he doesn't habanero.
Q: What do you call a nosey pepper?
A: Jalepino business
Q: What do Europeans call bigfoot?
A: Bigmeter
Q: Where do take someone injured in a "peekaboo" accident?
A: The ICU
Q: Where do bad rainbows go?
A: To prism.
Q: What's the difference between a duck and George Washington?
A: One has a bill on his face, and the other has his face on a bill.
Q: What do you call a knight who is afraid to fight?
A: Sir Render.
Q: Why are there always POP tarts but never MOM tarts?
A: Because of the pastryarchy.
Q: What sound does a 747 make when it lands?
A: Boeing. Boeing. Boeing.
Q: How do 37 mathematicians ride on a bus with 36 seats?
A: They carry the 1.
Q: They’re currently excavating the largest known dinosaur tibia to date.
A: It's a real shindig.
Q: I told a joke in a zoom meeting and no one laughed. A: Turns out I'm not remotely funny.
Q: Why do cows wear bells?
A: Because their horns don't work.
Q: What do you call a line of people waiting for haircuts?
A: A barberqueue.
One Liners
- I've been told some people don't like my cheesey jokes, I guess they are "LAUGH"tose intolerant.
- My sweater was picking up a lot of static electricity, so I returned it for another one free of charge.
- Brain transplants don't work, you can't change my mind.
- It doesn’t matter if you’re tall, short, thin, fat, rich, poor. At the end of the day, it’s night.
- I broke my 1 meter ruler and I'm really upset. They don't make them any longer.
- I feel like we're automating too much these days. All in favor say "AI".
- My wife told me to take out the spider instead of killing it. Nice guy, he finds bugs in web design.
- The Black Eyed Peas can sing us a tune. The Chick Peas can only hummus one.
- I haven't spoken to _________ in over a year... I didn't want to interrupt.
- People who sell meat are gross, but people who sell fruit and vegetables are grocer.
- You're born with 4 knees, but as you grow up two of them become adult knees.
- To the person who stole my antidepressants: I hope you're happy now!
- There's no such thing as training to be a trash collector... you just pick it up as you go along.
- I used to be poor and young, but after the past 20yrs I'm no longer young
- I bought the world's worst thesaurus yesterday. Not only is it terrible, it's terrible.
- I have a fear of overly intricate buildings. I have a complex complex complex.
- Due to a noise complaint in Hawaii, you’re not allowed to laugh OVER a certain decibel. Now you can only use a low ha
- I bought a dog from a blacksmith. 5 minutes after we got home the dog made a bolt for the door.
- I just quit my job at the helium factory. I won’t be spoken to in that tone.
- I have a fear of speedbumps, but I'm slowly getting over it.
- I have a fear of elevators but I'm taking steps to avoid them.
- Prison walls are never built to scale.
- I have a friend who always skips a letter in the alphabet and never says "Y"
- My boss asked me why I only get sick on week days. I said "I don't know. It must be my weekend immune system."