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    If you intend using humor in your talk to make people smile, you must know how to identify shared experiences and problems. Your humor must be relevant to the audience and should help to show them that you are one of them or that you understand their situation and are in sympathy with their point of view. Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different. If you are talking to a group of managers, you may refer the disorganized methods of the secretaries; alternatively if you are addressing secretaries, you may want to comment on their disorganized bosses.

    If you are part of the group which you are addressing, you will be in a position to know the experiences and problems which are common to all of you and it’ll be appropriate for you to make a passing remark about the inedible canteen food or the chairman’s notorious bad taste in ties. With other audiences you mustn’t attempt to cut in with humor as they will resent an outsider making disparaging remarks about their canteen or their chairman. You will be on safer ground if you stick to scapegoats like the Post Office or the telephone system.

    If you feel awkward being humorous, you must practice so that it becomes more natural. Include a few casual and apparently off-the-cuff remarks which you can deliver in a relaxed and unforced manner. Often it’s the delivery which causes the audience to smile, so speak slowly and remember that a raised eyebrow or an unbelieving look may help to show that you are making a light hearted remark.

    Look for the humor. It often comes from the unexpected. A twist on a familiar quote “If at first you don’t succeed, give up” or a play on words or on a situation. Search for exaggeration and understatements. Look at your talk and pick out a few words or sentences which you can turn about and inject with humor.

我和她的相識,有點意思。我稱她“娘間諜”—是她自己告訴我這個綽號的。我從小就很驚歎間諜的手段和意志力。

那天上班時分，傳達室打來電話說，有一個女人，說是你的親戚，找上門來，你見不見？我說，是什麽親戚呢？師傅說，她支支吾吾地說不清楚，我們覺得很可疑。你直接問她吧，檢驗一下。要是假冒僞劣，我們就打發她走。

傳達說著把話筒遞給了那個女人。於是我聽到一個低低的氣聲，耳語一般地說，畢作家，我不是你親戚，可是我有重要的事情要對你說……啊，你怎麽不記得我了呢，真是貴人多忘事啊！表姑全家還讓我問你好呢，你走趕快跟傳達室的師傅說一下，讓我上樓吧，他們可真夠負責的了，不見鬼子不拉弦……師傅，您來聽本人說吧……

後半截的聲音明顯放大，看來是專門講給旁人聽的。於是我乖乖地對傳達室同志說，她是親戚，請讓她進來。謝謝啦！

幾分鍾後，她走進門來。個子不高，衣著普通，五官也是平淡而無奇的那種，沒有絲毫特色。叫人疑惑剛才那番精彩的表演，是否出自這張平凡的面龐。

她不客氣地坐下，喝茶。說，一個作家，又好找又不好找。說好找吧，是啊，報上有你的名字，實實在在的一個人，電腦這麽發達了，找個人，按說不難。可是具體打聽起來，報社啊編輯部啊，又都不肯告訴你，好像我是個壞人似的……

我說，真是抱歉。

她笑起來說，你道的什麽歉呢？又不是你讓他們不告訴我的。再說，這也難不住我，我在家裏專門搞偵破，我女兒送我一個外號，叫—“娘間諜”。

我目瞪口呆。半晌說，看來，你們家冷戰氣氛很濃的啊。

她收斂了笑容說，要不我還不找你來呢！你能不能幫幫我？

我說，到底出了什麽事？

她說，我就這麽一個女兒。我丈夫和我都是高工，就像優良品種的公雞母雞就生了一個雞蛋，你說，你能不精心孵化嗎？從小我就特在意女兒的一言一行。小孩子要是發燒，三等的父母是用體溫表，水銀柱竄得老高了，才知道大事不好。

二等的家長是用手摸，呦！這麽燙啊！方發覺孩子有病了。我是一等的母親，我只要用眼角這麽一掃，孩子眼珠似有水氣，顴骨尖上泛紅，鼻孔扇著，那孩子准是發燒了，我這眼啊，比什麽體溫表都靈。

女兒小的時候，特聽我的話。甭管她在外面玩得多開心，只要我在窗臺上這麽一喊，她騰騰地拔腳就往家跑。有一回，跑得太快，膝蓋上磕掉了那麽大一塊皮，血順褲腿流，腳腕子都染紅了。鄰居說，看把你家孩子急的，不過是吃個飯，又不是救火，慢點不行？我說，她幹別的摔了，我心疼，往家跑碰了，我不心疼。聽父母的話，就得從小訓練，就跟那半個月之內的小狗似的，你教出來了，它就一輩子聽你的。要是讓它自由慣了，大了就扳不過來了。