Inspiration/Humorist

In this role you have the option of 1) making an inspirational speech or 2) telling a joke or humorous story. Let the Chairman know before the meeting which of the two options you have chosen. This role is scheduled near the start of the meeting to get the meeting rolling.

Options for inspiration include:

• Describe a personal experience that inspired you
• Talk about a person who you find inspiring
• Discuss a book, article or news story that you find inspiring
• Discuss an inspirational philosophy or message

Options for humour include:

• Tell a joke (keep it clean)
• Tell a humorous story (a true story or a “tall tale”)
• Discuss a humorous book, article or news story

This role gives you the chance to present a short prepared speech so it makes excellent practice for preparing and presenting the longer speeches. You can practice memorizing parts of your speech so you don’t need to rely on notes, particularly for the introduction and conclusion.

Be careful not to rush your speech. Pause to let the audience absorb your inspirational message or chuckle at your jokes. The best comedians say that the secret to humour is timing. The same applies to inspiration. The most important thing to remember is that the speech is short so practice the timing to make sure it fits within the allotted time – usually 2 minutes. You can contact the chairman if you want to extend it to 3 minutes. Give yourself a margin of error so you don’t get clapped down before your conclusion. If you’re telling a joke you need to get to the punch-line!