alt Hacker NewsPro tip: Every other slide (ish) is a joke referencing / setting up the next slide. Gives you a beat to change gears, keeps the audience really engaged, and lightens the mood. Also ensures you’re breaking things up into bite-sized pieces.
I gave a talk with a section on curried functions and interspersed the content slides with pictures of Tim Curry, for example.
Replies
jlev1 • today at 4:44 PM
Personally I rarely like jokes in talks, unless they're very limited or are truly substantively related to the talk itself. YMMV of course.
paulgb • today at 4:08 PM
That's a great example because it also acts as a mnemonic to help people remember the content, rather than distracting from it.
Jokes can be tricky in talks, as they rely on shared cultural context. If you know your audience well and know what will land with them it's great, if you don't then care is needed.
I generally advise people to put some jokes in if they like but don't make the talk rely on people getting the jokes.