The 4 Reasons I Deliberately Use Dad Jokes In My Keynote Talks

There’s been this weird series of dots that connected for me that ended up with me telling dad jokes in most of my large-audience keynotes. An example is my talk at HubSpot’s INBOUND event (10,000+ live and many more on the livestream). I had FIVE dad jokes in that one talk (about 25 minutes long).

Here’s the story of how this came about — and why you might want to consider it too.

You Want Me To Do What?

First, I recognized that despite my best attempts to finagle my way out of it, there was no delegating the INBOUND keynote. Trust me, I tried. My co-founder (Brian Halligan) was having none of it. Being a founder trumped being an introvert.

I accepted my fate of having to get up on stages to speak at HubSpot’s annual event. What I didn’t realize at the time is that what started as a talk in a room at the Marriott in Kendall Square (Cambridge, MA) with a couple of hundred people steadily grew into having to present to a live audience of 10,000+.

Skill vs. Talent

Now, let’s pause here for an important “dot” to connect.

It’s the difference between talent and skill.

We all believe we have a talent for some things — and lack talent in others. You may have a talent for sports or singing or public speaking. I don’t have any of those talents.

If you have a talent for something, you might learn that skill faster than others and go further than others. But if you lack talent, doesn’t mean you can’t acquire the skill — you’ll just have to work harder at it.

Functionally Decomposing A Larger Skill

Because I have an obsessive personality, once I accepted that like it or not, I’d be public speaking, I decided to dig in and see if I could build some skills. I have a somewhat systematic approach to these things — it comes from being a developer/engineer.

I decompose the larger skill I’m looking to develop (giving keynotes to large audiences) into smaller skills. Every year, I’d pick a skill and try to develop it and get better at it.

Here are some of the skills I’ve been working on:

• Storytelling

• Slide design (using visuals to engage an audience)

• Stage presence and delivery

• Speechwriting

• Humor (comedic writing, stand-up comedy, improv)

Humor was an interesting one, because I sort of discovered its importance several years ago.

One of the things almost nobody tells you is that if you lose the audience’s attention during a talk — you don’t keep them engaged — nothing else you do up on stage matters. You could have a stunning narrative, compelling visuals and delivery that would impress the not-easily-impressible. But if you lose your audience, you’re done.

In the age of decreasing attention spans, it’s gotten increasingly easier to lose your audience.

And, once you lose them, it’s really hard to get them back.

The Humor Hack

Humor (done right) is one of the best ways to keep an audience engaged. Turns out, people like to laugh.

But in a business/professional talk, humor is hard.

The thing you shouldn’t do is try to tell a a full-on joke you heard/read somewhere. That doesn’t work. If you have a funny, personal story, that can work — but it’s kind of hard and you have to keep it relevant and somehow weave it into the narrative arc (back to the storytelling).

But, turns out, dad jokes are a shockingly effective hack. It’s humor without the risk and calories.

4 Reasons Why Dad Jokes Work So Well

Here’s why dad jokes work so well, and why I keep using them:

1) They’re usually short. You don’t need to have a long build-up, setup a scene and then deliver a punchline. And then hope and pray it hits. In a keynote, you are usually strictly time-constrained. Like 20 min. So, trying to spend a minute or two on a single joke is a risk — and an investment. With a dad joke, it’s usually just a sentence or two.

Example: Does anyone know where a dad can find someone to hang out with and talk to? Asking for a friend.

2) They’re generally Safe For Work (SFW). Since their original purpose is for dads to tell to children, they tend to not be too racy, suggestive or edgy. For a keynote — that’s good.

3) Even when they’re bad, they’re good. This is kind of unique to the genre. Dad jokes can often be awful. The reaction from kids ranges from glee (for younger kids) to eye rolls (from older kids). But they fall into that bucket of “so bad, they’re good”. Or put differently, the expectation is already there that it’s going to be kinda bad (based on your perspective). Contrast this to a “regular” joke.

Example: Do you know why I only get sick on the weekdays? I must have a weekend immune system. (Some will love that one, others will love it less).

4) There’s an endless supply. With dad jokes, you’re not expected to come up with something original. People assume (correctly) that you’re just sharing one of the ones you liked that happen to fit the situation. And if you do decide to be brave and make up your own, it’s OK if it’s not great (see #3 above).

Now, I’m not suggesting that all of you that have to do public speaking should start telling dad jokes.

But if the talks you’re giving are high stakes, I’d spend some time learning the overall craft (it’s a skill that can be developed). And, I’d look into humor as a way to be more engaging and as such more effective.

In another post, I’m going to write up many of the lessons being an introvert that has to speak in public. I’ve accumulated these over many, many years.

Stay tuned!

-Dharmesh