Common Types of Verbal Humor
Table 15.1
Common Types of Verbal Humor
| Anecdote | Interesting stories told to help the speaker make a point |
| Aside | A statement added as an after-thought, appearing as though the speaker said something that reminded him or her of the aside |
| Banter | Good-natured teasing done back-and-forth with another person, sometimes with an audience member |
| Blendword | The combination of two words to make a new word; e.g., “murse” for “man” and “purse” |
| Blunder | Witty way of making a mistake or verbal faux pas |
| Conundrum | A word puzzle that has a pun for an answer; e.g., cows wearing bells because their horns do not work |
| Freudian slip | A humorous statement that appears to come spontaneously, but really reflects the speaker’s subconscious |
| Hyperbole | Excessive exaggeration |
| Irony | Words or statements used to reflect the complete opposite of their original meaning |
| Joke | A short anecdote that has a funny twist at the end |
| Parody | A humorous version of another writing or speech |
| Recovery | The appearance of a blunder that the speaker quickly corrects, in an attempt to save himself or herself |
| Repartee | Clever or witty retorts, often in the form of insults |
| Satire | Humor that is critical, or makes fun of something |
| Situational Humor | Humor that comes from the speaker’s own personal experiences Understatement: Intentionally down-sizing something to make it appear smaller or less severe |
Adapted from Audrieth, A. L. (1998). The art of using humor in public speaking. Retrieved May 2, 2007 from http://www.squaresail.com/auh.html
