Humor enjoys a top position in human society. More people are willing to pay for tickets at a movie theater to see a top comedy than a sad drama. Humorous emails are the most frequently sent type of communication today. You can add humor to retirement speeches, to lighten the mood, connect with the audience or honor a cherished colleague. However, if you go about it the wrong way, the entire thing can backfire on you. How should you add humor to a retirement speech?

Relevant not Generic

Adding a joke to your retirement speech is a great way to break the ice. However, you should never add a joke for its own sake. To ensure that your speech goes off right, make any humor relevant and topical. You should never just toss in a handful of generic jokes that have no bearing on the retiree or their time with the company.

Beware of Offensive Humor

Unless you are roasting the retiree, you should be very careful with your humor. Even with a roast, there is such a thing as going too far with your humor. As a general rule of thumb in writing humorous retirement speeches, you need to make sure that the retiree shares your enthusiasm for the joke. Poking fun at someone because they blew the circuit breakers in the office with their coffee spill is only funny if the other person feels the same way.

Humor is not Mandatory

Many people feel pressured to write a funny retirement speech. However, if you are not a naturally funny person, the result can seem strained and uncomfortable, rather than humorous. A retirement speech should be written in your voice, not forced. If you do not feel that you can add humor correctly, then it’s best to leave it out entirely.

Quality not Quantity

If you are intent on writing a humorous retirement speech, you should understand that less is more here. One or two well-polished jokes will do your speech much more good than if you were to add a considerable number of unfunny jokes. Good humor always wins out over mediocre humor.

Writing a funny retirement speech can be a challenge, but if you follow these tips, you will find yourself able to interject humor that will liven up your speech and still honor the retiree.