WHAT'S THE #1 BEST PLACE TO HOLD A SEMINAR?
My students often ask me, "David, where's the best place to do my seminars?" The best place to hold your seminars is the venue in which your target market will be most comfortable. Why? Because if they don't like the venue, they won't show up in the first place. To go one step further, if you're holding your seminar somewhere that your target market finds highly desirable, then you've hit the bull's-eye! What venue will be comfortable (or even desirable) to your target market? A church? A restaurant? Country Club? Your office? Your home? Hotel banquet room? If you're not sure, just take an informal survey and ask them!

WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD SAY?
When you get up in front of people, what should be the very first thing that comes out of your mouth? One school of thought is that manners never go out of style, so thank your group for being there. Another school of thought says your opening words should be something that is so shocking that it grabs your audience by the ears and forces them to sit up & listen to you. Why not have the best of both words! - open with a brief thank you statement and immediately follow up with your shocker/grabber question or statement. In this case, you CAN have your cake and eat it too!

USING HUMOR IN A PRESENTATION:
When I teach any of my workshops on Seminar Speaking Skills, inevitably someone will ask me "David, should I use humor in my seminars?" Using humor is great because of 2 reasons: 1. It loosens people up, and they feel more relaxed. 2. You get a good measure of how "with you" they are. Everyone likes to laugh (don't they??), so you create a more congenial atmosphere. Plus, you can gauge how receptive people in your audience are by noticing who's laughing. If you are "naturally" funny, that's best - never, ever try to "force" yourself to be funny because that will backfire on you. If you're not 'naturally' funny, you can always work in a cartoon or funny quotation. In the final analysis, always use your best judgment - is humor appropriate to use with your topic and target audience? You be the judge!

Here's even more real-world, proven information on public speaking: