DIGNIFIED JOKING: HUMOR AND DEMEANOR IN A PUBLIC SPEAKING CLUB.

An investigation was made of the joking that occurs during meetings of a club which gathers weekly to practice public speaking. In this setting, humor is expected as part of a good speaking performance. It is assumed that the use of humor can establish rapport with an audience and aid in persuasion. This paper describes how such joking must be managed to avoid both a potential disintegration of the club's focused gathering and an undermining of the face-work involved in doing public speaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]