Shark Tank talk: Should humor be part of an investor pitch?

On Shark Tank, viewers watch as the investor pitches offer up new ideas and concepts in search for financial backing. The entrepreneurs are serious, but lately the pitches offer a dabble of humor. This humor isn’t directed at the product or service. It’s not directed at the investors either. Instead it’s merely interjected into the conversation naturally to lighten the mood.

As viewers keep an eye on Shark Tank trends, there is growing speculation that humor in a pitch is a big help. Watching the different entrepreneurs, the chance to make an investor smile appears to offer more of a positive engagement, one that brings down the resistant questions and gets the small business owner one step closer to the purse strings.

It’s interesting that many of the Shark Tank pitches that use humor actually get funded. Have you noticed this watching the show? It’s almost a moment of entertainment, even though the overall tone is all about finding money for a company or product. This humor seems to break down the barriers and offer a human touch to a business arrangement. It shows an element of social skills that is useful in any negotiation.

Humor during an investor pitch isn’t something that could be rehearsed like facts and figures. Of course, if you are sharing a funny story about the product, that’s different. Yet, to just interject something cute isn’t easy. It’s got to be tasteful, appropriate for the moment and find a way to entice the potential investor.

Shark Tank humor can be found

Entrepreneurs obviously work on their elevator pitches hard, but they could go a step further. Picking up a little comedic timing by looking into how comedy works, it might help funding come faster. If you put the investor at ease, they might pay greater attention to all the details because there is a personable connection. Sometimes it is a human touch that changes a “no” to a “yes”. Obviously, you need a good idea with a strong pitch, but consider adding a little humor to show how your journey is fun and fulfilling.

Entrepreneur tip: When putting together an investor pitch, consider what might work to humorously sway investors your way. It might be a funny story about you, your product or something you heard in the past.

This column was written by Jodi Jill and if you’re looking for more then be sure to head on over to the link here. Also, you can follow her on Facebook and Twitter! (Photo: ABC.)