Abstract

At first glance, humor and the weighty issues that social entrepreneurs aim to address might seem like unlikely companions. However, studies have illuminated humor’s potent ability to shift attitudes and catalyze change. This research examines the incorporation of humor by social entrepreneurs in their TED Talks, analyzing its use across a sample of 114 presentations. Of these, 69 humor-inclusive talks were scrutinized to identify the target, methods, and underlying intentions of humor. From this thematic analysis, six primary themes emerged: self-disparaging , cause of the social problem , problem-specific , solution-oriented , beneficiary-focused , and other .

Journal
Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
Published
2025-06-10
DOI
10.1177/23294906251340965
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (37)

  1. 10.1086/208517
  2. 10.1177/0021886304266847
  3. TED Talks: The official TED guide to public speaking
  4. 10.1177/0266242611416417
  5. 10.1080/03634523.2010.496867
Show all 37 →
  1. 10.1080/08985626.2022.2158492
  2. 10.1037/13772-000
  3. 10.1037/pspi0000079
  4. 10.1016/j.obhdp.2019.01.005
  5. 10.2307/799797
  6. 10.1080/10417949109372831
  7. 10.1207/s1532785xmep0602_2
  8. 10.1080/01436597.2015.1013320
  9. Audience reaction to self-disparaging humor. Southern
    Journal of Communication
  10. 10.1515/humor-2018-0004
  11. 10.1177/107179199400100406
  12. 10.1080/17524032.2014.991411
  13. 10.1177/009207037900700302
  14. 10.4337/9781845421472.00010
  15. 10.1111/j.1460-2466.1976.tb01912.x
  16. 10.1080/10570319209374409
  17. 10.1080/17524032.2020.1756888
  18. 10.1057/978-1-137-51659-6_11
  19. 10.1353/book.33137
  20. Kreutzer K. (2022). On the discursive construction of social entrepreneurship in pitch situations: The intert…
  21. 10.5465/annals.2017.0131
  22. 10.1111/j.1468-2885.2002.tb00277.x
  23. 10.1080/00913367.1982.10672806
  24. Mauksch S. (2017). Managing the dance of enchantment: An ethnography of social entrepreneurship events. Organ…
  25. 10.1111/j.1468-2885.2000.tb00194.x
  26. 10.1177/0020964314564830
  27. 10.1515/humor-2012-0007
  28. 10.1007/s11199-020-01154-w
  29. 10.5040/9781472578969
  30. 10.1017/S002085900700315X
  31. 10.1080/00913367.1992.10673384
  32. 10.2753/JOA0091-3367350408