Many "experts" on public speaking, right after they tell you to picture the audience in their underwear will tell you to start with a joke. It loosens up the audience, they say. Makes them like you and more receptive to you and your message.
The problem is, telling a joke to a large group of people is hard! There are lots of reasons for this including the subjective nature of humor, the importance of delivery, the wariness of most audiences these days when a speaker sets out to tell a joke, and the fact that most jokes have only a tenuous relation to the topic of the speech.
I like to use humor when I give a presentation, but I rarely tell a joke. Rather, I prefer to make a comment on my presentation or the circumstances of the event. I like using situational humor because it shares an observation with the audience, which helps to create a connection. Wry or slightly sarcastic comments can come off as more natural and spontaneous than set jokes. I do usually plan these comments, but I don't always use them. I try to read the audience and judge how well such comments will be received. There is nothing more disheartening than making a comment that you expect will result in laughter and instead getting silence.
You should ONLY use humor in a presentation if you are comfortable with it. Don't feel that you have to tell a joke. Also, if you do decide to use humor, you should NEVER make jokes that are disparaging or degrading to someone else. More often than not, those types of jokes are alienating and will work against you as a speaker. I tend to use self disparaging comments, where I make fun of myself, which for some reason often gets a laugh.
And for the record, I have never pictured an audience in their underwear. I am pretty sure that would make me forget where I was in my presentation!
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