Humor in Social Entrepreneurship: Insights from TED Talk Narratives


Keleş Tayşir N., Tayşir E. A.

Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, cilt.1, sa.1, ss.19, 2025 (Scopus)

Özet

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-disparagingcause of the social problemproblem-specificsolution-orientedbeneficiary-focused, and other.