.. take my joke, please
... i need your help, fellow bloggervillians. i've been a toastmaster for over 10 years. i consider myself an accomplished speaker. i have given hundreds of speeches. professionally, i have covered topics such as marketing, handling layoffs at boeing facilities, training and selling microsoft developer solutions tools, facing the y2k adversities through technology standardizations (remember that garbage!?) and more. through the toastmasters organization i am predominately known as a humorist speaker. i've competed and emerged winner in humorous speech contests and more. i'm funny. people know that. i've given speeches on humor 101 speechcrafting, humor in the workplace and other related subjects.
now, i'm stumped with the ultimate horror. a request so difficult, so multifaceted, i realize it's become one of the true banes of my existance as i ponder HOW to deliver a 45 minute speech on... get ready... eek!...
how to tell a joke.
yup. that's the nightmare. here's why: i'm an impromptu speaker 98% of the time. i don't consider myself a joke teller... i am simply animated, use vocal variety, and fly off the cuff at a moments notice to take any situation and try to infuse it with life's quarks. it sounds deliriously hokey, but i rejoice in making others see the world in different, albeit odd ways to make them laugh and smile... if not at the very least, take a moment to sit back and admire their work.
I rarely, if ever actually tell a joke. I have a hard time with them simply due to the fact that it requires memorization and real focus. It’s much easier to blast off talking about a subject and pulling instantly from the recesses of one’s mind and experiences instead of starting out with, “two nuns, a blind man and a movie producer walk into a bar…” this picture below is a perfect example of what i find funny. there's no real joke here, jes' a play onna situation that some may relish or fear. i could be shown that image and within seconds rattle off a story or mini-speech... but it'd be jes' that. not a joke. dagnabbit!
So I ask you all: how do you tell a joke? What do you think is funny? Can you share with me some insight so my speech to this beloved organization comes from the hearts and minds of many and not jes’ me? The best comics in the world learn from others by observing and listening. I hope that your thoughts, insights and more can help inspire me to properly craft a speech that will inspire, entertain and teach the audience that they already have the skills, they jes’ have to get up there and laugh about it!
14 comments:
there is something to be said about a comedian who can tell jokes with seamless delivery. i don't like feeling as though a joke is being remembered and told to me. i like hearing them as they are really stories (much like you are a humorous person and your stories themselves are funny). i don't like scripted jokes.
i don't know if this actually helps you, but...
Ab-so-lutely dude...
If the talents you listed are true, which I have no doubt that they are, then you would be able to tell a good joke. The only real things you need are definitive beginning, middle, and end. If you hit those three points then the rest can be ad-libbed to fit your needs and your audience.
Have you ever heard "the aristocrats" joke?
Penn Gillete, of Penn and Teller fame, produced a documentary on the joke. Rent it, watch it, and learn how today's commedians spin this joke around into their own piece of comedy.
The joke goes like this:
A man walks into a talent agency, and tells the agent he has the perfect "family" act and he should be hired post haste.
The agent says "oh yeah? describe your act for me."
The man goes into describing the most foul, repugnant, disgusting acts, on stage mind you, with his wife, daughter, son, dog, himself, audience members, and the like. To include poop, sex acts, vomiting, smearing of fluids, etc...
Shocked, the agent exclaims "Damn man! That's terrible! What do you call yourselves???"
The man sits back in his chair and replies:
"The Aristocrats!"
Not a very funny joke when you look at it. However, the funny stuff is in how you tell it, how you expound on the gross things that occur on stage. The more your audience responds to the various acts, the more you can expound or withdraw as needed.
A joke can be the most intimate interaction you have with your audience, becuase you're feeding off of them as much as they are feeding off of you. Stick to the beginning, middle, and end, and the rest is gravy.
"The Aristocrats" is a good example of how that formula is used by various commedians, and they are often tested with that joke as a high water mark into how funny they can really be.
Watch the documentary, I can't really do it justice.
Hope that helped a little,
-buzz
Wish I could help, but I'm like you and just start speaking. Most of the time never thinking first...lol.....soemtimes it goes bad
thank you all for your thoughts and comments up to this point. My deepest lurvins' to you all for your contributions.
Consider one more thing:
it's not completely about "how to" tell a joke that's the quandry (to use croak's word, which i also have huge lurvins for) but the delivery in front of an audience.... what GETS you about someone who does this well, what sticks in your mind when you leave that speech, that comic, that office person who's jes' got that gift...
what is it?
again, thankees to you all. this IS very valuable.
You know, I do not know the slightest thing about being funny. Silly, yes. Sarcastic, definitely. But telling jokes? Good God... Speaking of God, I know a lot of tasteless Jesus jokes, but you probably would have to scotchguard (and perhaps flame-proof) your suit before launching the one about how Jesus could see Paul's house from the crucifix.
Not good not good...
Most of my humor is also derived from insulting stupid people in one form or another. I'm a very nice person.
And thank you for visiting my blog! I take it this is your more regular one?
yes that is me on Duck's site and i'm hiding...not gone silly
Your past Toastmaster experiences will put you at ease. But, I do understand, it is not the speaking that causes you the anxiety. It is the lack of confidence. You seem to have convinced your self that you cannot tell a joke. And now it is true.
Telling a joke is not much different than telling a story. The primary difference is that the ending has a twist to it. As you have discovered, timing is the most important aspect.
The advice buzz gave is invaluable. That is a great way to learn different delivery styles.
You can try reading those jokes on a few different blogs. Then make it a point to tell jokes to anyone who will listen.
Here are some sites that have funny stories:
How Now Blue Cow
it occurred to me
holtiehouse
If I find any others I will send them along.
Good luck.
Confidence. Timing. Practice. Not too many jokes.
i don't think you are scared of the speech itself, but you are not sure how to deliver a speech on telling jokes. is that what you are saying?
jokes are personal things. some people love them, others...not so much.
i have a friend who lives close by here (like right around the corner). he can be funny. other times he can try too hard. the times he is himself, i laugh wholy. then he switches to "on" mode and i lose interest.
i don't like to be told a joke, i like to feel as though the teller of said joke is relaying a story.
(is this all just a repeat of what i wrote earlier?)
To be funny, is to be animated in voice and with gestures. I can't tell jokes, I don't make them funny. I do say funny things occasionally, only because I don't overthink them. Sponteneity has a lot to do with being funny, and to telling a good joke.
Since that photo made me slap mah laig and chuckle, honey, youse deservin' a reply:
Why not change the title ter "How NOT to tell a joke"? Most folks have the same problem ya' describe, so they will identify wif' yore predicament, and botchin' a joke can be made funny extemporaneously--nothin' much ter memoorize since forgitin' & botchin' speaks to the new title..
Of course at this point you know you audience. These things stick on my memory.
- Side jokes inside the main joke.
- Pretending to not know.
- At least two real life events.
- Asking questions that have fast and definitive answers leading to the punch.
- Non sense is good sense if you can blend it with a face.
- Intellectual comedy is not.
- Wife and Mother are among the best subjects besides self.
Hey, what do I know? I'm just a caveman, remember?
I must admit, I have been giving your predicament a lot of thought. Perhaps too much thought.
I suspect you are too good of a speaker to let a little thing like telling a joke get in your way.
If I come up with any other gems of information, I will pass them on. In the meantime, did you hear the one about the blind man who walked into the bar, ordered a beer and asked the bartender if he wanted to hear a blonde joke?...
I think Adrianne had some good points about animation in voice and gestures. I think exaggeration is key in many situations, whether it be throwing your whole body into a gesture, movement across the stage, or animated vocal expression -- OR the opposite, saying something ridiculous and outrageous while keeping a straight face and calm exterior. (However, because they're Toastmasters, if you say something outrageous they'll ding you if you don't emphasize it with big gestures. It's just what they do. *sigh*)
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