8 uses for comedy writing
Okay, so you still aren’t sold on using comedy?
Maybe you think it’s just for comedians, because we know how to do this and you don’t. Or maybe you’re just in too serious of a business to use humor. Okay, but there are many other places you can inject humor. . .here’s 8 of them
1. business writing – make people want to actually read your memo!
2. work speeches – you gotta lay people off? Do it with humor. JOKING. But how about when you get to congratulate someone. Use humor instead of a dry “thanks Bob for spending your last 64 weekends working for the company.”
3. Family toasts – weddings, anniversaries, bar mitzvahs, you get it. Whenever the family gets together to celebrate something.
4. in awkward situations to break the tension – meeting your fiancé’s parents or your daughter’s boyfriend
5. to spice up small talk. Cocktail parties can be dull. Enough said.
6. to impress a date. Surveys say people are attracted to people who are funny.
7. when you’ve embarrassed yourself. Get out of it by making a self-deprecating joke and get everyone to laugh with you. You know they’re gonna laugh at you behind your back if you don’t get your mistake out in the open.
8. writing a book. Most books can lend themselves to a little humor, so find the funny in your story and add it in.
That’s just a start
of places you can use humor. Now have a great weekend and go look for ways to be less boring! Oh, and send me a place that I’ve missed – I’m sure there’s a million that I haven’t thought of.
Jan
www.TheWorkLady.com
www.ComedyEmcee.com
Anatomy of a Joke Video
Some people like
reading things that are funny, some people like hearing things that are funny, some people like seeing funny visuals. . .and some people like all of the above. As a result, I’m putting together some “How To” videos on joke writing.
I call them
The Anatomy of a Joke . . since I’m breaking the jokes down to show how I came up with them. This title is based on my popular article of the same name. I got a lot of press with the article, and in fact you can send me an email Jan@TheWorkLady.com and get a copy of you wish.
Here’s my first video on joke writing. I’m keeping them under 2 minutes so that people will actually watch them. Enjoy!
Jan
Comedy Critiques
Well today I DIDN’T get hired
for a comedy show because some client heard the word “fax” in one of my jokes and she didn’t like the reference. Really??? That joke still works great, and people still know what a fax is, in fact they still use ‘em!
So do I freak out and
re-write my joke to get rid of that reference? Well, that depends. The common joke that “everyone is a comedian” isn’t too far from the truth because a lot of people who have never even tried comedy still feel that they can give those of us actually doing comedy, some tips. But should we listen to them? I think you have to consider the source . . .what is their ulterior motive. In this instance, I know that the agent has put me out to this group for a few years now. And every year they turn me down for some reason, so I’m guessing at this point the group is looking for reasons NOT to hire me; nitpicking one of my jokes is now their excuse.
I had a client once tell me
not to do office jokes, like my “take the copier” joke, during my show . . . I go by The Work Lady and I make a lot of fun of office stuff. What’s the deal – they don’t want me to joke about work??? I talked to them, and after hemming and hawing about it for a while, I found out the REAL reason she didn’t want my office jokes , particular the copier joke, was they had just had a bunch of layoffs and those people who were laid off actually stole office equipment. Good for them! And I bet the joke would have hit well, but I didn’t use it. However I was able to use my other office jokes and all was well.
So what can we learn
from people who give us unsolicited advice??? I say, look at the situation before taking any advice. What’s in it for them? Why are they telling me this? I’m happy to take advice from people who are doing or are trying to do comedy, but I generally don’t listen to those who give advice on something that they know nothing about.
So next time someone
tells you your joke isn’t funny, or relevant, remember the wisdom that it’s usually them not you.
Have a great holiday!
And start taking notes so you can use the holiday snafus for humor later.
Jan
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.