Writing A GREAT Joke Set-Up Line
So much of what we focus on in joke writing is the punch line, but one way to make a great punch line is coming up with a great set-up line. My first three tips for a great set-up line are to:
Make it Short.
Bill Cosby can go on forever and ever, but the rest of us should make it short. I try to keep my entire joke to 3 lines (not sentences. . .lines).
Use Only What’s Needed.
Put in only the things that need to be known in order for the joke to be funny. For example, when I write about my nieces and nephews, people need to know that they are kids, but they don’t need to know their exact ages for it to be funny. So instead of saying “my 5-year-old nephew” I can say “my little nephew”. . .people will get it – unless it’s something particular to a 5-year-old.
Here I am above @ the FontainBleau Resort in Miami. . great place but too many syllables!
Watch the Syllables.
Words with shorter syllables take less time for people to process, which means they can take in the whole joke, and aren’t left back at “Ironically”. . .it’s Ironic. I know, it may sound preposterous. . .I mean silly. . .
Use Familiar Words.
This isn’t the time to show how huge your vocabulary is. . .most people stick to a very limited selection, and you should too. Every time I hear the flight attendants tell us before take-off that we need to set our electronics “in the off position” I want to scream. No one talks like that. . .we say “turn it off.” I don’t know if that’s some sort of legalese that they HAVE to use, but it’s ridiculous. . . I mean STUPID (to use less syllables)!
Don’t Worry ‘bout Grammar.
If you’re saying the joke. . .or writing it so someone else can say it. . . then don’t worry about the grammar so much. My “take your daughter to work day” joke has the words “there less women in the workforce than men.” Grammatically it should be “fewer women than men,” but “less” is a shorter word and gets the point across. Not many people are going to stop me and point it out. What you’re trying to do with a joke is get the IDEA across and you can do that without following writing etiquette.
So that’s a few do’s and don’ts for short joke writing. . .so that your set-ups really do set you up for joke success.
Jan
www.TheWorkLady.com
Wearing the same outfit – oh my!
A funny thing happened to me on the way to the stage. . .
Okay, yesterday I did my Finding the Funny in Change humor keynote for a major health care group in Kansas. It went great, but it could have started out horrible since the speaker before me was Kathleen Sebelius, the Secretary of Health & Human Services, and she was wearing the EXACT same outfit as me. The SAME jacket. . .not just similar. . the SAME. And black pants. She did wear a black shirt, and I wore a white one, but otherwise, we were twins.
Here’s the green jacket! The same one as the Secretary of HHS wore!
When you HAVE to address the situation!
Soooo this is one of those times when you HAVE to address the situation. I had a few minutes to come up with some lines while she was on, so I first thought – why would we both do this – and came up with “It’s green jacket day” here at the association. THEN I went further by having some fun and wondering, what happens to people who try to look like her, and came up with – I almost missed the program. I was detained by security for impersonating the Secretary of Health & Human Services. That went well too, and then I also asked myself where did we both shop? And I realized that this green jacket was the same one I wore when I was a Hillary Clinton impersonator, so I mentioned that. . .and wondered out loud if she got hers from the “real” Hillary.
It all worked out!
This worked out well and I got some laughs and then moved on. I actually looked forward to getting on stage and having fun with it, where many women would have been horrified! If Secretary Sebelius had stuck around for my show, I would have tried to get he on stage for a picture. . .maybe.
Sometimes you can prepare for humor, and sometimes you’re forced to do it. If you look at things like this as opportunities to inject comedy, then you can get thru any “uncomfortable” moment.
Jan
Jan McInnis
www.JanBlog.com – my travel blog
www.TheWorkLady.com – my website
Don’t forget to get your Cubicle Comedy Cards for the holiday stocking stuffer or secret Santa gift. Click here for the hilarious video or go to my website above to order some!
Joke Writing for One Demographic
All Women All Day!
This week I got a chance to present my “Finding the Funny in Communications” program to a group consisting of all women! They were great! I do a lot of programs in which there are just women, or even just men, in the audience, and I usually never worry about it. Here’s a few dos and don’ts for writing jokes for when the group is the same sex.
- View from my balcony of the Omni Champions Gate resort in FL
Do address it.
If you’re a woman addressing an all-woman’s group, or a man addressing an all-man’s group, you have a great opportunity to have some fun with everyone being in the same “club.” Make a list of what issues you have in common because you’re all the same sex, and then write jokes about it. In this instance, the group was small and it was women who were in a predominantly male industry, so I kicked off with. . . “how did you all choose this profession? Were you looking for career in which there was no line in the ladies room?” When I did a show for Pep Boys managers, I had some fun because they gave me a Pep Boys polo shirt so I could sit in the sessions during the day “unnoticed.” Yeah, that worked really well considering 100% of them were men! I joked around about how well I “fit in.”
Don’t bash the other sex.
Remember, these people are married to and interact with the other sex. Some speakers/comedians think that’s how to get people on your side, with an “us” against “them” type of speech. Unfortunately that’s how we get bad reputations – women for male bashing and guys for being chauvinistic. Do the same clean comedy that you’d do regardless of the group.
Do Use stereotypes.
Yes, I said you can, as long as you’re being NICE. I’ll address writing jokes using stereotypes in a later comedy writing blog, but the quick version is. . .list out what do people think about women (right or wrong).. . long ladies room lines, bad drivers, menopause, etc. . .and then have some TASTEFUL fun. That’s how I came up with the line above.
Do treat them the same.
I did the same jokes and the same program for these woman that I’d do for a mixed group or an all male group. A few weeks ago I did this same Finding the Funny in Communications program for all women support staff, and I still gave them the same program and the same jokes that I’ve done for CEOs. Just because they’re one sex or another, or one job title or another ,doesn’t mean you should make it “softer” or give more “meat”. . .give information that you’re proud of and use humor that is appropriate for EVERYONE.
Don’t pre-judge.
That’s one of the biggest pitfalls of comedy. . .prejudging the group. 3 times in my life I’ve had audience members apologize to ME after the comedy show. They said things like “we saw there was a woman comedian on the show, and we thought ‘this is going to stink’”. I don’t like being judged for what I MIGHT say because I’m a woman. . .so don’t prejudge you’re audience for how they MIGHT react because they are women or all men. If you’re funny and giving good information, they will respond appropriately.
Jan
Jan McInnis
Here’s a unique stocking stuff for the holidays – Cubicle Comedy Playing Cards. They include my work humor as well as work “advice” for surviving the office. Want to know how to eat for free in the office? Find out in the cards! See a 1.5 minute video here. . .cute!
- GREAT Holiday Stocking Stuffers for the office!!!
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