Humor is a funny thing. Everyone thinks they have a sense of humor, but not everyone is right. You can be an effective speaker even if you don’t have a sense of humor, as long as you don’t try to fake it. The audience can always tell.
On the other hand, if you have been blessed with a good sense of humor, that isn’t enough to be a speaker; you also need a sense of timing. A sense of humor allows you to see the funny aspects of everyday life and the funny relationships between unrelated things. A sense of timing lets you talk about them in a funny way.
We all know what’s funny, but we laugh at wildly different examples. One theory says that some nationalities are funnier than others, but I don’t buy it. I’m German by ancestry and I’ve been known to be amusing, even though you’d probably be hard pressed to come up with a good example of German hilarity. Sure, we have lederhosen and yodeling, but they don’t count because we were serious about those. You might ask how on earth we could be serious about such cultural oddities. I answer with another German tradition: beer.
When aspiring speakers ask me if they can open their presentation with a joke, I suggest that they use humor instead. The term ‘joke’ hits me as being stand-alone and unrelated to a topic or theme. Effective humor is always organic, blending seamlessly with the topic and the audience.
Are isolated jokes funny? Sure they are. The vaudeville comedian Henny Youngman was famous for his disconnected one-liners. “My wife dresses to kill. She cooks the same way.” But funny isn’t the only criterion; for humor to work within a presentation, it has to be effective, appropriate, and supportive of the topic. You know – organic. Unrelated one-liners don’t fit the definition. Besides, being able to tell a joke does not necessarily mean you have a good sense of humor; maybe you just have a good memory.
Organic humor is most effective when it’s woven into a story. But for the humor to work along with the point of the story, you really have to know the story. Really know it. REALLY. Pittsburgh radio personality and storyteller Jack Bogut says that a good speaker practices a story until he gets it right. A professional speaker practices a story until he can’t get it wrong. For any story – humorous or otherwise – to be effective, it must be told properly and flawlessly, and timing plays a major role.
This assumes you’ve mastered the basics, such as structure (beginning, middle, and end), progressive disclosure (what details you reveal and when you reveal them), and judicious use of dialogue and description. But it also includes minute details like the choice of language and the rhythm of the words. It isn’t only poetry and song lyrics that have rhythm; so do prose and the spoken word.
Let’s say you want to make a specific point using a humorous story as an illustration. Here’s one for you. The state of New Mexico recently unveiled (if that’s the right word) a series of public service announcements for the tipsy male from an unusual source: the urinal. Talking urinal cakes will spout messages in a female voice, such as the following: “Hey, you! Yeah, you! Having a few drinks? Then, listen up! Think you’ve had one too many? Maybe it’s time to call a cab or call a sober friend for a ride home. It’s sure safer and a hell of a lot cheaper than a DWI! Make the smart choice tonight. Don’t drink and drive!”
(I don’t know what you would illustrate with this story; that’s your problem.)
The article I read didn’t say how the talking urinal cakes are activated and I don’t want to know. But a Department of Transportation spokesman is quoted as saying that the device is a great idea because it’s guaranteed to get “ten or fifteen seconds of undivided attention.” Wait a minute. If you’re in a bar restroom and you can take care of business in ten or fifteen seconds, well, you’re just not doing your part. And there’s another problem. If the poor guy is really swacked and he’s in there all by himself and suddenly hears a woman’s voice coming out of the urinal … that could really throw off his aim. Worst case scenario: there’s a whole bank of urinals, each with its own babbling deodorizer, all being used at the same time. The cacophony could drive a man to drink.
Notice that each of my comments on the story ends in a one-syllable word. That isn’t essential every time, but it’s more effective. Find an amusing story in the newspaper or notice something funny at work, and then see what else it makes you think of. How much funnier can you make real life?
While Henny’s one-liner would not fit into a speech or presentation, it offers some valuable examples of structure and rhythm. This joke has two parts, the setup and the snapper. “My wife dresses to kill. She cooks the same way.” The setup has six syllables and the snapper has five, making only 11 syllables in the whole joke. And every word but one has only one syllable. That’s tight and economical writing.
Let’s try it another way: “My wife dresses to kill. You could say the same thing about her cooking.” It makes the same point, but not as well. Too many words and too many syllables. Plus, the second sentence doesn’t match the staccato rhythm of the first. In my bad example, I waited until the final word to reveal what is being compared to dressing, and that can be effective. But cooking has one syllable too many. Pay attention to the rhythm. A one-syllable word has more punch, especially if it’s the last one.
Many audiences expect a presenter to attempt humor. If the presenter is not a professional speaker, they’re also expecting the attempt to be lame. Surprise them.
About the Author
Jay Speyerer has been a writer, a speaker, and an educator for more than 30 years, successfully helping people achieve their communication goals in memoir writing, e-mail, cross-cultural communication, and presentation skills. Want to communicate better? Find out how at his web site: => http://www.jayspeyerer.com
G-string humor
Humor is an essential part of our lives, is as necessary as all other fuzzy emotions such as love, anger, etc. It dictates how comfortable we feel at our workplace, with a person we just met and how much money we make (in some cases!). The truth is that without humor we are as good as dead. Humor brightens our day and changes our entire perspective about our daily routines in a second. Yes, that’s the power of humor, it is so big that the entertainment industry is currently is above the real estate market (as far as earnings), but don’t take my word for it, look it up!. A decent comedian in comedy central makes more money than a mortgage broker without having all the work related stress.
Now that we have established that humor is great, an important part of our lives and big business, lets start by analyzing the way humor affects our daily life. If you have a desk job, work within a big corporation, are in sales, etc. you have probably noticed that once in a while there comes a person who with just a few words brightens your day, or there is a co-worker you just can’t imagine being without, no, I’m not talking about being in love, we are referring to humor.
It is a fact that most of the people (91.3% actually) who find a job boring, will end up leaving it in less than 3 months. That is just terrible from an employer’s point of view, they loose money by training new employees every few months. Employers and most companies know this, that is why we often hear, “A company name, the best place to work at”, or during the recruitment process we hear “Our company is a leader of this rapidly growing market and offers a fun environment to work at”. What statements like that usually mean is you’ll be buried in paperwork and running around all day long, but off course some people like to work hard so they are the 1% exception. There is nothing funny about jobs like that but they have to advertise it that way to get people interested.
Every now and then, we come across certain individuals who overcame their environment or simply have a different perspective of life who break the ice with a funny sentence, others simply try to memorize jokes and funny quotes, but when they forget about a critical line of the joke they crash and burn, they know it and so does everybody else but people end up laughing because of “social respect”.
For instance, don’t you feel a bit awkward every time someone who you know, is not a good at telling jokes, and this person constantly tries to break the ice with his/her less than funny jokes?, it has happened to me and everyone. I just wish that for once I wouldn’t be the one saying the bad jokes!.
Not everyone has joke telling talents, and that’s OK. But people who know don’t have such talent shouldn’t attempt stunts like these in public. There are many comedians I can reference to but I’ll quote Ronald Reagan (Yeah, the president). Regardless of his highly stressful occupation (and age), he was a “mentally hilarious” person who knew how to deliver a good-funny line at the right moment. For example:
– When asked by a reporter what kind of Governor he would be (back in 1966), he answered “I don’t know. I’ve never played a governor.”
– When he was asked about the deficit the country was going through he said “I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself.”
– When asked about the Government views on economy, instead of talking about foreign exchange markets, interests, war etc. he said “Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
– Or, “Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.”
As you see by these few examples show that being funny has nothing to do with lengthy jokes, its all about delivery and honest but simple lines, an average person can understand. By average I mean 93.4% of the population.
Learning how to use irony, juxtaposition and delivery can set you apart from the rest of the boring people, so help change the world for the best.
By the way, did you know that over 95% of all statistics are made up in the spot?; you might just want to keep that in mind!.
About the Author:
FunnyAndJokes provide many more funny quotes and jokes to help you laugh and become even funnier. Learn hilarious blonde jokes and kids jokes perfect for almost any occasion. Visit us today!
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Funny Jokes and Humor – Something for Everyone
japanese humor
As a marketing tool for real estate professionals do you have a slogan calling? To speak in a previous post, using the slogan as a trademark, the strategy personal marketing for real estate agents is a great way to differentiate yourself from A competition. The purpose of using a slogan is to engage your target market and make talk to you. A slogan is a fun way to accomplish this.
Here is a good definition of what a slogan is:
In his book, Creative Advertising, Charles L. Whittier says a slogan:
"A slogan. Should be a statement of such merit about a product or service that is worthy of continuous repetition advertising is useful for the general public to remember, and is worded so that the public can remember. "
For some agents, Full of humor slogan can be a great personal brand strategy. is not for everyone. But if you have a good sense of humor can have your target market in this way and really stand out the rest.
A lender successfully in Santa Rosa, California, built a strong brand character by placing an ad in a magazine costs local people at each month, usually in a funny costume that suggests a role of film star or the other pop culture icon. A humorous slogan that linked the issue has always been prepared included. seems that everyone has spoken on its market knowledge and looks forward to seeing the next installment.
A mark that shows this approach is that Altoids has maintained visibility in time to come several times with new slogans and taglines. His original motto was "The Original celebrates Curiously Strong Mints. For differentiate itself from competitors in the category of Altoids mints has depended largely on fun puns. Here's an example:
The TV spot presents its latest Altoids mints. little nervous woman in an elevator talks about an upcoming "big day a great opportunity."   To calm her, she stretches, deep breathing and uses the slogan Altoid. appears, "You are in Mint Condition? Â
If you decide to use a slogan humorous, as part of your branding strategy for their personal real estate practice, ensure that it reflects its true personality. not want to disappoint the when they encounter potential customers in person, because they expect that a person full of humor.
Ron and Alexandra Seigel are the managing partners of Napa Consultants, International the leading luxury real estate marketing firm, specializing in web design, personal branding, and company branding. Gain the competitive edge in your luxury real estate marketplace. Visit our highly acclaimed blog, the Language of Luxury “Get Fluent. Get Affluent!” Learn more about gaining and sustaining market leadership at http://www.NapaConsultants.com
humor
What is his attempt to humor and can laugh in your head?
I tried to humor is the kind when I look at the people themselves humiliating or lol embarrassing themselves. Many times in a boring day on a bus or a train burst out laughing and Embaressed by the thoughts of people know they can do things like mind im embaressing that controls and they have no way to stop it if there Infact I would choose the power of mind control What is your mood?
I think I'm like you on this day as DRILLING SOMETIMES IM JUST SITTIN IN A PUBLIC PLACE OR IM is the boring class N IM JUST SO OUT THERE areas and daydreaming thinking about something funny that happend in the past and why START OF NOTHING Laughing Out and I feel it slows the first person I look at me weird. You know what also sometimes FUNNY JUST Ur eyes the crowd did not someone do something EMBERASSING S Funny or anyone else thinks he saw, but must begin now so LAUGHIN UU
mr bean funny humour
Each features a different gentlemen holding a beer with a retro 50’s look Colorful geometric patterned backgrounds Backed in cork to prevent unwanted slippin’ while you’re sippin’ Eac…
