It all started with a job advertisement for a greeting card company that was advertising for writers. The beginning was straightforward enough as the posting asked applicants to send their resumes along with some humorous responses to a writing exercise, and other writing samples. I half-heartedly filled in some quick answers, feeling like my first impulses would be the best, and whisked the email off to the company. After occupying myself with some other things for a while, my mind started to become haunted by one of the sample questions I had seen.
The exercise was to write an inside response to a card with a woman on the front, and the opening caption, “Women are like fine wine.” My original response to this challenge was, “They have a wonderful aroma, pleasant taste, and a knockout punch if you have too much enjoyment.” Of course this caption is not particularly funny or very original, but it is the kind of stuff that appears in greeting cards. My mind would not let me leave it alone. For this reason, here are some other captions that might appear on the inside of such a card.
“Women are like fine wine…”
“They both cost a lot, and leave you with nothing but an empty bottle when you’re done with them.”
“Women are like fine wine…”
“They both seem to go well with candy and nuts.”
“Women are like fine wine…”
“They can both lead to a terrible headache.”
“Women are like fine wine…”
“If you let them breathe, your appreciation for them can be improved.”
“Women are like fine wine…”
“It costs a lot to take them off the shelf.”
“Women are like fine wine…”
“The vintage is important.”
“Women are like fine wine…”
“It takes time and a lot of skill to find the right one for the price.”
“Women are like fine wine…”
“Don’t get either one before it’s time.”
“Women are like fine wine…”
“Both can turn you into an alcoholic.”
“Women are like fine wine…”
“But wine won’t leave a hair in your food.”
“Women are like fine wine…”
“They both take a long time to get ready.”
Needless to say, someone else got that job.
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BHO Technologists - LittleTek Center
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When people get together informally, sooner or later they begin telling humorous stories. Interestingly enough, most of them will be true. It’s what I call real-life humor:The silly thing little Johnny did, the trick Harriet played on Dan, what happened when the boss stood up to talk.
One reason for this is the desire to create laughter. We delight in laughter and are
ready to call anyone “weird” who doesn’t.
Since it’s laughter you’re after, you’ll improve your chances by patterning your
stories after the structure of gags and jokes.
The joke structure is an art form with distinct, interrelated parts designed for
one purpose–to bring a laugh! Knowing what creates a successful joke can help
you be more successful in telling your own stories. After all, this joke form has
stood the test of time. In fact, here’s a gag that made the rounds 2000 years ago in
Rome:
1st husband: A terrible thing happened. My wife just hung herself from a fig
tree.
2nd husband: Could I get a few slips from your tree for my garden?
Now let’s look at what goes into a successful joke or gag.
Economy of words
Too many words is the surest way to kill a joke, and it is the most common mistake.
What is true of the joke is also true for your personal humorous stories. Some
people spend so much time on irrelevant details that the listener is bored by the
time the punch line comes. There’s a polite chuckle instead of the guffaw that the
account of the story might have received had half the words been left out.
Listen to professional comics. Notice how every word contributes to the movement
of the joke. Cut every word that doesn’t move the story along, vividly and rapidly.
This, of course, takes some home work. An easy and effective way to do this is
record your stories on a tape cassette, CD or your computer. When you listen, you’ll
soon know what can be left out.
This practice can make you a more interesting story teller, will increase your
confidence and give you bigger laughs.
A strong set up
The set up is the first part of the joke that builds in the listener’s mind the thought
or image the punch line will play on. Using the Roman joke above as an example,
the first husband’s line sets up the picture of sorrow and tragedy. A sharp contrast
to the image conveyed in the punch line.
The more vivid the scene, the more the set up stimulates the listener’s imagination,
the greater the laugh potential. If the set up is weak so will be the laugh. Count on
it! Your humorous stories will benefit from openings that plant the necessary
thoughts and images. Remember, you don’t have to tell all. Let the listener use
imagination. But be sure to get in the important information.
My father-in-law had a favorite shaggy-dog story about a worm named “Motor” who
lived in an apple. The worm kept eating his way through the apple with the punch
line being, “Out bored Motor.” Once he neglected to mention the worm’s name. He
delivered the punch line with great enthusiasm. You can guess the result.
The Pause
The pause is just that. A pause in the story line, giving the listener a chance to catch
up, as it were, to “see” clearly the picture presented by the set up. This pause is
essential in laugh getting.
Professional comedians call it “timing.” Watch them at work, pay special attention
to
their pauses. They study their jokes in advance to decide just where to pause, where
to give the audience the chance to visualize, so when they introduce the
unexpected, or ludicrous punch line, the effect will be the most laughable.
Your stories will benefit from such a pauses. They can bring a dramatic effect that
encourages a laugh instead of a smile.
The Punch Line
The punch line is the dynamite. It’s what everyone’s been waiting for. The
successful joke has just the right number of words. No more, no less. Examine a
few classical jokes and notice the effect when you add a word or two. Even a trivial
word like “a” or “the” may weaken it.
So when you reach the point, say it in the fewest number of words possible. And if
your story allows for it, phrase the punch so that your listeners can use their
imagination to “discover” the humor of your story. Again, listen to the pro’s, study
some joke books to see how the punch line tickles the imagination.
One good place to see how the joke structure has been applied to humorous events
and stories is in the popular Readers Digest feature, “Life In These United States.”
The anecdotes are brief, have a descriptive set up, and a punch line.
Include these tips with your stories the next time you sit down for a casual talk with
friends. You will all be laughing.
(c) Cy Eberhart 2006.
As a hospital chaplain Cy Eberhart, (now retired) was a firsthand witness to the
entire spectrum of human emotions: personal successes and failures; the deepest
despairs and the great peaks of joy. Two questions remained foremost in his mind:
How was it that some could find inner strengths that brought courage and hope and
others could not? What was to be learned from these experiences that would have a
positive and creative effect for daily, routine living?
His lectures, writings, workshops, book In the Presence of Humor and his living-history
performances of America’s famed humorist
Will Rogers offers some of the
answers.
As the price of gasoline continued its flaming ascent and interest rates rose once again, the Fed announced that consumer prices were edging up. Surprised, Wall Street tanked.
An analyst for Bear Stearns explained, “Individual indicators don’t necessarily predict the overall trend. But, of course, if prices had gone down, that might have meant a slowdown in sales, which could also have sent stocks into the tank.”
A frazzled individual investor, who witnessed his portfolio lose over 50% of its value in five minutes, took a swig of Mylanta, and said, “I’ve gotten used to the ups and downs. The only thing that goes up all the time is my blood pressure.”
Tom Attea, humorist and creator of NewsLaugh.com, has had six shows produced Off-Broadway and has written comedy for TV. Critics have called his writing “”delightfully funny” and “witty” with “good, genuine laughs.”
