Observational Humor — Case Study #11
Here is another analysis of an Observational Humor monologue presented at the end of a Toastmasters meeting earlier tonight.
THE SET-UP (What happened and what was said during the meeting and before the monologue.)
1. The Toastmaster of the Evening (Emcee) quoted Toastmasters International Speech Champion David Brooks three times.
2. In a speech about John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, the speaker illustrated the power of one syllable words.
3. Darren LaCroix, another Toastmasters International world champion speaker, was quoted: “Great speeches are not written…they are re-written.”
4. Steve Pavlina was dressed in a black suit and was wearing a black T-shirt. As part of the observational humor he put a small square piece of paper over the neck of the T-shirt, making it look like a clerical collar. He then offered a prayer.
5. Bryant Pergerson introduced his son Marshall Pergerson, a guest at the meeting.
6. In the current news, a dog had been given $12 million in a will.
7. A speaker gave a speech titled A Jerk and a Mensch.
8. A speaker told of an experiment where a teacher was given a memo telling her that her class was filled with under-achievers. In spite of the fact that they were average-ability students, they performed very poorly on exams.
9. A speaker referred to a male court reporter as the Michelle Kwan of court reporting.
10. Anita was asked if she wanted to recognize anyone for her success. She identified her husband, Jim, who she referred to as Honey.
THE MONOLOGUE
1. I’d like to quote David Brooks: “Empower your eloquent syntax with the energetic emphasis of one syllable words.”
(Of course this was not a real quote from David Brooks, but I took the liberty to make it up for the sake of the humor. It made the twist stronger than saying I was quoting me or one of our club members.)
2. And to quote Darren LaCroix: “Great speeches are not written…they are typed.”
(Ditto. Darren did not say this. I played with a literal meaning of WRITTEN.)
3. We were lucky that Father Pavlina could be here tonight…he had two weddings earlier this evening.
(I piggy-backed on a good laugh received by Steve a few minutes before.)
4. If Bryant went into law enforcement…he would be Marshal Pergerson.
(This joke plays on an alternate meaning for the name Marshal.)
5. Did you see on the news this week that a dog was awarded $12 million. Well, enough about the jerk and the wench.
(I brought in a current events headline and crossed it with a twisted speech title, substituting a sound-alike word.)
6. For the first time tonight I realized that my fourth grade teacher must have been given a memo telling her that we were underachievers.
(Self deprecation trying to explain my supposed poor performance in school.)
7. Having lived through that experience, it’s amazing that I’ve become the Michelle Kwan of humor.
(Silly. But it worked and got a good laugh.)
8. When Anita was asked who she would like to recognize, I knew it would be Jim. Then when she said “My Honey”…I thought, “Oh my God. She’s going to introduce me!”
(Another silly twist. Anita and Jim are good friends, so I knew the line was safe.)
September 21st, 2007 at 4:31 pm
Questions : Did you write All of this right DURING the Meeting ?
( i.e. , Any jokes/ ideas / “ruffs” done BEFOREHAND ? )
(OR : Had you HEARD any of the speeches BEFOREHAND ? )
What Had you Planned to talk about — before the Meeting STARTED ? Or had you Been Planning to Speak ? “Expected
to Speak ” ? On the Agenda — or an Extemporaneous situation ? These elements All impact setting / situation .
And– did You have “time” to Enjoy the Speeches ?
September 21st, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Excellent questions Sol.
My observational humor monologues at Toastmasters meetings are all written during the meeting. I bring nothing prepared to the meeting, but do commit myself to focus on the process of looking for humor during the meeting. This focus sometimes does pull my attention away from things I might be watching or thinking about during the meeting if I wasn’t focused on humor. The observational humor, for me, doesn’t just “happen”…it’s very deliberate. I work on it. I do it as an exercise to improve my observational skills. I’d estimate that 98 percent of my line are first-time and one-time use. The other two percent I might involve recycling an old joke that might fit the circumstances. In our club, observational humor is a pre-planned part of the meeting, always at the end of the night. I’ve been doing this for 20 years. It keeps getting easier and at a typical meeting I can usually come up with a dozen observational comments. And I actually use about eight of them in my monologue.
September 21st, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Thanks — Very Helpful ! You’ve got a Special Talent, there, John.
Some TM Clubs, as you know, I’m sure — do Not Even Have
A “Joke Of The Day.” (Very “skittish” and fearful of denigrating anyone.) So that shows a lot of “TRUST ” that group
must have in you — And ,obviously, you earn this trust by
Not going for “bad / Questionable” comments or “embarrasing laughter” or Negative Put-Downs.
Congratulations ! Sol M –
September 22nd, 2007 at 5:47 am
We specifically place our Observational Humor segment at the end of the General Evaluators report. If any of the humor is questionnable in taste, the General Evaluator is able to comment on it. We almost never have a problem. Sometimes it’s easy to go a bit too far, but we learn by making mistakes. And what better place to make a mistake than at a Toastmasters meeting?
John