Observational Humor — Case Study #35
Here is another Observational Humor monologue delivered at the end of a meeting.
THE SET-UP (What was said and what happened during the meeting before the monologue was delivered):
1. Someone mentioned the biblical character Methuselah who lived to be over 900 years old.
2. Bill Lusk is our most senior Toastmaster and is in his mid-70s.
3. The club President mentioned that we were the largest club in our District of over 100 clubs.
4. We had a large number of guests at the meeting (eight).
5. We had two guest speakers who were high school students.
6. An image consultant joked about giving fashion tips to Michelle Obama.
7. I usually dress very casually when I attend a club meeting.
8. Our club dues are being collected this month.
8. Pam Shinkle, our club President, told a story of an IRS agent trying to collect unpaid payroll taxes from a politician. The agent went to his office and sat in the waiting room. When people came in, she stood up and said, “Hi, I’m Pam and I’m from the IRS.” Within forty minutes he wrote her a check.
9. Dave gave a speech which included the power of visualization.
10. The word of the day was BODE. The word of the day is always posted on a sign at the front of the room.
THE MONOLOGUE
Fellow Toastmasters, honored guests, and Methuselah Lusk.
(Poking fun at the senior member of our club. He has a good sense of humor.)
It’s said that we’re the largest club in our district. That is a myth. We have so many guests…it just looks like the largest.
(This line connected the observation of the “largest club” announcement and the observation of a large number of guests.)
I’ve noticed a trend in this club. Next week all the speakers will be one-year-olds.
(The principles of extrapolation and exaggeration.)
Michele Obama called me four days ago…for fashion advice (adjusting my denim shirt.)
(Self-deprecation.)
Our dues are due. I must warn you…if you haven’t paid…President Shinkle will go to your house and sit on your front porch. And when your neighbors drive by, she’ll say: “My name is Pam and I’m from Toastmasters.”
(A simple switch drives this joke.)
David said that a person could have anything just by thinking about it. If that were true, I’d have a hot body (pointing to, and mispronouncing, the word of the day BODE).
(Mis-pronouncing a word can sometimes lead to humor. This usually works better if the word is in print, otherwise the reference to the word could be missed.)
April 15th, 2009 at 10:00 am
John, John, John.
Many people are funny. Some can write good stuff. Others come up with it spontaneously. Then there are those rare ones who “get it” — who can describe what they do in detail, helping us all fully appreciate it. You’re in that last group, obviously.
Which leads to my question…when are all these principles going into a real-life book we can learn from? I’d be first in line to buy it.
April 15th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Thanks Brandon. Actually, I am working on a book/CD package. I have over 1000 pages, so the main job is to distill it down to the most important information. Will publish it after I write an article on procrastination.
April 15th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
John, you are a real MASTER at observational humor. You make it look so easy. Do I have to be as experienced and old as Methuselah before I am able to present an Observational Humor Monologue??
Thanks for sharing your valuable, entertaining ideas!
April 15th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
The good news that it’s a learned skill. I went from not being recognized as a funny person to a reputation of being very good at Observational Humor in about 18 months. It was a matter of practice and doing it every week. Little by little I became better at it. People think that when someone is good at something that they’re born with the skill. You have to have the potential (most people do have it) and you combine it with the discipline to work at it, and it happens. I now have 30 year’s practice and have mastered the skill even better. I can’t wait till I turn 900.
April 15th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
i want the book and Cd as well! Here’s an idea to light fire! Pre sell it! money will come in and then you’ll have to get a move on it! This month set a goal that you will set a date and announce it to your list and take orders. I bet you’ll have over $5,000 in sales, maybe more!
Then watch how fast you get it done!
April 15th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Yes. I’ve used the pre-sell strategy before in developing workshops. I sold a time-management workshop before it was developed and it worked out great. It does work well to set a firm deadline. When I’m ready to move forward I may well consider that option. Thanks so much for the encouragement!
April 16th, 2009 at 8:22 am
John, instead of ‘distilling it down’, have you considered having an on-going series (i.e., like Volume 1, Volume 2; or even dividing it into beginners, intermediate, and mastering; etc.)? A series that would help to build and grow others in improvement with observational humor skills? I wouldn’t want to see any of your over 1,000 pages go down the editing drain!
Thanks for your willingness to help others see there is humor if we’ll only take the time to ‘Lighten up on life” and observe everyday situations and events with a ‘twinkle of humor’ in our eyes!
April 16th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
John, your observational humour really rock. I tested your observational humour techniques in my last Toastmasters meeting and successfully generated 3-4 laughs. Thanks for the same. I am currently preparing for my District 79 humorous speech contest and your articles are helping me a lot. Thank a lot for sharing your ideas.
April 30th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Hi John! I’m 15 year’s old. I have been looking at comedians like seinfeld and Ellen Degeneres to see what they did to be funny. I want to start now…while I’m still young…and logical..unlike some adults. So, what did you do to get where you got ….did you read alot ….what? I was once told to be funny all you really need to be funny is a sports jacket and a bad childhood. I would say bad childhood, but my mom is standing over me and I want to wake up tomorrow ….so I guess I had the jacket.Well please respons as soon as possible…thank you!
May 1st, 2009 at 4:21 am
Hi Kyle,
There are several things you can do to practice your humor:
1. Keep your radar tuned for funny things and share your observations with your friends.
2. Volunteer to entertain for your social groups: Church, youth groups, school clubs. We’re not necessarily talking about stand-up comedy. You might write skits or lead fun games as part of an event’s entertainment.
3. Study books and recordings. Check out the free stuff at the library. Search the internet.
4. Some things are age limited. For example Toastmasters membership requires you to be 18. Comedy clubs normally require you to be 21. But there are exceptions. Some TM clubs offer Youth Leadership Programs at high schools. And comedy troupes sometimes offer performance space to high school groups, as does an improv troupe in San Diego.
5. Enter joke and cartoon caption contests. It helps you to find humor connections.
6. By asking the question and actively searching, you’re on the right track. Just remember that it doesn’t happen overnight. Just like learning to play the piano, little by little, funny happens.
John