Humor Power

I attended a magician’s convention in October.  It opened with a panel of four, top comedy magicians which included Tom Mullica, famous for his Tom Foolery night club in Atlanta and his tribute to Red Skelton performed in Branson Missouri.  He said his favorite funny-man was George Carl.  Tom sent me a link of a George Carl performance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  It’s brilliant physical comedy.

When you watch a performance like this, it’s unlikely that you’ll be thinking, “How can I do a performance like that?”  The question to ask is, “Even though the performer’s style is unlike mine and is nothing I would want to totally adapt, how can I learn something that might be applicable to what I do?”

Here are a few things that stood out to me:

Use of music to enhance program.  He uses music throughout.  Notice how he uses music to open his set.  He uses it to announce his arrival.  The dignified fanfare sounds…then the vaudeville clown enters.  The contrast helps set the scene for comedy.  The drummer immediately goes into rim-shots to accent his performance.  Lesson learned:  A performer should explore the use of music to enhance his or her performance and message.  It might be singing a song.  It might be to set the tone for your entrance.  It might only be to engage the audience before you are introduced to speak, as part of your pre-performance package.

The power of physical movement.  Notice the impact of his facial expressions, his arm and hand gestures, his overall flexibility.  He uses physical gestures to respond to and connect to the audience.  We all have the ability to add just a degree more physicality to our own performances.

The implied punchline.  This is one of my favorite techniques.  Twice he looks at his watch and then continues the physical action on which he was focused.  The unspoken punchline is, “Have I killed enough time doing this yet?”  As a magician, I can see this type of gag working while shuffling cards.  Look at your watch.  Continue shuffling the cards.

What will you notice in George Carl’s performance that you could apply to your’s?  I’m sure you can identify at least one thing, and probably more.

Here’s the link to the video of George Carl on the Tonight Show.

The theme for this month’s contest, Music On Hold, was suggested by Sol Morrison from Santa Barbara.

New Joke Contests are announced at the start of the month (alternating months).

New Cartoon Caption Contests are announced at the start of the month (alternating months).  The next Cartoon Caption Contest will be announced November 1, 2010.

Your challenge this month is to name a company or business and then decide what would be the perfect “music on hold” for their voice mail system.

Here are some examples:

Plumber:  Cry Me a River.
Arrow Shirts:  I’m Too Sexy For My Shirt.
A dating agency to help women find men:  It’s Raining Men.
US Treasury Department:  Money, Money, Money.

Create as many lines as you can.  Your first three lines will be considered for Top-Three recognition.  Lines submitted beyond your first three will be eligible for Honorable Mention.  Please submit your entries by October 15, 2010.  Send them to HumorPowerTips@HumorPower.com

Select the right place to perform your humor.  Say no to requests which are not a fit for you.

Last week I attended an open-mike comedy night (as a spectator) and was reminded how difficult a performing situation can be when the fit isn’t right.

It was an amateur comedy show at a night club.  It was amateur in the sense that the performers were not paid.  Most of the comedy performed was quite good.  Some of it was excellent.

The venue was a nice, modern, clean night club packed with more than 100 people.  The crowd was a good, professional group of people who were there to meet friends.  It was not a bunch of drunks.

The problem with the venue was that it was not a comedy club.  Most of the people had NOT come to watch a stand-up comedy show.  They had come with the intention of meeting friends and talking.  So during the show, two-thirds of the crowd engaged in conversation while the other third strained to hear the comics over the buzz of the crowd. 

When the show started, I was standing in the back of the room and found it impossible to understand the performers.  From a performer’s point of view, it was not a pretty picture.  Funny material was lucky to get just a titter from the front row of tables.  I moved to a seat at one of the tables close to the stage.

What was being offered was not a match for what the audience was expecting.  It was like singing opera in a room filled with people who came to watch wrestling.

It’s been about thirty years since I performed in a stand-up comedy club.  I didn’t realize at the time how fortunate I was to have a real comedy club to perform in.  People came to watch comedy and when the show started, they stopped what they were doing and paid attention to what was happening on stage.  The comics still needed to be funny, but at least they had an environment where being funny was possible.

If you’re ever going to give stand-up comedy a try, I highly recommend not commiting to a performance until you first visit the venue to see what a typical open-mike night looks like.  What is the stage like?  How is the sound and lighting?  How about the crowd?  Are the performers having fun?  Or are they shaking their heads in frustration?  If experienced comics are struggling to connect with the audience, would a novice have a chance?  Does it look like a place where you would have fun performing?  If not, look for a better venue.

The attitude of caution applies to all speaking opportunities.  Avoid those which are not a fit for you.

  – Speaking to the wrong audience is not good.  For example speaking on a liberal topic to a conservative audience is probably a bad fit, or visa versa.

  – Speaking in a room not properly equipped with a speaking platform, sound or lights, might not be fun.

  – Speaking outdoors, especially doing humor outside, is often a no-laugh situation.

  – Speaking to an audience who was not expecting a speech, is sometimes not a good situation. 

  – As you attend the School of Hard Knocks, you’ll have some bad speaking experiences which you can add to your avoidance list.

Go into every speaking challenge with your eyes open.  Try to commit only to assignments which give you a good possibility of success.  And remember that in a bad situation, part of the crowd is aware of the challenges you face.  The other part of the crowd is totally unaware of how bad the speaking situation is.  Neither group needs to be reminded by the speaker how awful things are.  So when you find yourself in a bad situation, smile, give them your best, and don’t let them see you sweat.  Some of the audience understand and will enjoy your performance, and the rest of them won’t even know you’re there.  Any lack of response is, most likely, not a reflection on you.

Learn from every experience and you’ll be a better speaker the next time the platform or the audience challenges you.

Contest Observations — The Perfect Pet

What one person finds funny is not the same as the next person.  My favorite line was not picked as a top-three line by the judges.  That doesn’t mean anyone is right or wrong.  That’s just the way it is.  Humor is subjective.

There is more than one angle to a joke.  Just as there are a variety of ways to approach creating a joke…there are just as many ways to receive and “get” a joke.  Not everyone does it the same way.

Let’s look at some of the connections and triggers that helped people write lines for The Perfect Pet.

Key Words:  Words associated with a group or profession.
Stand-up comedian:  Hamster (key word HAM)
Comic:  Mockingbird (key word MOCK)
Bowler:  Alley Cat (key word Bowling ALLEY)
Weight lifter:  Mussels (key word MUSCLES)

Fork (sub-category)
A musician:  A doe, a deer, a female deer (sub-category of DEER–Doe)
Bill Gates:  70 billion male Deer (sub-category of DEER–Buck)

Non-Animals (insects and fish)
Tall fathers:  Daddy long legs (Spider)
Wig fitter:  Heron (Fish)

Non-Animals (but sounds like animal)
Chiropractor:  Charlie Horse
Candy maker:  Chocolate Moose

Similar Sounds
Shakespearian actor:  Two bees (TO BE)
Impatient Uncle:  Antelope (AUNT ELOPE)
Wig fitter:  Heron (HAIR ON)
Master of no trades:  Jackal (JACK OF ALL)

Adding a topper
Shakespearian actor:  Two bees, or not
Noah:  Aardvark, in pairs

Cliche
Shakespearian actor:  Two bees (To be or not to be)
Circus ringmaster:  Dog and Pony (Dog and pony show)
Someone standing on the other side of the road:  A chicken (uses chicken joke cliche)

Implied punchline
Sitcom Producer:  Hyena in a trash can (Canned Laughter–a little work is required on the part of the listener)
Pear farmer:  Partridge (the connector word TREE is not mentioned)
Lingerie designer:  Zebra (Z is an implied cup size)

Song Lyrics
A musician:  A doe, a deer, a female deer (Do Re Mi)
Pear farmer:  Partridge (12 Days of Christmas)

Word with double meaning
Dermatologist:  Mole
CIA Agent:  Mole

Action verb
Boxer:  Slug

Physical object
A baseball player:  A bat
Construction worker:  Crane

Reversal/Palindrome
Dyslexic God:  Dog

If you’re going to a theater to see a funny movie…would you rather have the theater to yourself…or would you prefer to watch it with lots of other people?

Most people would rather share the movie with a good-sized audience.  Why?  Because laughter is contagious.  And if the movie is really funny, the enjoyment and laughter will be magnified by the crowd’s response to the film. 

When a room full of people are laughing, most people join in.  Laughter is contagious.

The key factor in the contagious nature of laughter is HEARING other people laugh.  But SEEING other people laugh is also important.

Because laughter is contagious, many television comedy shows have employed laughter-enhancement strategies.  Some have performed their shows live.  The best thing to energize the response to comedy is a live audience.  Another strategy has been to sweeten the laughter with a laugh track…canned laughter edited into the sound track. 

Although when producing a comedy TV show, a laugh track is not always chosen.  Adding canned laughter is a difficult art.  When done less than perfectly, the artificial nature of canned laughter can be irritating and work against the contagious element of laughter. 

Some of the current shows are played with no laugh track.  They rely on the strength of the writing and respect that the home audience will find it funny and do their own laughing.  Hopefully you’re watching it at home with friends.

Of course, the laughter response to a speech is not influenced by just a single factor.  There is the quality of the writing.  There is the reputation of the speaker.  There is the relationship between a speaker and the audience.  There is quality of the room, the sound, the lighting, the arrangement of the seating.  The size of the audience is a big factor.

Let’s look at some of these elements that may be factors in contagious laughter.

The contagious nature of laughter is a factor every time you use humor from the platform.  That’s why, when presenting humor, you’ll find that a large audience almost always beats a small audience if you care about the laughter.  An audience of 50 is better than an audience of 10.  In my opinion the best sized audience is between 50 and 400 with the ideal size being 200.  In my opinion, when you have more than 400 people you start to lose the conversational connection with your audience, and although you may get more contagious laughter, what is lost in connection isn’t worth the extra laughter you gain.

A club-level speech contest is often one of the most difficult contests.   The higher level contests have bigger audiences and hence more  contagious laughter.

When speaking at a conference, you might notice that the audience response is better with round tables than with straight theater seating.   Round tables make it easier for audience members to see each other.   Contagious laughter is enhanced.  If you have theater-style seating, try to arrange a chevron pattern where the left and right rows of chairs are slightly slanted toward the center of the speaking platform. It helps the audience member see others who are laughing.

An indoor speaking room almost always trumps an outdoor venue.   Likewise a room with a low ceiling traps the laughter better than a high ceiling, and thus magnifies the laughter.

Tall table center pieces can be a culprit in sabotaging laughter.  Primarily they keep people from seeing the speaker.  And secondly, they keep people in the audience from seeing each other.  If you don’t see others laughing, you’re not as likely to laugh yourself.

In my opinion, a common comedy myth is that humor plays best in a dark room.  I definitely feel that you’ll get more laughs if the room is lit.  People need to see each other to maximize the laughter.  We’re not talking about blinding light, but rather some light on the audience is better than no light.  We are conditioned to hearing comedy in a dark room.  In a comedy club, lights out and a spotlight on the stage says “Showtime!”  And in a theater, it’s always lights out.  But when it comes to giving a speech, you’ll almost always get a better audience response with some light in the room.  That’s always my first choice.

The contagious nature of laughter requires that you master the pause.   An audience response will never be instantaneous.  You’ll need to be patient for the contagious element of your audience response to kick in.  In fact, with a really large audience, you may notice the wave-effect as laughter rolls over the audience. 

Make sure that your audience’s laughter can be heard and seen.  Understanding and anticipating the contagious nature of laughter will help you maximize your laughs.

If you’re mainly looking for a bunch of jokes, skip this post.  However, if you’re interested in a deeper look at the principles and psychology of creating humor, read on. 

What’s the difference between Observational Humor and Customized Humor? 

Observational Humor, by my definition, is humor that springs from or is inspired by something that you’ve just seen or heard.  True Observational Humor lines are not jokes that you prepare in advance and bring to the event with the intention of using them. 

Customized humor may be funny lines that are written or adapted to fit a certain speech, event and audience.  For example, you might take a favorite golf joke and be prepared to tell it about the CEO of a company.  That’s a type of customized humor.  It’s not observational humor.  Sometimes I’ll round-out or fill-in an Observational Humor monologue with some of the lines I usually use in the opening of my keynote speech.  Those lines are not Observational Humor, they’re just an attempt to put a garnish on a monologue that might need some help.  Customized, pre-planned humor can have it’s place in a monologue, although I prefer to use it very sparingly.

My definition of Observational Humor does not exclude recycling previously used Observational Humor lines.  Nor does it mean you can’t use old jokes that are adapted to the present moment.  What makes Observational Humor special that it is inspired in the moment, not pre-meditated…although some pre-planned humor can certainly create the illusion of spontaneity.  Our goal is to become more skilled at in-the-moment humor and not solely relying on prepared lines.  Although a good monologue may contain some of both elements.

The focus of this article is about reusing old lines in a way that meets the intent and freshness of Observational Humor. 
What makes these “old” lines fresh is that you had no intent of using them until something at the event stimulated your recall of those lines.  Maybe five-percent of the time the lines I create for a monologue are lines I’ve used before or heard before, but I don’t bring them to the event with the intent of using them.  Here are some thoughts on the process of recycling lines in a fresh way.

I have, on many occasions, heard Patricia Fripp speak and have presented Observational Humor monologues on about eight of those occasions.  I attended a Lady and The Champs workshop in Las Vegas, presented by World Champion Speakers.  Most of he audience was hearing Fripp speak for the first time.  And the audience was mostly not familiar with my past Fripp-event monologues.

When I recycle an Observational Humor line (which happens most frequently at Toastmasters meetings), I often try to present the line with a different twist.  When you’re recycling a previous Observational Humor line, there are at least two reasons to change it.  First, you’re making an attempt to improve it.  Second, you’re challenging yourself to find a different angle for the joke.  That stretches your creative skills and helps you become a better creator of humor.  Sometimes the second time you tell the joke is not as strong as the first and that gives you the opportunity to analyze the process, to learn and to grow.

RECYCLE EXAMPLE NUMBER ONE

Here’s an abbreviated segment from a Fripp story which provided me a seed for Observational Humor:   She told about being in a Ladies Room and being approached by a woman who asked, “Are you British.”  And then added, “Aren’t you Patricia Fripp?”  The stranger had been in one of Fripp’s audiences in the past.

The first time I heard this story, here’s the monologue line I created.

I was in the Men’s Room during the lunch hour combing my hair.  A stranger came up behind me and said: “Are you British?”  I said, “No I’m not.”  And he replied, “For a second there I thought you were Patricia Fripp.”

This line was based on a reversal, placing me as the receiver in the men’s room, and got a very good laugh.  The second line was a topper.  And the absurdity of being mistaken for Fripp activated the joke.  I’m not British.  I’m not a woman.  I’m about a foot taller than Fripp.

About a year later, I was at another Fripp presentation and heard the same story.  I asked myself, “What can I do with this that would be different than the line I created the first time I heard the story?”

Here’s the approach I took:  During the lunch break, Fripp was in the restroom when a voice from behind asked, “Are you British?”  And then I realized I was in the Ladies Room.

In this joke, instead of reversing it to have me receiving the “are you British” line in the men’s room, I changed it to having it be ME as the person who said the line while accidentally in the ladies room.  The line received a strong response equal to the first line.

RECYCLE EXAMPLE NUMBER TWO

Here’s an example of a recycled joke where I didn’t change anything and which received a much weaker response the second time I used it, much to my surprise.  It’s also from a Patricia Fripp program:   Fripp is a successful speaker coach and often does her one-on-one coaching in a hotel room.  Some of the students had jokingly referred to meeting Fripp in their hotel room.  It became a running gag which came up at least three times during the day of the program. 

Here’s the line I created as a result of that seed:  I met Fripp 24 years ago when I joined NSA.  But I feel cheated.  Back then she wasn’t meeting men in their hotel room.

The line received a very strong response.

At a later program, another Fripp coaching client mentioned to the group that he had received coaching in his hotel room. It was a very specific reference, mentioning the hotel and room number.  I recycled the same line that I had used previously, since it had been such a strong line the first time.  It received a very weak response, just a titter. 

Here are some reasons for that luke-warm response to a line that previously received such a huge laugh.

Reason One:  It reminds me of the Curse-Of-Knowledge principle discussed in Made To Stick by Dan and Chip Heath.  (A highly recommended book.)  The principle refers to how we forget what it’s like not to know something.  Our knowledge blinds us. In this case, I was armed with the knowledge that “this joke is funny.”  The truth is that it was funny for the FIRST audience.  The second audience was a totally different event.  And surprise!  It wasn’t funny.  Every time you present a tested piece of humor, you still need to examine the circumstances, the set-up and the audience to evaluate whether the joke is structured right for THIS audience.  Don’t be fooled into KNOWING that a joke, which was funny once, will be funny again.

Reason Two:  The set-up seed at the second event had not become a running gag and had not been repeated three times during the day, as it was at the first event.  The group only heard the “met me in my hotel room” one time. 

Reason Three:  The relationship of Fripp to the two audiences was considerably different.  At the first event, it was HER speaker school.  She was on the platform the whole day, building a rapport with the audience and, in fact, was herself joking about meeting students in their hotel room.  She was the sole star of the day.  At the second event, she shared the platform with three other star presenters (Darren LeCroix, Ed Tate and Craig Valentine).  Many of the attendees had not heard her speak before and hence the relationship between Fripp and the audience was different from the first event.

Reason Four:  The audience perception of my relationship to Fripp was different from the first event to the second.  At the first event, I coordinated the registration desk for Fripp.  It was obvious we were friends.  At the second event, my connection to Fripp was not as obvious. 

When you combine Reason Three and Four, you have the issue of “permission” come into play.  Without the stronger relationship established between Fripp and the audience, and between Fripp and me (comparing the first event to the second), when the audience heard the line about Fripp “meeting men in their hotel room” they weren’t sure if they should laugh.  What’s Kinde implying here?  Will Fripp think it’s funny?  The laugh gets censored in the mind of the audience.  I hadn’t created the permission necessary for me to do the joke.

Here’s what I might have done differently. 

First, I needed to repeat the set-up since it had not been as strongly set-up during the day.  Since it had not been the subject of a running gag during the day, and only mentioned once, I could have opened the joke with, “Unlike the first speaker, I may not have met Fripp at the Suncoast Hotel, room 437.  But I did meet her 24 years ago…which was really a bummer, because back then she hadn’t started meeting men in their hotel rooms.”  This structure emphasizes the set-up necessary to give the joke a chance. 

Second, a set-up to establish that Fripp was in on the joke, an giving some clue that I’ve previously known her, would have been helpful.  Perhaps something like this:  “I’ve known Fripp for a long time.  I may not have met her at the Suncoast Hotel, room 437.  But I did meet her 24 years ago…which was really a bummer, because back then she hadn’t started meeting men in their hotel rooms.”  It makes the joke longer and a bit wordy (I like to say clunky), but sometimes a joke needs a more extensive set-up to work.  At the second event, the shorter version of the joke just didn’t work.

LESSONS LEARNED

Recycling previously used humor lines is a reasonable, and in fact a good thing to do.  I normally recommend trying to change the approach you use for the line to either improve it or at least give you the challenge just to do something different and make it a learning experience.  If you think a tested line is really strong, think twice and examine it within the context of THIS audience on THIS day.  Don’t be fooled into thinking that just because something was funny before, that it will be funny again.  Probability theory tells us that each repeat of a joke is a separate and independent event!

When I collect humorous observations, I am both eager to try them out with an audience and at the same time wanting to limit how many observations I use.  Let me share an example.

I had prepared my Observational Humor monologue, nine items, and was standing in the back of the room waiting to be introduced.  In our club, the person who introduces the Observational Humor Master is the General Evaluator.  The introduction comes at the end of the General Evaluator’s review of the meeting as a whole.  That evening, during his evaluation of the meeting, he noted that the club President announced an upcoming TLI event, but didn’t define TLI (Toastmaster Leadership Institute).

Normally, when I’m introduced as the Observational Humor Master, the first thing I do is ask “Does anyone have any Observational Humor to share?”  I decided to make a last second change, and instead I asked, “Does anyone have any TLI to share?”  It got a big laugh.

Sometimes I use my humorous observations…sometimes I choose not to.  Here are some thoughts on the process of adding the TLI opening to the monologue:

1.  A monologue or a speech is never set in concrete.  I’m always willing to add a new line at the last second.

2.  Adding an observation of something that just happened, strengthens the power of the humor.  An audience appreciates the quick wit, being in-the-moment.  It made a great opener.

3.  As part of my collection of observations, I came up with a creative definition for the acronym TLI.  However, I chose not to give the “definition of TLI” unless I was asked for it, because Less is More.  The power of not offering a definition was funnier than volunteering one.  The absence of a definition increased tension which magnified the humor.

4.  I had to prepare a definition, just in case I was asked.  I needed a definition that was relevant to Observational Humor.  So I came up with a line and a topper.  If someone had asked, my response would have been:  “TLI is Timely Laughter Insights…but I assumed you already knew that.”

5.  No one asked for a definition, so I never used the lines.  Humor is often best when used in moderation.  Forcing everything you have on an audience can work against you.  Leave them wanting more.

6.  Not providing a definition also plays with the principle of the implied punchline, letting them “fill in the blank.”  This is also linked to the laughter trigger of Audience Superiority…letting them “get the joke.”  Serving them everything is not always the funniest way to go.

Almost every time I prepare a monologue, I work at blending my observations together, while avoiding the temptation to use every observation on my list.  By doing that, the final piece will be stronger.

The following was sent to me by Linda Evans, a very talented humor speaker, after she won her district’s Tall Tales contest.

Linda writes:

I’m still a little fearful of creating observational humor, but as John Kinde says, it just takes practice.  So, on May 8, 2010, I made a conscious decision to give it a whirl.  At the District 33 (California and Nevada) conference, I was honored to represent Division D in the Tall Tales contest.  Here’s the set-up:

1. There were nearly 200 people in the banquet room.  District 33 Governor Sherrie Parker wanted to recognize each of the Area Governors by name; numbering more than thirty.  In order to make enough time to recognize each one, she asked the audience to join her with one single clap of applause after each name.  We obliged.
(John’s note:  The large size of the audience is a plus.  The response, compared to a club meeting with 15 people, will be magnified.  Also, the set-up was strong.  Because of the repetitive nature of the single clap, it was something everyone noticed.)

2.  Looking at my speech, the 9th line was “All the other vegetables were applauding and smiling.”  A bolt of Observational Humor lightning struck!  I immediately changed that line to “All the other vegetables were smiling and gave me an applaud” and I clapped my hands once and waited.  A wave of laughter went through the audience.  I turned my head and stared at Sherrie Parker, and another wave of laughter went through the audience. 
(John’s note: Notice that not only did she switch in the word APPLAUD, she changed the order of the words to make APPLAUD the punch word.  Then she followed it with two toppers, both physical. The first one, she clapped once.  The second one she looked at Sherrie Parker.)

That was a great relief and I’m pleased to say that I won first place!  There was some great competition, but I really believe that the strength of the call-back to the one-clap applause made all the difference.  Thanks John Kinde.  You rock!  Linda Evans
(John’s note:  This is what Observational Humor is all about.  It’s not about monologues.  The true power comes when you add that gem to one of your speeches. Adding Observational Humor to a talk, especially early in the speech, can add a feeling of freshness to the entire talk.  I was not present at the contest, which is why I heard from several people telling me that her line was the funniest of the weekend.  Go Linda!)

The contestants were ready to evaluate the target speaker in the District 33, Division C Speech Evaluation Contest.  As I was being introduced to present my evaluation, someone opened a door in the back of the meeting room.  The door was next to a parking lot and we were distracted by something that sounded like a loud warning beeper from a truck which was backing up.  Beep.  Beep.  Beep.  We couldn’t see what was causing the beeping because a temporary room-divider curtain blocked our view of the door.  This happened exactly as the Toastmaster said, “And our next evaluator contestant is John Kinde.”  By the time I reached the speaking platform, someone had closed the door in the back of the room.

When there is a distraction in the room which everyone notices, my approach is to address it with humor.  It takes some practice and some quick thinking.  My first words after taking the platform:  “Pardon me while the fork-lift brings in my notes.”  I was instantly connected to the audience and on my way to an effective evaluation.

Observational Humor adds power to a speech or a club meeting.

  – “Observational Humor stretches our imaginations and makes us better listeners.  It’s the icing on the cake!”  Linda Bown

  – “The opportunity to recall someone’s earlier statement, with humor, is priceless.  It’s the height of wit and active listening.”  L. Eric Culverson

  – “The Observational Humor segment of our Toastmasters Club is always the highlight of the meeting.  People love it!”  Judy Moreo

Observational humor, as discussed in this article, is that fresh, customized humor created shortly before you deliver it.  It is humor that is stimulated by what you hear or see before you are introduced to speak.  It’s normally a piece of humor which you didn’t bring to the event but which is inspired by your observations after you arrived. Observational Humor is powerful.  Here are a few reasons why:

Common experience.  The forklift example was effective because it recognized something that everyone noticed.  The foundation of a good joke is common experience.  It’s part of the you-had-to-be-there factor.   This explains why a funny spontaneous line, when you later tell it to a friend, doesn’t get the same response as it did when it first happened.  You had to be there.  With Observational Humor you ARE there.  Freshness gives the humor power as you share a common experience.

The power of tension.  One of the functions of humor is that it relieves tension.  A distraction during a meeting creates a bit of tension which begs for relief.  A well-placed observational joke lets people laugh and release the tension caused by the interruption.

The element of surprise.  The immediate nature of the forklift line also added power to the humor.  There is great value being in the moment.  The line is so unexpected but at the same time the audience is also thinking “yeah, I noticed that beeping sound too.”  They love being surprised with a totally unexpected observation.

Making connections.  In a speech evaluation contest, the more positive points and suggestions that you make, the more competitive you normally will be.  Someone who makes one good suggestion may be at a disadvantage to someone who makes three good suggestions.  What about someone who made so many points that they needed a forklift to bring in their notes?  Making the connection between the notes and the forklift was the key to making the humor tick.

The illusion of freshness.  A great opening line can make the audience feel that your entire speech is fresh and prepared just for them.  Compare that to opening with a time-worn joke that everyone has heard and you can see how Observational Humor has so much more impact.  One of the key reasons to practice Observational Humor is to add a fresh touch to your talks.

Audience bonding.  When you can be in-the-moment, it connects you to the audience.  They know that you are really present and that you are there just for them.

Saranne Rothberg, The ComedyCures Foundation, hones her expert Observational Humor skills presenting a live weekly radio broadcast and 50 events a year

connecting and helping people with therapeutic humor.  She confirms the value and magic of Observational humor:  “It’s powerful because Observational Humor lets me be incredibly playful and intimate on stage.  It goes beyond the joke-joke-joke format.  The audience immediately trusts that I am listening and care about their interests.  They understand that they are not getting a cookie-cutter presentation.  By integrating Observational Humor with their content, you earn their full attention! Then, anything is possible.”

Here are a few more examples of Observational Humor and triggers to creativity.

WORD PLAY

A great way to uncover humor is to watch for alternate or double word meanings.  At one of our club meetings, the theme for the meeting was Presidential Trivia.  Also, Darren LaCroix shared his mantra:  Stage time.  Stage time.  Stage time!  Later in the meeting I shared this observation:  “Here’s a piece of Presidential trivia.  Zachary Taylor logged more miles campaigning by stage coach than any other President.  His campaign advisor told him the key to success was…Stage time, Stage time, Stage time!”

Here’s another example using alternate word meaning.  A speaker gave a speech on fire safety, telling us what to do if we were trapped in a hotel room and the building was on fire.  My observation was:  “Let me give you a fire safety tip for the next time you check into a hotel.  Do what I do.  Ask for a non-smoking room.”

One more example.  A speaker told us that when she was in high school, hot-jock Bob Baxter (not his real name) wouldn’t give her the time of day.  My observational line later in the meeting:  “I ran intoBob Baxter last week.  I asked him, ‘What time is it?’  And he gave me the time of day.”

SELF-DEPRECATION

Poking fun at yourself is usually a safe way to get a laugh.  At a club meeting a speaker referred to a celebrity speaker who talked fast and delivered high-content.  This frustrated audiences because they couldn’t take notes fast enough.  My observation later in the meeting: “If you haven’t seen me before, I’m a slow speaker.  Which I know will frustrate many of you.  Because I won’t say anything you’ll want to write down.”

BOOK-ENDING

When I’m doing a longer Observational Monologue I like to put matching Book Ends at the open and close of the monologue.  Here’s an example.  First, here’s what happened at the meeting.  A speaker said that the military gave him a career and a wife.  Also, our club membership had been growing and several women had recently joined the club.  Six months earlier, Vicki was the only woman attending meetings.  Here’s the line that opened my monologue:  “I found it interesting that Bill’s time in the military gave him a career and a wife.  The military also gave me a career.  But I was home sick the day they issued wives.” 

And here’s the line I used to close the monologue:  “Attendance at our meeting has been growing.  Our club used to be known as Vicki And The Guys.  I arrived a little late this evening and noticed that we had several women in the group.  And I thought, ‘Maybe they’re issuing wives tonight!’”

SOMETHING FUNNY

If you hear someone say something that gets a laugh, you might be able to piggyback on their joke to get a laugh of your own.  At a club meeting, a speaker told an old joke about a fence around a cemetery.  The fence was there because people were dying to get in.  Later in the meeting I delivered an Observational Humor line:  “There must be something wrong with me. Today I passed by a cemetery with no fence around it…and I had no urge to get in.”

LOOK AROUND THE ROOM

Always keep watch for anything unusual which could lead to a humor connection.  At a meeting at The White House (a meeting venue in Las Vegas owned by the American Payroll Association), I noticed that the lectern was made of clear Plexiglas.  You could see through it.  Later in the meeting, I delivered my observation:  “By the way, here’s some interesting trivia.  The lectern here at The White House was bought at an estate sale…at a nudist colony!”

COMBINING YOUR OBSERVATIONS

At a meeting someone commented that I looked like a mortician in my black suit.  Another speaker talked about book publishing and mentioned ISBN numbers used on the back of books to track their sales.  He also encouraged us to write a book, closing with the advice:  Don’t die with a book still in you.  Later, my Observational Humor combined three observations:  “Someone mentioned that I looked like a mortician in my black suit.  Actually, I do own a mortuary.  We offer coffins with ISBN numbers on them…for speakers who die with a book still in them.”

COURAGE AND RISK

Saranne Rothberg shares a powerful Observational Humor moment:  “The key to developing on-the-spot humor is fearlessness, commitment and the skill of profound listening.  Let me give you an example.  I spent seven hours in a military van with two Marines enroute to our ComedyCures Veterans’ program.  During that ride I was like a fly on the wall, observing their vocabulary, content, tone and how they joked with each other.  The next morning at our live event, I was able to immediately draw from those observations. As I opened the show, a blind and paralyzed 83-year old Veteran with a malfunctioning hearing aid cried out that he wanted to commit suicide.  He couldn’t hear the show.  His name was Joe.  I joined Joe in his wheelchair, gently cupping his face and his hand with the broken hearing aid.  ‘Joe Sweetie, I’m not going to continue this program until we fix your hearing aid.’  Then in my best military voice I yelled:  ‘Joe! We leave no man behind, Joe!’  Joe, and his fellow injured comrades, laughed for about five minutes.  And then, Joe proposed to me!  Leveraging the military’s fierce loyalty, code of conduct and lingo helped me diffuse a live-event crisis with Observational Humor. I bonded with my audience and created a spontaneous comedy platform that permeated the rest of the show.  Observational Humor had an impact stronger than anything else I could have done.”  Notice how Saranne combined courrage with quick thinking to hit the mark with humor.

LEARNING OBSERVATIONAL HUMOR

When it comes to learning Observational Humor, there is no substitute for discipline.  Give yourself the challenge to create an Observational Humor line every time you attend a meeting.  A Toastmasters meeting is perfect, but you can do it at any kind of meeting.  Much of my early practice came at Chamber of Commerce breakfast networking meetings.

As you sit with paper and pen in hand, keep your eyes and ears open for humorous connections.  Look for other people’s comments that get a laugh.  You can often piggy-back on their good lines.  As you take notes, look for connections with a humorous twist.  Then look for a spot in the meeting where you can have a chance to speak and use just one observational line.  Perhaps you’ll be introducing a guest.  Or making an announcement.  Or giving an award.  Drop in your observational line and then segue to your official business.

With Observational Humor the principle of Less-Is-More comes into play.  If you are able to come up with three observational lines, pick your best one and use it.  If you can create ten lines, a good choice is to use just the two or three best ones.  Making a quality cut and using only your best lines can make the difference of having a reputation as someone who is always funny rather someone who is funny only 30 percent of the time. 
 
THE OBSERVATIONAL HUMOR MASTER

At my home club, PowerHouse Pros in Las Vegas, we’ve added a formal Observational Humor segment to our agenda to help all members strengthen their humor skills.  It’s the best way to learn how to create original humor.  And it’s great fun.

How to add an Observational Humor Master to your club meeting.

1.  The role of Observational Humor Master is normally a replacement for the Joke Master position included in many club agendas.  In my opinion, the Joke Master at a typical club meeting is neither very funny nor a good learning experience.  The Observational Humor segment, on the other hand, is very entertaining and a great learning experience. 

2.  The Observational Humor segment is a regular part of every meeting.  It’s on the printed agenda and one club member is assigned as the Observational Humor Master.

3.  The Observational Humor segment is scheduled near the end of the meeting so that we have a chance to observe as much of the meeting as possible before we share our humorous observations.  Specifically, we position the segment during the General Evaluator’s wrap up.  After the Observational Humor segment is complete, the General Evaluator concludes his or her remarks. This placement is designed to keep the humor in good taste and it will be critiqued by the General Evaluator if some of the humor crosses the line.

4.  The position of Observational Humor Master is rotated only among the members who want the challenge.  Before the Observational Humor Master presents his/her monologue, the floor is opened to all members to present their observational humor lines.  “Does anyone have any Observational Humor to Share?”  At a typical meeting of 25 members, about 7 members will have observations to share.  No one is forced to do Observational Humor.   The Observational Humor Master will close the segment with a monologue, maybe three to ten jokes. 

The entire Observational Humor part of the meeting might take 10 minutes.  We have not had a problem with members having too many observations to share.

5.  The purpose of the Observational Humor segment is to improve our general humor skills.  It helps us to see the humorous twists and to master the art of structuring and delivering humor.  It helps us tune our humor radars.  The purpose is not to make members standup comedians.  The goal is to sharpen club member Observational Humor skills to the point where they’re able to drop in one observational humor line into almost any speaking situation they find themselves.

6.  It takes time.  By experience, we’ve discovered that it takes time for a club to get the knack of Observational Humor.  The first few times you try it, it’s quite possible that you won’t have any members who want to share a humorous observation.  Give it time.  We’ve found that after a year, some of the members start to get quite good at it. After having Observational Humor as a formal part of our club’s agenda for five years, we now have about ten people who are quite skilled at it.  It has become one of the highlights of the evening and we have a reputation for great humor at our meetings.

Over the years I’ve seen great growth in the members who participate in the Observational Humor part of the meeting.  So give it a try.  It’s a learned skill.  You can practice it as a club or you can hone the skills by yourself.  It takes a little work, but I guarantee you it’s worth the effort.

Here’s a fun video.  Fredde Gredde performs a TV-Theme-Songs duet with himself with a little video-editing help.  It’s about a seven-minute clip on You Tube.