I’m always hearing people say .. .
“wow, you’re a comedian? I just heard a really funny comedian. Let’s seeee, what was his name. . can’t remember, but he was so funny. He joked about his kid riding a bicycle for the first time, and. . . “ That’ right, people don’t remember us not-so-big-name comedians, but they do remember the jokes because, among other things, the jokes paint a picture, and we all know that pictures are worth a thousand words.
So remember
when you’re writing a joke, you want to use the most descriptive words you can to paint that picture – if people can see the funny incident in their heads, they’re more likely to laugh. I recently wrote a joke today about smashing up a guy’s Harley motorcycle in the parking lot. I could say I’m driving really fast through the parking lot, but instead I’m using the words “zooming through the parking lot.” Zooming is a more descriptive word than “driving really fast.”
So when writing a joke
for a speech or memo, go through the adjectives and verbs that you are using, and then make a list of adjectives and verbs that would paint the best visual for your audience. Don’t waste words. . . make sure every word is there for a reason, and it’s doing what it should.
And speaking of motorcycles. . .
I just passed the motorcycle DMV written test today. I passed the motorcycle class for the driving part last week, AND I bought a motorcycle. . .I’ll be zooming through parking lots (carefully) very soon. Yipee!
Jan