by jmcinnis | Sep 30, 2010 | A. Humor Writing, B. Research Techniques, D. Appropriate Humor, Funny Jokes, Workplace Humor
Sometimes the humor is not in researching the subject thoroughly, but rather in stepping back and looking at the big picture – their name. Companies name themselves and their products all sorts of whacky things, for all sorts of whacky reasons. Watch any commercial,...
by jmcinnis | Sep 20, 2010 | A. Humor Writing, B. Research Techniques, D. Appropriate Humor, Funny Jokes
One fun, easy way to make a mundane noun (that’s person, place or thing) funny is to give that item a human trait. For example, this week I’m doing a show for a group in Austin, TX, and one of the unique things I was told was that Austin has millions of BATS. Yes,...
by jmcinnis | Sep 11, 2010 | A. Humor Writing, D. Appropriate Humor, Funny Jokes, Workplace Humor
Jokes and joke writing are about taking things to the extreme. As I’ve said before, when you want to imply that someone is old, you don’t say 110 – because it’s plausible, you say 310 because it’s outrageous. So make sure in your joke writing that you’re taking things...
by jmcinnis | Sep 8, 2010 | A. Humor Writing, D. Appropriate Humor, Funny Jokes, Workplace Humor
Okay, I just talked about proving a premise, but another technique for fast humor is DISPROVING a premise. The easiest way to do that is to find a principal that we all typically agree on. This can be a phrase or a statement or whatever, and make it counter-intuitive....
by jmcinnis | Sep 3, 2010 | A. Humor Writing, B. Research Techniques, D. Appropriate Humor, Funny Jokes
When you’re coming up with jokes, one quick way is to come up with a premise, and then prove it. For example, I have a joke about cats being better than kids, because. . . “. .cats clean themselves, they don’t talk back, and they will survive a drop from the second...
by jmcinnis | Aug 27, 2010 | A. Humor Writing, B. Research Techniques, D. Appropriate Humor, Funny Jokes, G. Topical Jokes, Workplace Humor
Sure there’s timing of your jokes when you say ‘em, but the time I’m talking about is a little different. Yesterday I was at the new Aria hotel in Las Vegas. . .very cool, very high tech! When I walked into the room, music from the TV kicked on, the room lights lit...
by jmcinnis | Aug 23, 2010 | A. Humor Writing, C. Humor Delivery, D. Appropriate Humor, Funny Jokes
One very quick way to come up with some humor on the spot is to use adages and/or familiar wording and then twist it. There are tons of adages – you know, sage advice like “when it rains it pours” or “if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, then it’s probably a...
by jmcinnis | Aug 17, 2010 | A. Humor Writing, B. Research Techniques, Funny Jokes
And now for part two of being specific. . .after your research where you’ve now got specific data, you need to actually write a joke that is specific. Take a look at the words you’re using and see if you can get very, very specific. Don’t use a rounded number like 300...
by jmcinnis | Aug 11, 2010 | A. Humor Writing, B. Research Techniques, D. Appropriate Humor
During a client call last month in which I was interviewing them to gather information so I could customized jokes for their group – I had a hard time getting them to be specific. When I asked about their challenges they gave me stress and mergers. . .it was hard to...
by jmcinnis | Jul 27, 2010 | A. Humor Writing, C. Humor Delivery, D. Appropriate Humor, Funny Jokes, Workplace Humor
Okay, now part two of kicking off with a joke. As I mentioned, getting into the joke is sometimes the hardest part, so use one of these tactics to set yourself up right. 1. Address what they see. If you’ve got some outstanding feature/hairdo/etc. . .mention it off the...
