My Starts and Stops in Comedy
Starting my career in comedy wasn’t exactly a straight line! I had starts, stops, and then starts again. Here’s a podcast interview I did yesterday on the “Why We Work” podcast. It is a good interview and shows that sometimes it takes time to transistion into a new career.
Humor Article – Nutty Introductions
Here’s my latest humor article on some of the nutty introductions I’ve gotten over the years. This is a jpg. If you want to read the article easier, check it out on my web page: https://theworklady.com/weird-introductions/ Here’s to more funny introductions in the future!
Jan
That One Joke
Sometimes you just need that one joke to make all the difference. Here’s an example from my past. When’s the best time to tell people they aren’t getting raises? Two days before your company holiday party, of course! 12 years ago, I arrived at an event to an incredibly tense and glum atmosphere. The client told me the group had just gotten the news. Great! This holiday party had all the makings of a disaster . . .
5 minutes into my act, I knew I had to clear the air, so I did it with (of course) humor. One line acknowledging what they were going through made all the difference. They laughed so loud I thought the ceiling was going to come down. Here’s the joke:
5 Funny Things in Vegas
So I’m in Las Vegas for a gig today and I thought I’d look for 5 funny things that I can joke with. If you get into a habit of looking for the funny, then it becomes easier and easier until you’re doing it automatically. So here’s 5 funny things in Vegas....
Finding the Funny in a Script
So far with this blog I’ve focused mostly on writing jokesfor comedy routines or perhaps to put into a speech. Today’s post is a little different however, as I’m interviewing my good friend Nancy Beverly who is a playwright. Nancy and I have been hiking...
An Interview with a Late Night TV Writer
Okay you all have heard my writing tips for years, so it’s time to get a different perspective. I’ve got a lot of friends who write for a living – TV writers, comedians, playwrights etc – and so I’ll be posting some interviews with them to hear what they...
Using What Works Against You
I just read an article about a guy who controls his tourettes syndrome by doing stand up comedy – I always thought stand-up comedy ENCOURAGED people to cuss. But the article mentioned that this guy has gained self-confidence and educated people on the...
Using What Works Against You
I just read an article about a guy who controls his tourettes syndrome by doing stand up comedy – I always thought stand-up comedy ENCOURAGED people to cuss. But the article mentioned that this guy has gained self-confidence and educated people on the...
Comedy Writing and Location
Looking at WHERE people are sitting Can give you great comedy material to kick off your speech. I'm doing a comedy show for a group and they told me that the top sales guys and gals are sitting at the front tables. That got me to thinking. . .where are the...
Making the Familiar UnFamiliar
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...
10 ways to get started with a joke – part 2
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. ....
10 ways to get your speech started with a joke – part 1
When people hear that I’m on stage for like 60 minutes telling jokes, they’re always amazed at me being up there THAT LONG. Actually the hardest part isn’t being there for 60 minutes (ok, a few shows have been rough!), the hardest part is GETTING STARTED....
Speaking in tongues
I’ve never done comedy in another country (ok, Canada, but they’re so close it doesn’t count), yet I’ve been in front of audiences sprinkled with international people because they come to us. And while of course you can’t appeal to EVERYONE in the group,...
4 Ways to Use Self-Deprecating Humor
Self-deprecating humor is one of the quickest ways to get the audience on your side. As I’ve said, a lot of comedy is about people feeling superior to the comic, so if people think you have a flaw then they’ll either feel superior OR be able to relate to...
Joke Writing for One Demographic
All Women All Day! This week I got a chance to present my “Finding the Funny in Communications” program to a group consisting of all women! They were great! I do a lot of programs in which there are just women, or even just men, in the audience, and I...
Joking With Names
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...
Human Traits for the Joke
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...
Joke Writing For Extreme Solutions
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...
On Being Counter-Intuitive
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...
Human Traits for the Joke
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...
Joke Writing For Extreme Solutions
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...
On Being Counter-Intuitive
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...
PROVING A PREMISE
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...
Timing Your Jokes
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...
Speaking in tongues
I’ve never done comedy in another country (ok, Canada, but they’re so close it doesn’t count), yet I’ve been in front of audiences sprinkled with international people because they come to us. And while of course you can’t appeal to EVERYONE in the group,...
Fun WITH The City
What happens when you’ve got a completely dry subject and you just can’t figure out a way to have fun with it? You have to think bigger. To find the funny when I’m speaking, I start with the group; if there’s not much there, I look at the room, then move...
4 Ways to Use Self-Deprecating Humor
Self-deprecating humor is one of the quickest ways to get the audience on your side. As I’ve said, a lot of comedy is about people feeling superior to the comic, so if people think you have a flaw then they’ll either feel superior OR be able to relate to...
FUN WITH FOOD
Fun with Food So a lot of speeches take place at banquets, luncheons, and breakfasts. . .which means you have tons of opportunity to do some quick humor by having fun with the food. Now this doesn’t mean you should be super mean about it – you don’t want...