Comedy Gold: The questions are you asked
Questions that you are asked a lot are a quick way to find humor. You can also reverse it by saying what questions should you not ask or why do people always ask me these questions. Here’s a quick list I came up with of questions things you shouldn’t say to a comedian . . .because people ALWAYS say these things to comedians.
Don’t get annoyed,
but rather start writing down questions that people have about your job, your hobbies, your kids. This is the stuff that OTHERS will want to know about, and it’s the basis for your comedy. Then start listing your answers. Get outrageous. Get smart-ass. How can you respond to the person asking the question? I mention that when people ask me what I make, I ask them to tell me first what THEIR salary is. Of course then it gets a little awkward, but luckily I know how to handle awkward.
I worked with Jon Stewart
at the Punchline comedy club in Atlanta years ago when he had just taken over The Daily Show. News sources reported that he was making a million dollars! That’s not much now, but almost 20 years ago it was a, well, fortune. He did the radio that morning, and the DJ brought up his new income. No one else would get that questions, but the DJ felt fine asking Jon if it was true. Jon came right back with, “yes, but it’s in Russian Rubles.” Brilliant.
He made us laugh, AND let the DJ know what an inappropriate question that was. It was such a memorable teaching moment for me, so I know how to handle it the next time someone asks me about my millions!
Have a great weekend and don’t ask the wrong questions! Have a great weekend!
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Humor From Your Past
To find great humor look to your past and find your pain points. What things did you do as a kid that upset you, but now is pretty funny? In my newsletter, I reminisced about an incident during summers when I was in my elementary school that had a big impact on my finances. Which means I remembered it! Here’s a link to my article titled White Elephants, Cuss Boxes, and Jerry Lewis.
I hope you enjoy the article and feel free to connect with me on Linkedin!
My website: www.TheWorkLady.com
My Master of Ceremonies Website: www.ComedyEmcee.com
How to set up a GREAT Virtual Keynote Speaker that makes the client happy they booked you
Virtual keynotes are NOT going away, so don’t be boring! If you’ve been just hanging out doing the keynotes in front of your computer with a bookshelf in the background, or worse, a FAKE background, you need to step it up.
You probably already have of this stuff, like a computer and video camera, so here’s some other stuff to add it to make it a production. I’ve been doing them for 9 months now, and I’m getting GREAT feedback . . . because my videos look great and I’m bringing some flare to the event. My virtual keynotes and my emcee events look like productions. Sure you can book a virtual stage for about $400 or $500 an hour to go someplace and tape it, but you can also save your money by buying these tools. And they don’t break the bank!
Here’s the tools you need for a fun virtual keynote that looks great.
For broadcasting/recording your keynote or master of ceremonies event:
- Main computer – you should already have this. Even my grandmother has one.
- Video camera – DO NOT USE THE CAMERA ON YOUR COMPUTER. Seriously! You can do more with an attached video camera (wider shots, different lighting, zooming in and out). The Canon Vixia HF800 was recommended. I already owned this, but you can pretty much connect any camera to your computer as long as it has the outputs (many of them do, you just haven’t noticed). I’ve even used a Cannon still camera that has video capabilities.
- Connect your camera to your computer with a High Speed HDMI to Mini HDMI Cable (Mini HDMI to HDMI) 25 feet long (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005H4Y71M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) AND an Audio/video capture card HDMI to USB to (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089VWHGJH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
- Mic – I have a lav mic (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086D439F8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and a handheld mic (https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/atr2100-usb). Both work great BUT the mic on my computer is so good, that I haven’t really needed to use one of these mics much.
- Lights. Forget ring lights! Get some good lights that can shine down overhead and not have glasses glare! I bought HPUSN – hyper photography & utility Solution lights. https://www.amazon.com/HPUSN-Professional-Photography-Continuous-Reflectors/dp/B07NBP6D98
- Ethernet cable so you can have your internet go directly into your computer and NOT be wireless. You MAY need an Ethernet hub with a mini usb if you don’t have an ethernet port but do have a mini usb port like me.
For the background of your keynote or master of ceremonies event:
- PVC pipe – forget expensive stands, just use lightweight pvc pipe to frame your “stage.”
- Material – go to JoAnn’s fabrics and get some fabric to drape over the pvc pipe.
- Projector – I bought a used, old one for $40 and I project the client’s logo behind me from a powerpoint slide. I have the slide on a (very) old computer. I’m sure you have one laying around somewhere. They have all the ports you need.
Additional stuff you may want for your keynote or master of ceremonies event:
- Standup desk – okay, it’s a half standup desk that sits on top of your desk. Very cool. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KFWJFVH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Separate Monitor – any monitor you have laying around will work . just so you can see the chat box better and aren’t trying to find it on your computer screen.
- Bar stool AND small couch. When I’m the master of ceremonies, I usually have lots of time between keynote sessions, so I can sit on the couch and make notes, or sit on the barstool when I’m about to go on “stage.”
These seems like a lot of stuff, but you probably already a lot of it already, and most of the things you will buy are pretty cheap. So put a few bucks into this set up and you’ll look great. I’ve made that money back many, many times over with my virtual keynotes and virtual master of ceremony events. You can too.
And as always, I’m happy to chat with anyone who would like some more clarification.
Jan
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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...
Using Stock Jokes
Two guys walk into a bar. . And find that this is not funny. Okay, should you use stock jokes, or as we comedians call them HACK jokes? I’ve talked about joke formulas like “he’s so big” or “top reasons why. . .” and I think that’s okay. You get...
Joking with Small Groups
9 People??? This week had I had the opportunity to be in front of a small group. . . 9 people. That’s NINE – single digit. . .no, I didn’t miss a zero. Before this, the smallest I’d spoken to was 12. . . a little bit of a drop from the 4400 people I was...
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...
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...