How to Tell a Joke

Throughout my adult life comedy has fascinated me. Before college I studied dance, voice and acting; but my performances were always on a crowded stage. My only individual performances were public speaking and poetry readings. In college I had to come out of my shell more and perform solo. I often had individual speaking lines in plays. Eventually I received a part in a comedy show and the experience has always stuck with me. Making people laugh and moving people with music have come to be the most gratifying feelings on stage for me. There is something electric about those 2 types of performances.

Eventually I found Comedy Central. Watching this channel is one of my favorite things to do before midnight. After midnight--unfortunately--Comedy Central plays the same commercial like 20 times an hour; and this advertising doesn't really suit my taste. So I usually watch something else.

Anyway. Many of the stand up comedians featured on Comedy Central are so good; and I've often wondered how they do it. How do they tell a joke and make it so incredibly funny like that? The play that I was in had my jokes written out for me. This makes me have a lot of respect for those that can get up on stage with nothing but their own words and make an audience laugh.

So, out of curiosity I did some research to find out what the steps I should take should I decide to one day tell a joke.

Telling a joke properly can be divided into 3 parts: Know Your Joke; Have Confidence in Yourself; and Know Your Audience.

Know Your Joke

Step 1 - You have to know you're joke by heart. This makes sense. In any sort of performance (singing, acting, dancing) you have to know your piece by heart. If you don't it just looks bad.

Step 2 - Do not blow you joke up. Don't act like the most amazingly funny thing ever. Downplay it at best. If you blow your joke up and it's only moderately funny then the audience's laugh will be strained. If it's not funny at all; it will be more uncomfortable than if you just told a bad joke.

Have Confidence in Yourself

Step 3 - Never prepare your audience for a joke. A lot of times I will say to people, "Ok, I'm gonna tell a joke now." The reason I do this is so that if it bombs, I sound like I knew it could bomb all along and was ready for that possibility. But, unless the joke is really good; this will kill your joke--or at least part of your joke. I think this falls under confidence. You have to be able to be okay even if your audience doesn't laugh.

Know Your Audience

Step 4 - You must know when to tell a joke and when not to. Every joke is not appropriate for every generation. Like for example; I was watching Reno 911 (one of my favorite shows) and one of the characters went into some weird train of conversation that contained some racial slurs. Though this character is funny because he is so ignorant and ridiculous that nobody takes him seriously; my mother just walking into the room and seeing what I was watching seemed highly confused. Coming from a different generation; being bussed into school; and experiencing different level of racial oppression; she thought this was an odd form of comedy. Knowing the audience is key.

Step 5 - Make sure they understand what you're talking about before you tell the joke. Don't go in front of an audience of high school gym instructors and tell a joke requiring them to know all the details of the Louisiana Purchase. Some people will get your joke; but, you want as many people as possible to get your joke. Joke about dodge ball; and the locker room; and throw in some teacher's lounge jokes at best.

Telling a joke is not an easy; thing and sometimes even the best comedians and comediennes make a mistake. But, maybe by studying the proper steps--when you one day have to write a speech, or make a toast at a loved one's wedding--you'll finally have the wit, tools and the confidence to be the life of the party. Or maybe you could just come back to reality and write your speech normally.