“Like nailing Jello to a tree” my brother-in-law used to say when he found elements of a task to be vague, unsubstantial and now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t. He liked things to be practical, concrete and reliable. He loved to tell jokes. He would have hated putting together a humorous speech, though, because so much about them is “if’s” and ‘maybes”.
To start with what is funny to one person may not be funny to another. Teenage boy bathroom jokes come to mind. Humor varies with different ages, sexes, education and backgrounds so at each step of the story I need to check for the ‘get it’ quotient of this particular audience – not too much chick stuff if there are a lot of men present. Then when I’ve finished my first draft I check to see if anyone of any race or religion could possibly be offended.
If I find the answer is, “Well… maybe, just possibly” then I remove that section. A humorous story is intended to lighten the mood, not cause offense or hurt.
A humorous story is funny because of the basic situation or by an interesting combination of people and happenings. You have the setting, the action and the characters to work with. The setting can be bizarre or unusual, or it can be very ordinary – a classroom or a bus, somewhere that we all feel familiar with. The action can be very dramatic or something quite ordinary that escalates out of control – you might be marooned on a desert island or throw an apple core out the car window.
The character (s) – well, what a rich array we have to choose from. There’s everyone from the up-tight lawyer to the toddler in the sandbox. Stay away from the cliche character – the prim schoolteacher for example. Originality is funnier than cardboard cut out. Look for odd characteristics and quirks (and if you can find them in yourself, so much the funnier). Think of people whose traits seem contradictory – the woman who is fussily neat about her appearance but who has a messy desk, for example.
Any of these odd quirks of character can be enlarged, step by step, until they are out-of-control. A tiny characteristic, amok after what sounds like a perfectly ordinary series of events can almost always be made funny. Put people in situations that confound them – maybe the prissy saleswoman finding herself in a muddy farmyard. Escalate from slightly muddy shoes to face down in the manure. Naturally her dress will start off white.
Many of the funniest speeches are either based on something that happened to you or they happened to someone else but you ‘borrowed’ them. Few people expect truth in your humorous speech, they just expect to laugh and the more laughter the better. Laughter is your goal. In order to reach it feel free to exaggerate, twist and tweak to get the maximum humor from every happening. If you need to change the small boy to a teenager, do it. If it’s funnier set in a grocery store than on the bus, move it.
Your presentation of the story is the icing on the cake. Try to lose the nerves so that you can give the maximum expression with your face and your body. This will underline your points and enlarge your humor. This is your best chance to make a fool of yourself so don’t waste the opportunity. There is no better butt of jokes than yourself.
