Can You Tell A Joke?

Telling a joke is both a talent and a skill. Some people do it very well. Jerry Seinfeld talks about this:

''The four levels of comedy:
Make your friends laugh;
Make strangers laugh;
Get paid to make strangers laugh,
and Make people talk like you because it's so much fun.''

Many people believe that they simply aren't funny, or that they don't 'know how' to tell a joke. The truth is that anyone can tell a joke and tell it very well. But... there's an important secret that every great joke teller knows: you have to practice!

Telling a joke well involves many of the same skills as presenting. In fact, if you analyse the structure of a good joke, you will see that it covers many of the presentation skills basics.

For example, a good joke (and the person telling it) usually include the following:
1. They capture your attention quickly. This might be done by presenting an amusing or unusual situation for the joke. (''Two frogs walked into a bar...'') This is the equivalent of having an interesting introduction for your pitch or presentation. 
2. A good joke teller is involved in their material. There are many different ways to tell a joke (think of Woody Allen compared to Robin Williams), but the thing that good joke tellers have in common is that they seem to be 'living' the material. Again, this is similar to a presenter who appears genuinely interested in the topic, and can convey that feeling to the audience.
3. A good comedian varies the speed and pace of the joke. Faster, slower, speeding up and so on. This keeps the audience involved and interested. It also makes the joke teller look professional. The same applies to pitches and presentations.
4. The punch line is preceded by a suitable pause. This builds the suspense and gets the listener ready for the big laugh. Again, in presenting, good pauses are a powerful tool.
5. And finally, a great joke ends in a very strong way (it is, after all, a joke!). A good joke is one in which everyone knows that it's over; a bad joke (or badly told joke) is one in which the listeners are left wondering: ''Was that the punch line?!?'' It's the same with presentations. In a presentation, your conclusion should be strong, clear, and interesting.

And then there is the bit about... practice. More on that later.
 
If you learn to tell jokes well, you will also be learning some of the solid basics of presenting. The format is very different, but the theory is very similar. And telling jokes is SO much fun!

Here's a quote from my all-time favourite actress, Audrey Hepburn:
''I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.''

The next time you see a friend or a comedian telling a joke, pay attention to their technique.

More on jokes - and tips for telling them - in the next few weeks. Watch this space.

All the best, and happy trails,
Rob