Finding Your Inner Comedian

A few tips on making people laugh.

The joke's on you. If you want people to laugh with you, laugh at yourself first. Barbara Corcoran, a real estate mogul who's also tried her luck on the comedy stage, says, "If you just make fun of others, you alienate people. But if you make fun of yourself right up-front, I think people almost jump to your rescue and want to lift you up."

Look beyond the obvious. In his humor-writing classes, award-winning teacher Greg Gagliardi tells students to steer clear of well-known targets (read: cafeteria food). Instead, he urges them to find what's funny in, say, vending machines or pencil sharpeners. Miraculously, they usually do. If you want funny, he says, dig deeper.

It's the relationships, stupid. If the very idea of doing stand-up makes you want to sit down, keep this in mind: The funniest people don't hog the spotlight -- they deflect it. "Herb is obviously quite a character," says Colleen Barrett, president and chief operating officer of Southwest Airlines, about the company's legendary founder, Herb Kelleher. But he's not merely an exhibitionist. "It doesn't matter whether they're friends or passengers or employees," Barrett says. "He loves people and it shows."

Gotcha! Sometimes you have to sneak up on people to get them to laugh. Once Barbara Corcoran hired a motorcycle gang to "crash" her barbecue. Guests were outraged -- until they realized the joke was on them. Then they hopped on and went for rides. "People love surprises," Corcoran says. "There just aren't enough surprises in life."

Turn it around. Next time something embarrassing or horrible happens, take heart -- someday it could be funny. As Carol Burnett said: "Comedy is tragedy plus time."

From Reader's Digest - September 2004

 

• • Friendship
• • Happiness
• • Family Fun

• The Last Laugh
• Success is truly the best comeback.
• 
• Reader's Digest 2008 Tell Us a Joke Contest
• Got a great joke? We want to hear it!
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• 2008 Reader's Digest "Tell Us a Joke" Contest Rules
• 
• RD's 2006 Tell Us a Joke Contest Winner!
• Mario Smith, of Blackfoot, Idaho, wins jokeline contest
• 
• RD's 2006 Tell Us a Joke Contest: Meet the Participants
• Contest Finalists and Comedians perform at the Gotham Comedy Club
• 
• 50 Funniest Jokes
• Laugh more, live longer with the funniest jokes ever.
• 

“ Remember that the homes you visit during the holidays may not be childproofed. Keep an eye out for danger spots. ”

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