The Anatomy of a Joke - (How to Write a Great Joke!)

Want to add a few jokes to your next written piece? No problem. As a professional stand-up comedienne and writer who stays afloat by selling volumes of jokes each month (Clinton's antics paid my mortgage and Bush isn't doing too badly either), I'll pass on some joke writing tips that'll send you in the right direction. Since there are no formal "rules" to joke writing, I've made up my own. . .

Jokes involve a set-up with the subject and facts, and a punch line that highlights the irony, twists the joke in another direction, or gives an outrageous result.

RULE 1: Use familiarity, word associations and common assumptions. We know Strom Thurmond is old (okay, dead, but I like these examples, so play along), Liz Taylor is chubby, etc. So take your subject and list phrases, synonyms, stereotypes, sayings, people, places and things connected with it. If you do this when writing an age joke for example, and you want to describe how old someone is, then just list words you associate with old... and you may get - "I won't say he's old, but he babysat Strom Thurmond." Or when trying to describe how chubby someone is, list out chubby people or things and you might get "I won't say she's chubby, but she gives her hand-me-downs to Liz Taylor." You get the picture. Using an analogy is funnier than just saying someone is chubby or old. Also use familiar set-ups like "he's so cheap...," "this town is so expensive..."and brainstorm what things are cheap, expensive, etc. to get some comparisons.

RULE 2: Exaggerate things to the extreme. Saying Liz Tyalor is 400 pounds is funny, but it may be too close to the truth. Saying she weighs 1200 pounds is funnier because the picture of a 1200-pound woman is, just, well, funny. (Besides, noooobody weighs 1200 pounds, so you're pretty safe... even 400 pound people will laugh at that one.)

RULE 3: Be brief. Bill Cosby can go on for hours with a single joke. The rest of us should only include facts in the set-up that NEED to be there for the punch to work. Delete unneeded adjectives and prepositional phrases, so that all words pertain to the punch line. I try to keep my jokes to 3 typed lines (not 3 sentences, but 3 lines). When you make a crack about Britney Spears fighting with Kevin Federline, her ex-husband, you don't really need to say "her ex-husband." Pretty much everyone knows his status. Really, less is better... unless you're Bill Cosby.

RULE 4: Show the irony. That's what you're really trying to do is pull out the irony in a situation. Look at it as a good news/bad news... find the irony by listing out all the good and bad in a situation, either real or made-up, and then match them up to see the inconsistencies. "The good news is we're giving out free tickets to the buffet. The bad news is, you'll be in line behind Liz Taylor."

RULE 5: Twist the joke. Give out a real fact in the set up, and make up a crazy (exaggerated) fact in the punch line. A lot of times punch lines are grouped in threes with the crazy fact at the end. Three things just seems to have a good cadence.

RULE 6: Speaking of punch lines, make sure the last word, or pretty darn close to the last word, is the zinger punch line. No prepositional phrases or other words after that word. Really, I'm not kidding. See these examples of jokes I sold:

"A new study has found that the anti-anxiety drug fluvoxamine is effective in relieving anxiety in school-age children. Of course, it's not quite as effective as getting their braces off."

The words "their teeth" don't need to be included because we already get it and it would just slow down the joke.

"The first bloodless surgery was performed this week in which a kid who is a Jehovah's Witness got a new liver without a blood transfusion. The parents were so happy, they almost celebrated!"

The word "celebrated" is the punch... no need to say "celebrated his survival" because we already get it and it would just slow down the joke.

RULE 7: The "Cuh" sound. A general comedy rumor is that words with the "c" or "k" sound are funny. Who knows if this is true, but ya gotta admit, the names Chuck and Cletus are funnier than Steve and Stuart. (especially if Chuck and Cletus are dating Liz Taylor... no?)

There are many more joke tips, but these will get you started so that people will read your material and you'll achieve fame, fortune, and timely car payments!

Jan McInnis, The Work Lady, is a corporate comedian and comedy writer who has performed at hundreds of private events, flying Southwest A LOT. She was recently featured in the ?Wall Street Journal? as one of the ?popular convention comedians.? Jan also sells comedy material to radio & TV daily, and she can be reached at http://www.TheWorkLady.com

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Great Examples of Best Man Speech Jokes and One-Liners to Make Your Speech Funny and Entertaining

Best man speech jokes are used to make a best man speech more funny and entertaining to the wedding guests. Not all of us has a wicked sense of humor, but keeping a few tips in mind can help you to prepare and deliver a stunning and entertaining speech. Normally it is expected of the best man to be funny and hilarious and roast the groom. The golden rule of any best man speech is to have the perfect mixture of humor and sentiment. It is up to you to make sure you deliver a memorable speech and keep the guests entertained. Lets have a look at some Do's and Don'ts of Best Man Speech Jokes.

Do's Of Best Man Speech Jokes

- Keep your jokes short, catchy, funny and to-the-point

- Practice your jokes beforehand on some friends

- Vary your voice when telling jokes and use different facial expressions

- Build up to the punchline of your jokes steadily and slowly

- Deliver your jokes at the right moment - Critical!!

Don't of Best Man Speech Jokes

- Don't litter your speech with jokes

- Don't use any rude or crude jokes in your speech

- Don't use any jokes relating to sex. religion or politics

- Don't tell any embarrassing jokes or stories about the couple

- Don't use old, rehashed and cliched jokes

Great Best Man Speech One-Liners

It is usually best to start your speech with a funny and punchy one-liner. This will act as a great ice-breaker and set the mood for the rest of your speech. One liners are perfect, because they are short and to the point. Make sure the one-liners you use flow easily and naturally into your speech. Tie your one-liners to the groom or couple and put your personal touch to it. Here is a few examples of one liners you can use in your speech:


"Before marriage a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you said; after marriage he'll fall asleep before you finish saying it." - Helen Roland

"In order to be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little; To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all."

Use Some Funny Best Man Speech Jokes

When using jokes in your speech be careful and make sure they don't embarrass or offend anyone. Keep your jokes clean, classy and in good taste. The groom is probably your best friend and should remain so even after your speech. Pick jokes related to the wedding and make sure your deliver them with a bang! Here is some funny best man speech jokes you can use in your speech:

Marrying a man is like something you've been admiring for a long time in a shop window. You may love it when you get home, but it doesn"t always go with everything in the house." - Jean Kerr
Marriage resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they cannot be separated, often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them. - Sydney Smith

When you deliver your best man jokes put a smile on your face and humor in your voice. Give the guests some time to enjoy your joke before moving on with your speech. Best man speech jokes and one-liners are the perfect way to include some humor in your speech to make if funny and entertaining.

For more funny and hilarious best man speech jokes as well as wedding speech templates,one liners, and meaningful wedding quotations visit http:/www.weddingspeechesand toasts.net for all the resources you need to write an amazing and entertaining best man speech in just a few minutes!

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How To Pull Off A Great Practical Joke

What is funny to you may not be funny to others. So, how do you pull off a great practical joke? It can be a lot of fun to pull off a great practical joke on someone! So, there are a few easy steps to making it happen.

The first number one rule to practical jokes is, if it's not funny to the person you are playing the joke on, it's probably not funny. The person the joke is being played on would have to find it funny. It's really important that the person it's being played on would laugh about it, otherwise, it's just malicious and mean. If the object of the practical joke would laugh at it, then, you've probably got a winner for a joke.

That is the very first thing.

So, in formulating a good practical joke, it can't be just funny to me. It has to be funny for all those involved. You have to know your subjects sense of humor a little bit. The better you know the person, the better joke you can come up with.

The next thing is to choose something that you will be able to pull off. If it's something that requires a straight face, then, you need to be able to maintain that. If you can't, you need to find someone who can. Some practical jokes don't require a straight face, and in that case, you don't need to worry about this.

My dad was a big practical joker. He was awesome at comedy timing. He knew how to make people laugh, and he always has a joke ready to tell. He was always playing jokes on his friends. And, my mom didn't appreciate so much, but he played jokes on her too. She was pretty touchy, so, he had to make sure it was something she would find funny.

My mom worked really hard, and she was complaining that she had to do everything. All the cleaning, the cooking, etc, etc. So, our cute little dog wasn't feeling well and my mom was busy setting the table for dinner. My dad found some plastic throw up at the joke store, and placed it on the rug in my mom's pathway. My mom was so angry. She continued to complain how she had to do everything as she was grabbing some paper towels. When she went to clean it up, it slid across the floor. My mom sat down on the floor and just started laughing. It was so perfect, and it broke up the mood.

A great way to learn how to pull off a great practical joke is by practicing improv. If you can learn in improvise in the moment, you can pull off a fantastic practical joke. For more information on improv comedy, go to Learn Improv

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Tips for Telling Great Jokes

A joke is a way of telling interesting and funny situations in a form of short stories to make people laugh. Telling jokes is a great way of communication and is considered an art. By reading this article you may not learn this art fully, but can manage to tell jokes without frustration. Here are some rules to pay attention when telling jokes.

A good joke;

has the superior quality of humor.
contains a positive and pleasant with. A good joke teller avoids destructive,corrosive jokes which targets a specific region or group.
is told in the right time and right place.
does not contain profanity, obscenity, and slang.
comes naturally during the topic. A successful communicator does not attempt to search for subjects for his joke, or jokes for subjects. The jokes should follow the subject very naturally.
makes people laugh.

Before starting to tell a joke, make sure that you are in the right place. It is better to summarize a joke in a few sentences. There is no need for unnecessary details. The teller should not interrupt telling his joke with laughing attacks. Laughing should come from the listeners.

A good joke teller must have rich collection in mind. A few jokes in mind will not be enough to make them laugh repeatedly. One of the most important things is that if you do not have the ability to imitate, you should avoid doing it. Similarly if the joke requires dialects of a language, it will be a good idea skip this part if you are not good at speaking this dialect. Because even the actors have several rehearsals until they are ready to act their role. The same ones should not be told to the same people in different times and places.

Listening is another art and a good habit that lead to success. Trying to tell jokes to people who do not know how to listen would be a waste of time. Whenever a joke is told to you, do not attempt to tell another one in return and transform the chat into joke telling session. Jokes are composed of a preparation and result section. To interrupt the telling process, may impair the effect of the joke.

For more information on the online funny jokes, visit my site to download the best jokes book directly to your computer.

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