This page will give you some examples of using
humor, and how to use them. The categories are: How to Entertain, and How to
Get People's Attention.
To Entertain
- to be the author of a comic strip: There's not a lot
of information on making a comic strip enjoyable, but here's a suggestion on
getting ideas. If you ever get the chance, go to a nice place like a
restaurant with either another cartoonist, or, if that won't happen, a nice,
funny person. Write down the good funny stuff. Then go home and
form the funny stuff into ideas and then comic strips. For more
information on how to draw and present your strips, check out http://www.reuben.org/wannabe.asp
or get Blitz The Big Book Of Cartooning by Bruce Blitz. My references
were the section on the website above called "Keep Moving Forward"
by Chris Browne.
- to be a comedian or comedienne:
When you’re using humor, you have
to remember a few very important things. First, you have to know what’s
funny. In this category, there are four things that qualify as funny. The
first is pain. When other people trip over themselves or cartoons get little
stars around their heads, that’s considered funny. However, if someone is
seriously hurt, that’s not funny. That’s serious. It’s also not funny
(to yourself anyway) if you yourself get hurt.
The second category is unexpected
things. If you tell a joke and no one likes it, laugh at it yourself.
Unexpected things like asking parents in the audience to assist you with a
certain part in your show seem funny to the audience because it ‘s
unexpected.
The third category is lies or other
things like that. When someone asks you what you did for your weekend and
you say you wrestled with a wild boar on Saturday and got an Academy Award
for the filmed production of it, that would be funny because it was
unexpected and it’s so outrageous and impossible.
The fourth category is saying words
in a funny way. If you say something like "Do you want a piece of
rake," when you should have said "piece of cake," that’s
funny.
The fifth category is puns. Puns
are basically a type of wordplay. Puns occur when you use the definition of
a word in the wrong way, intentionally or not.
The other thing you need to
remember when using humor is to have perfect timing. If someone pours coffee
on his or her shirt, say something funny about it then, not when you
remember it an hour later.
References were J. Parker, David,
and Stoddard, Samuel "How To Be Funny" 1999.
Found at
http://rinkworks.com/funny/
To Get Attention
- To advertise a product or company:
In the beginning, when you're trying to get a sales
appointment, use humor. It can lighten up situations or problems that
come up. Be careful though. If humor doesn't work, don't use
it. Once you get your advertisement and you've sold your product, let
your customers know that you don't just want their money. Send them
something nice like a card or something. Not something advertising
your product or company, just something nice and funny, MAYBE something
about your topic. People will trust you because they like you.
You'll have a lot of customers that like you. USE
HUMOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! References were: "Using
Humor In Sales" by Tom Antion, which I found at http://www.salesdoctors.com/index.htm.
For more information on making and presenting advertisements, visit the web
site shown above.
2. To give a speech, lecture, or talk:
When you’re
using humor in a speech, always remember to be brief, and always have a climatic
twist. Also, always try to get the climatic twist as close to the end as you
can.
When you use humor you shouldn’t take
a long time just getting the beginning of the joke or story. Remember that you’ve
got to be direct. Always get to the point quickly. Don’t drag it out and go on
and on, or your audience will get bored. Remember: DON’T DRAG IT OUT!
References were: L. Audrieth, Anthony
"The Art Of Using Humor In Public Speaking" 1998.
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