How To Create Observational Humor?
Hello! It has been a while since I blogged on The Public Speaking Blog. My excuse this time - Chinese New Year! It’s a week long of spring cleaning, shopping for clothes, decorating the house, baking new year goodies and more. And then today is the eve of Chinese New Year where we just had our reunion dinner, very similar to Thanksgiving in America.
In the coming week, we will be visiting all our relatives and friends and it is going to be really tough to get some time off to blog. But I will do my best alright! Meanwhile, I shall share with you an interview starring John Kinde, the very funny man who has a knack for observational humor.
Observational humor is a brand of humor where a speaker makes remarks of situations or conversations that happen during a particular session, that is funny. So the humor only works for people who were there because they understood the context of the humor. So fundamentally it is about looking at the funny side of things.
Here are the questions:
- Did you write the entire monologue during the Meeting?
- Had you prepared any jokes or ideas beforehand?
- Had you heard any of the speeches beforehand?
- What had you planned to talk about before the meeting started?
- Were you planning to speak or expected to Speak?
- We’re you on the agenda or speaking in an extemporaneous
situation?
- Did you have time to enjoy the speeches?
And now for the answers. Take notes if you have to!
Q. Did you write the entire monologue during the meeting?
My observational humor monologues at Toastmasters meetings are entirely written during the meeting. I bring nothing to the meeting except pen and paper and the commitment to focus on looking for humor during the meeting. I call it “putting on my humor hat.” Observational humor lines don’t just fall from the sky; I need to be focused on the task of discovering them.
Why do I do it? Getting the laughs is secondary. I do it as an exercise to improve my observational skills. It’s like going to the gym to work out. The observational humor muscles get stronger with practice. Then, when I’m giving a really important speech, perhaps a professional engagement, the chances are very good that I can come up with at least one sure-fire observational humor line for the opening of the talk. That’s the main reason I practice the skill. After having practiced thousands of observational humor lines at Toastmasters meetings over the past 25 years (usually creating ten lines per meeting), I’m normally able to open nearly every talk to a non-Toastmaster audience with one to four observational humor lines that hit the mark.
Q. Had you prepared any jokes or ideas beforehand?
I normally prepare nothing in advance. However, there may be some past experiences that I can draw from that will help me create lines for a monologue. For example I pay attention to the latest current events in the news. You never know when something you see at a meeting might be linked to something on that evening’s news broadcast. I’m also able to draw connections from past monologues and will occasionally recycle a line that I’ve used before, if something that happens in the present moment makes a connection for me. But, no, I don’t come to the meeting with some lines already prepared for use at the end of the meeting.
Q. Had you heard any of the speeches beforehand?
No. I’m normally hearing each speech for the first time. In fact, when I arrive for a meeting I normally know nothing about the agenda, except for the role for which I’m scheduled. If I happen to be the Observational Humor Master, I know that in advance (but I do zero advance preparation other than bringing paper, pen, and a clipboard). I otherwise have no clue as to the flow of the meeting. I usually don’t know the theme, who is speaking, who is staffing the other roles. I just show up. As Woody Allen says: “Eighty percent of success is just showing up!” So it is with observational humor. Finding observational humor is mostly a result of being present.
Q. What had you planned to talk about before the meeting started?
Q. Were you planning to speak or expected to speak?
Q. Were you on the agenda or speaking in an extemporaneous situation?
I start the meeting with a blank slate (actually a clipboard). I do start gathering observations before the meeting starts, however. As soon as I arrive in the parking lot, I begin collecting my ideas. Since I usually arrive 15 minutes before the start of the meeting, that does give me a small head start on the process. I often come up with an observation or two before the meeting starts. But I don’t sit at home jotting a list of possible observational humor lines. When I’m scheduled to be the Observational Humor Master, I know that in advance. It is a planned part of the agenda. So I know that I’ll be presenting a monologue. I just don’t have any idea what the lines will be in advance.
Here’s how we approach observational humor in our club. We have a segment near the end of the meeting which is led by the Observational Humor Master. I’ve found that this part of the meeting is far more valuable than having a Joke Master who simply tells a joke (which normally isn’t very funny). I recommend tossing the Joke Master and substituting an Observational Humor segment. My club is Power House Pros, an advanced club. Many of our members are also members of the National Speakers Association. I probably would not recommend a formal Observational Humor segment for a small club of beginning-level speakers.
When called on, the Observational Humor Master opens the floor to anyone having some observational humor. When you first add this feature to a meeting, you’ll discover that practically nobody comes up with observational lines. But after six months to a year, you’ll find that a half-dozen people will be sharing a line or two, and hopefully the Observational Humor Master will be presenting a small monologue. Several members of our club have developed the talent to deliver excellent monologues.
We schedule this part of the meeting as the last item on the General Evaluator’s checklist. The purpose of that placement is that, firstly, almost the entire meeting has taken place. And, secondly, the General Evaluator’s report is not complete. In the rare event that a criticism of any of the humor is required, the General Evaluator will take care of it. Our goal is for all the humor to be in good taste. Having observational humor on the agenda encourages every member to wear a “humor hat” for the entire meeting. We typically have two dozen observational humor lines delivered at the end of our club meetings. For many, it’s one of the highlights of the evening.
I approach almost every meeting, not just Toastmasters and Patricia Fripp’s speaking schools, by giving myself the task of coming up with observational humor lines. Then, if I have the opportunity to say something at the end of the meeting, I’ll possibly use one observational humor line to open my remarks, if it seems to fit the occasion. I don’t force it. I will sometimes create an observational humor monologue just for the fun of it, even if I’m not going to have the chance to actually present it. Growth comes from the process, not from the spotlight.
Q. Did you have time to Enjoy the Speeches?
Yes and no. I still enjoy the meeting. However, I must admit that the focus of looking for humor connections does pull my attention away from things I might otherwise be paying attention to. When it comes to multi-tasking, I’m not gifted. I’m a person who doesn’t like to read a book with the TV or radio on. And if you’re going to talk to me while I’m watching TV, I might be tempted to push the TV MUTE button. And if I haven’t been focused on observational humor during the meeting, don’t ask me to do a monologue off-the-cuff. I probably won’t have even have a single line to share. It just doesn’t magically pop into my head. It’s a discipline. I work at it.
I challenge you to begin tuning your humor radar and regularly look for observational humor at the meetings you attend. And you’ll discover what I’ve discovered. After 25 years of practice you’ll start to get good at it. Actually, I discovered I started to get pretty good at it after working on it for about one year. Give it a try. You’ll surprise yourself.”
Sign up for John’s content-rich newsletter
Do check out the following entries as well if you are interested in becoming a funny speaker:
Do You As A Speaker Leverage?
Ten Comedy Secrets of Becoming Absolutely Funny on Stage
Here’s How To Be Funny Even If You Are Not
Cheers,
Eric Feng
Your Speech Coach
P.S: To all my Chinese friends who are reading this, GONG XI FA CAI!!!
First of all,Happy new year.I just wanted to say that Observational humor has its own merits,but on the other hand has some downsides and one of those downsides is that if you are presentating to other people who didn’t experience the happening,may not understand your point.
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