Most of us appreciate a good joke and we’d all like to think we’re funny. Unfortunately, having a funny idea and getting that idea across the right way are two different matter. The problem is that most people don’t think about the basic structure of a joke. The structure is very simple – set up and punchline – but it’s amazing how much can go wrong.
Rule #1: Put the punchline at the end of the joke.
The first mistake people make with this rule is not stopping after the punchline. I call this the “Readers Digest” problem. I’ve noticed that a lot of reader submitted jokes add something after the punchline, like “…and then she hit him,” or “..and we laughed and laughed.” There are two big problems with this. The first is that the joke teller is hitting you over the head with the fact that they’re telling a joke. “In case you didn’t know, this was a joke!” We don’t need to be told what happened next. Jokes over! The second issue is that we need to have a few seconds to process and find humor in the joke. If you’re adding additional “not as funny” content, then you dilute the joke. It doesn’t have as much “punch!” Remember, stop at the end of the joke.
Example: This is something that a friend sent me in an email a while back.
“There’s no easy way to tell you this, so I’ll just be blunt.”, The Medium said as she looked into her eyes. “Prepare yourself to be a widow. Your husband will die a violent and horrible death this year.”
Visibly shaken, the woman stared at the woman’s lined face, then at the single flickering candle, then down at her hands. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself and to stop her mind racing. She simply had to know. She met the Fortune Teller’s gaze, steadied her voice and asked, “Will I be acquitted?”
For some reason, wives tend to like this joke……..
There’s absolutely no reason for that last line. It’s not really part of the joke and blunts the punchline. Just leave it off!
This also brings up the issue with setups. Unless you’re telling a shaggy dog story, which is intentionally wasting people’s time, you need to get the setup over as quickly as possible. The setup does one thing: let the listener/reader know what they need to know in order for the joke to work. Remember, the punchline is what you want people to think about, not all the other info.
A better way to edit the joke down to the essential points would be:
A lady visits a fortune teller. “Prepare yourself to be a widow,” she said. “Your husband will die a violent and horrible death this year.”
The lady gasps and says, “Will I be acquitted?”
The one thing this joke did right was proper usage of the “Punch Word.” This is the word (or words) in the punch line that has the humor in it. It’s the word you want people to be thinking about when you finish the joke.
Look at how much less impact it has if the word “acquitted” was not at the end:
“I’ll be acquitted, won’t I?” asked the lady.
The word “acquitted” changes the whole meaning of the sentence, and most of the humor is derived when you think she’s going to say one thing, and then the last word changes the meaning.
If you want to study the experts, read the jokes of Rodney Dangerfield, Mitch Hedberg and Steven Wright. They show the bare essentials of what constitutes a joke. Here are a few of my favorites.
“Onions make me sad. Most people don’t realize that.” – Mitch Hedberg
“My friend asked if I wanted a frozen banana. I said ‘No, but I want a regular banana later, so, yeah.'” – Mitch Hedberg
“I had one anchovy, which is why I didn’t have two anchovies.” – Mitch Hedberg
“My wife and I were happy for 20 years. Then we met.” – Rodney Dangerfield
“The sign outside the bar said ‘Topless! Bottomless!’ I went in. There was nobody there!” – Rodney Dangerfield
“I bought some batteries, but they weren’t included.” – Steven Wright
“I’m writing an unauthorized autobiography. ” – Steven Wright