An Easy Way to Get Laughs

by J.A. Gamache
3rd place Champion in 2001
at Toastmasters International's World Championship of Public Speaking

An easy way to get laughs is to change a common expression so it has an original ending.

When someone says, 'Thank you very much!' to be polite you should answer, 'You?re welcome.' Well, one day I said, 'Thank you very much!' and a person answered: 'You're welcome very much.'

I smiled immediately. I found the answer so original that I've been using it ever since. The joke works almost every time: I always get a laugh or at least a smile.

We could ask ourselves why this type of answer is so effective. The reason is simple: the preceding polite exchange with the ridiculous ending is built like a joke.

In fact, one of the basic techniques in humour consists of using the set-up/punch structure. The joke starts with the set-up, whose goal is to bring the audience to anticipate the end of a story. When the story ends with an unexpected punch, the element of surprise makes the audience laugh.

The element that makes the 'Thank you very much' example so original is that the person set up the joke without knowing it. And like with any good joke, the audience (in this case the person who thanked you) is convinced she knows the end of the story. The person expects you to answer: "You're welcome," and has no reason to think otherwise. When you answer, "You're welcome very much," the person is surprised and laughs.

Each time you use a common expression, you're creating a set-up. Here's another example in which the set-up is a famous quote. This time the same person says the set-up and the punch.

You start by saying: 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and?' You make a pause so the audience remembers that the end of the quote is: 'you feed him for life.'
However, you surprise everyone by saying: 'you get rid of him for the week-end!'

Try this technique the next time you write a speech. Have fun changing the end of common expressions. It's an easy way to get laughs almost every time.

Happy writing!

©MMVIII J.A. Gamache http://www.jagamache.com All rights reserved.

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This article was reproduced from the "Speaking in public with J.A." FREE electronic magazine, authored by J.A. Gamache, International Inspirational Speaker. To subscribe to his FREE e-zine or to find out more about his presentations, visit http://www.jagamache.com .
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