Comedy and Humor Technique:
The opening act for the comedian hypnotist I saw last night just didn’t have what it takes. And his comedy seemed like a short course in what NOT to do as a comedian.
Basically, even when he was funny, he wasn’t likable. Many of his jokes were mocking women, folks who lived in Maine (the show was in Maine) and generally pretty much anybody who wasn’t a white man.
It wasn’t just that he made fun of them; it was because he wasn’t likable.
(Chris Rock makes fun of everybody too… but he is different. He is just plain likable. We put up with his insults because we know that he doesn’t mean him. Because we still like him.)
For example, he had a joke (I can’t remember it exactly, but it doesn’t matter: trust me, it wasn’t funny.) About how pregnancy is harder on the man than the woman. The premise is fine. And it could be made funny. It could be really funny.
But if you come off as a jerk, it just makes you look like an insensitive clod. And worse, you just aren’t that funny. Yup, you might get a laugh…. but not the big laugh you would earn if you were likable.
This guy last night would have been way better off just making fun of himself more.
Other Humor Resources, comedy tips and techniques
My work as a corporate comedian.
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