Add a Jokemaster...For Built In Humor (Written By Phyllis May)

Promoting the power of humor in our speeches is constantly emphasized but using humor successfully is a skill that, to many, does not come naturally. Providing a place for your members to hone their skills is easy enough…add a Jokemaster to your duty roster.

Adding a Jokemaster, while not an officially recognized functionary, provides one more opportunity during a meeting to give a member a speaking role…and unlike others…a role that calls for preparation and practice.

Telling a joke successfully is a skill that many people don’t feel they have. How many times have you heard someone tell a joke and totally mess up the punch line? Have you ever been in a situation where someone is killing time and says, “Does anyone want to tell a joke?” Most people cringe because they know they just can’t pull it off with the finesse that telling a joke calls for. And, volunteering to embarrass ourselves is not something most of us want to do.

Adding a Jokemaster to your agenda is a terrific and fun learning opportunity.

While telling a joke you are actually giving a short speech. Adding vocal variety, gestures and carefully choosing the words, expressions and timing are all aspects of crafting the telling of the joke.

Very few of us aspire to be stand up comics but, if you want to tell a joke and tell it to your club, try these ideas:

§ Like any other presentation, before selecting your topic Know Your Audience. Toastmasters is not the place for off-color selections. Keep in clean and inoffensive.

§ Few people can pull off telling a long, complicated story with a hopefully funny ending. Unless you’re a professional, you’ll lose people and the ending will be anti-climactic. Until you’re experienced, stick with short, easy for your audience to follow dialogue.

§ Personalize it if possible. For example, you might find a joke about lawyers. Your club includes a member who is a lawyer. If he/she is a good sport, substitute the person’s name. It’s easy to hook your audience into thinking you’re telling a real story…until you get to a ridiculous ending. That often makes it funnier when they realize they’ve been had. Or, make it your story.

A joke might start like this: “A group of lawyers were having lunch….” You could adapt it by saying, “I don’t know how many of you heard what happened recently to John but he and some of his lawyer friends were having lunch when….” You’ve immediately grabbed the attention of your members, who all know him. They know you’re up there to tell a joke and suddenly they’re going to be privy to a funny and perhaps embarrassing story about John. You continue to reel them in to the story and finish with a strong punch line.

§ Be sure to rehearse the punch line…especially if it’s complicated or a tongue twister, easily confused. Your joke telling success all rests right there in the delivery of those words.

Being able to tell and joke and then see and hear a genuine appreciation for your success if a terrific feeling for everyone who says, “Oh, I could never tell a joke.”

Our past President was afraid to ever sign up as Jokemaster and only did it reluctantly when no one else came forward. She dreaded it but did it, on occasion. At our Division Officer’s Training, she stood up on the stage, holding a microphone and successfully told a joke to about 100 attendees. Her obvious pride at knowing she had overcome one of her biggest fears made all of us who knew the challenge this was, ecstatic.

One caution…if you add a Jokemaster, provide expectations from the beginning. Signing up for that role and then walking up and READING internet jokes is a waste of meeting time, an insult and definitely a wasted learning opportunity. Nip that in the bud!!

There’s no evaluation opportunity for the Jokemaster other than whether or not people laugh or the joke falls flat. The General Evaluator could comment briefly in the wrap-up.

Most of us have a great admiration for the social skills that are enhanced with joke-telling abilities. Add humor to your speeches and presentations and if it’s a new skill to you, start small. Learn to tell a joke and enjoy the laughter that follows. While we suggest that members have a “speech in their pocket”, all of us could have a “joke in our pocket”…not just for our meeting but to surprise people the next time someone says, “Does anyone have a joke?” You might surprise yourself!

Phyllis May, AC-G, is a former Area Governor and President of Key West Toastmasters in Key West, Florida. (Contact info: 305-295-7501)