Business Can Be Fun. In Fact, It's Better That Way

If corporate employees or business owners and managers think that work-related public speaking needs to be dry, technical and lacking in humor, they are sadly mistaken. Have you ever seen an otherwise successful executive in, say, banking or high tech, deliver a presentation on a topic on which he or she is incredibly knowledgeable, but the message was lost on all but the most insider wonks because the content and delivery were awkward, repetitive and just... boring boring BORING? I have, and it's a real shame. First of all, it's audience abuse plain and simple. Second of all it's a wasted opportunity for that speaker to win goodwill and free positive networking within their industry and even outside of it.

In the corporate and small business worlds, there are so many instances when a higher up is required to speak to a group of people. Adding entertainment value and powerful humor to a speech turns it from a necessity into an opportunity. Whether the speaking situation is for education, training, inspiration, recognition or celebration, the hiring of a professional humor speech writer will catapult a speech from the depths of tedium to the heights of entertainment and edification. A corporate or business professional may have to deliver a quarterly sales meeting address. It may be a recognition speech for your top performing employees or a semi-formal promotion ceremony where a bunch of workers are moving up in title. They may be speaking to thousands of peers outside of your company but in your industry at a convention, or addressing hundreds or people in your own company at an annual event. Whatever the situation, a speech that is crafted and calibrated to flow and be captivating, with powerful TV-quality punchlines, when appropriate, will make the speaker successful beyond their expectations, not only with regard to the occasion, but also in their career generally. 

A corporate executive or business professional would be very wise to hire a professional humor speech writer, someone with a foundation as a comedy writer or a joke writer, to custom create the perfect entertaining speech while retaining all of the important technical information and serious points. There's nothing funny about under-delivering on a major- or minor- public speaking moment, and there is serious benefit to using strategic humor to smash every speaking engagement out of the park.        

Be The Best 'Best Man' You Can Be

Best Man is a weird title. It really should be Best Friend or Best Speaker. The label “Best Man” is really an incredibly high expectation to put on someone's shoulders. Is he the Best Man in this city? In this state? On Earth? And by what criteria are we measuring “Best”? Does that equal the kindest, smartest, best looking, highest achieving and most physically fit? That sounds more like a movie star or celebrity NFL quarterback than anybody who's you r friend and actual wedding Best Man. But that's the title we use and while it's overblown, it does reflect the importance and honor of being chosen for that position.

Besides offering support and aid to the groom on and around the wedding day, the Best Man customarily delivers a speech. Best Man speeches vary, but ideally it should be sharp and powerful. His speech should be intimately personal- within the bounds of acceptability of the crowd- and it should be very funny. Humor is one of the most effective speaking tools in offsetting the potentially over-dramatic and imbalanced tone of a deadly serious speech. Sure, some earnest and poignant passages are always good in a Best Man wedding speech, but the most effective and fun way to honor the groom on his wedding day is to tastefully “roast” him with some punchlines based on the actualities of his life, personality, likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses.

Just ask anyone who's been at a wedding with an hilarious speech, as opposed to a dull speech full of platitudes and surface level generalizations about the person. A Best Man may not be the Best Man on Earth, but with the right funny personalized speech he can be the Funniest, Most Entertaining Man at the wedding. And that's still saying a lot!       

What Is “Offensive” in Comedy? A Complex, Messy Question

Of course the question comes up, among comedians, audience members, entertainment industry executives, journalists and whoever else- what makes something too offensive in comedy? What constitutes going too far and breaking through the wall from comedy to hate or incitement or just causing gratuitous harm with words? The answer is nuanced and complex and requires some elaboration.

First of all, what is meant by “too offensive”? If one is talking legally, such a transgression is rare. The First Amendment is broad and allows for most speech, no matter how seemingly distasteful or controversial. Comedians can run into legal trouble for slander- defaming a real person- but such is very rare, even among cases of a comedian getting castigated for offensive content in a bit.

While the law is rarely the issue when a comedian crosses lines of public outrage and offense taken, what's a lot more common is consequences regarding the comedian's financial bottom line. In many cases, comedy clubs, TV shows, movie productions and other companies with which the comedian is involved are contractually free to drop the person in question from paid work. And the public can turn on the comedian, exerting a social or even economic force, which can secondarily cause those other financial dominoes to fall. Scathing columns and blogs may be written. Accusations of prejudice and hate may be thrown around. The experience can be very unpleasant for the comedian and for those who feel that they were on the receiving end of the comedian's destructive words.

And then there is just the issue of what is “right,” as judged by those with a firm grasp on such philosophical matters, or the comedians themselves. Many comedians- perhaps most- do have a sense of decency, of ethics and morals, regarding the effects of their word when on stage. Often times, in the pursuit of laughs or transcendence beyond the conventional way of approaching an issue, an otherwise respected and non-malicious comedian can say things which cross a line with regards to sex and gender issues, race, ethnicity, religion or other sensitive subjects. The joke may be taken as injurious or hateful. One of the big immediate questions is context.

Context Is Sometimes Everything

What is considered normal in a “clean” environment- a corporate show, a church, a PG-13 comedy club, a family restaurant- is very different from what is considered normal in a dark, late night comedy club. In the standard full time comedy club, comedians are given a tremendous amount of latitude regarding their acts. Even more so if the act is very successful or famous. Explicit sexual references and pointed mentions to race and other demographic divisions are considered acceptable and are even lauded- as long as the material is met with laughs or at least focused silence. When a comedian starts getting groans and boos, looks of disgust on patrons' faces and complaints grumbled allowed, that is when the comedy act ceases being effective, or taken as “comedy” in the desired sense.

Often times, in the societal debates about a comedian's allegedly “offensive” bit, those commenting are so removed from the context, the parameters of comedic language, it's as if they were scouring the words of pirates or kindergardeners or cyborgs, yet applying the standards of acceptability of common every day middle America. Comedians are often celebrated in our culture because they defy the everyday, acceptable discourse, in order to shock us into hearing a fresh new perspective, or make fun of existing prejudices, or even just to get cheap laughs. The question for me is, are the comedian's words specifically and purposefully hateful? If you removed the comedy context, could the bit in question be considered a vile insult or fighting words? Comedy that just dishes out personally held bigotry is, to me, not effective comedy. And arguably not comedy at all.

Sometimes a comedian may be able to explain and justify their potentially offensive words and show how their intention is not to cause psychological harm, or even physical harm, were listeners to go out and act on an emotion riled up by the joke. Thus becomes a fine line. I believe that if a comedian can be shown that a comedy bit of their can quickly lead to real hatred and negative effects in the world- no matter how uproariously funny it may be to crowds- he or she should consider the mission of an artist and entertainer, which all comedians are, and weigh out the destructive force their joke could be spreading as opposed to the potential benefits.

Does any comedian need a joke so bad, that causes repercussions of bad feeling in the minds of some listeners? Might it be better just to remove that bit for the sake of the overall act and not causing easily avoided contention? I would generally argue in favor of removing the gratuitously offensive bit and offering an explanation if not an apology, unless the bit addresses a deeply held conviction that makes a valid political or other point and strives to right a perceived wrong in the world, and not just to victimize a demographic of people that may already feel persecuted.

Whatever the exact line that you or I or anyone else may agree upon, one one hand I believe that standup comedy should not be purposefully, specifically hateful. I believe that ethnic jokes, for instance, can be funny and make for good comedy if the jokes A.) poke fun at stereotypes in such a way as to lessen the burden of hatred and accusation, not increase it, and B.) are evenly, fairly spread around to various groups, the way that expert 'insult comedians' do. When in the context of a known insult comedian's act- say a Lisa Lampanelli or Don Rickles- or a Comedy Central Roast, almost no one takes a word spoken in a serious, emotionally impacted way. These settings are a sort of safe de-sensitiziation chamber into which crowds immerse themselves to hear the nastiest stereotypes and ethnic slurs delivered in a more superficial, entertainment value manner, so that there's a wink and a caricaturing going on, a meta-comedy rather than something taken as dead serious and hateful.

Comedy In Different Settings & Situations

When custom writing funny personalized speeches for my clients, I always ask upfront for the general tone or sensibility of their audience. With corporate or business audiences, I assume it will lean toward the cleaner and more tame, with sexual, ethnic and other hit-button topics off the table, but you never know for sure. There are some workplaces that want to get loose and wild and trust that the level of tolerance (or appreciation) for such is pretty much unanimous. And I have had clients for birthday or wedding speeches who wanted to the jokes to be very soft and extremely safe, lacking in any edge. The bottom line for me, is respecting and accommodating their needs and desires, a standard to which I think professional comedians would also be wise to adhere.

I ask my clients to rate the sensibility of their audience on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being Disney cartoon, squeaky clean, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and 10 being HBO comedy special, Comedy Central Roast, Andrew Dice Clay. I have had wedding roasts and birthday speeches where the client was afraid of jokes poking fun at the honoree (which is what roasts are about) regarding relatively run-of-the-mill, down-the-middle topics, and on the other extreme I've had some very ribald and irreverent clients (often in New Jersey, for some reason) who want me to go as harsh as anything you'd hear in a basement New York comedy club at 1am or in a conversation between ex-Navy SEAL truck drivers sharing a bottle of vodka round a campfire. Whatever the appropriate context, I strive to make their audiences feel joyous and at ease and I aim to make it laugh out loud hilarious, with whatever tools I'm given to work with.

Comedy is fundamentally linked to freedom of language, and some transgression, at whatever level, is almost inherently required to make a joke. As I sometimes tell clients who want to play it extremely safe with every reference and detail of every joke (thankfully, these clients are very rare), you have to break some eggs to make an omelet. That's the nature of a joke. Technically, there is a “victim.” But that doesn't mean it's offensive or hurtful. The recipient of the joke could be laughing the hardest.

What I'm able to do, when the need occasionally arises, is pull back the subject matter and the severity of the punchline so that even the most sensitive honoree can easily laugh along with everyone else, no matter any perceived sensitivities. In these cases, the joke is not “cutting to the bone” and hitting on some core issue about which there may be great embarrassment.

Much more often, though, the clients, the honorees and the audience enjoy jokes which carry a slight sting and bring some impact with the punch. After all, there is no greater tribute or display of bonding than to playfully include someone in a very funny joke.

Styles of Comedy – Honest Opinion vs Ironic Character

Standup comedians often discuss and sometimes argue about what constitutes an effective joke or bit, or even an effective act. While comedy may seem to some like an arbitrary art or craft, dictated only by “Whatever's funny is funny”, in fact some very firm and logical rules apply, which will yield predictable results more often than not.

In the case many of the detailed decisions within a comedy bit, perfect prediction of success is nearly impossible, and thus live experimentation with an audience is the bread and butter of a comedian's act. Is “New Jersey” or “Madagascar” a funnier ending to a specific joke, as measured by audience reaction? Does a French accent in one passage make a bit more or less effective? Is a hard swear word necessary within a certain punchline to get a satisfactory level of laughter? These are all options that need to be test driven in the field, so to speak, on a standup stage with some sort of crowd, ideally in a low-stakes situation, meaning a lack of industry gatekeepers.

I often talk of the “chemistry” of different elements within a comedian's bit and the unknowable 'X factor' of what word, what voice modulation, what gesture, volume, attitude and so forth will yield great results or not for a specific comedian in a given moment. Certainly at the beginning of the joke-crafting process, most comedians put the greatest emphasis on the words. There are exceptions- impressionists, prop or musical comedians, extremely physical comedians, who may emphasize vocal characterizations, melodies or sight gags early on in the process- but if one had to generalize, the construction of the words is where most comedians begin the joke-writing process.

While the tiniest specifics, often boiling down to matters of an almost ethereal subtlety, must be put to the test of live human interaction by A.) performing them out loud in a committed manner, and B.) observing them bounce off an objective and receptive audience, there are some very basic overview decisions that a comedian can safely make at the outset. One of the most primal divisions between comedians acts, I believe, is that between what I will call the Honest Opinion Talkers and the Ironic Extreme Characters. So, let me explain....

Back in the very early days of standup comedy, from the twenties and thirties onward, comedians told jokes, very short jokes, and the art of comedy was meant to entertain in a very light and superficial way. The jokes were clever and surface-level, had a fairly generic quality and not only could be used by more than one comedian, they often were. Henny Youngman said “Take my wife, please.” Milton Berle quipped “We grew together. I grew up. She grew sideways.” Bob Hope mused “I've been playing golf so long that my handicap is in Roman numerals.”

Sometimes these early comedians worked facts of their lives into their acts, but mainly the jokes were close to interchangeable with others sharing their general persona, rather than the kind of unique, biography-based material that's so commonly today. The persona of these joke tellers onstage was the polished professional entertainer, period. They were not pushing a figure of ex-auto mechanic, former school teacher or one of ten children brought up in a house with eccentric parents. With these comedians what you got was basically what you saw- a suit-clad entertainer keeping things moving along with zingers. Whimsical philosophical explorations; naked, vulnerable honesty, and powerfully controversial points of view were not what this comedy was about. If truths were embedded in the material, it was fleeting and submerged, in favor of light-hearted punchlines.

A classic character act tells “lies” because they have a tragicomic blind spot and don't know what's really going on. Their jokes are tightly crafted and the punchlines come quick and hard-hitting. Great character acts have a very strong quirky voice and style on stage, so that everything they say, even the most basic top-of-set introduction and the driest setups get laughs because of what's being related by their appearance, gestures, facial features and vocal qualities. When Larry The Cable Guy says “My brother got eliminated from the spelling bee. Apparently, there ain't no number eight in the word 'pollinate',” we know that this never happened. His brother never thought there was an '8' in the word 'pollinate', and we doubt his brother even did a spelling bee. Maybe he doesn't even have a brother! Larry's character is extreme and it's also the way he says it. It's funny because it isn't true. He's playing a character with very strong eccentricities- a classic self-deprecating, oblivious fool with a sheen of bravado. It's classic character we see different variations of again and again.

Rodney Dangerfield informs us: “Last week I told my psychiatrist, 'I keep thinking about suicide.' He told me from now on I have to pay in advance.” The audience instantly knows this interaction did not happen between Dangerfield and a psychiatrist. But the line is very funny in its elegant economy, and it relates the spirit of Rodney's self-lacerating identity. Strong character acts have exaggerated voices and mannerisms, which help reinforce the perspective that the “character” is coming from. In other words, the flamboyant oddness of the comedian's persona reinforces their ignorance of the real world. It also makes all of their words entertaining even before they've said anything funny on paper.

On the opposite side of this comedic divide we have the plain conversationalists, or those sharing honest opinions. They are also sometimes called “monologists,” a very different usage than as relates to the generic term “monologue,” which just means one person speaking.

The honest opinion comedians can share stories from their life, or create a bit based on their attitude toward a general phenomenon, or even tell short observational jokes, but the common denominator is that the material is not based on fictional left-turns that the audience knows could never have happened The comedic bits are based upon some type of interpretation of real phenomena, often using the constructs of “what if,” analogies or rich description in order to get laughs. Honest opinion comedians must utilize deeper analytical abilities and generally work high up in their intelligence to work very high up in the craft. The audience “trusts” that the honest conversationalist comedian is essentially telling the truth and standing behind what he or she is saying. They are not just ironic zingers as said through a wacky character version of themselves. Honest opinion comedians can stretch and enhance things sometimes in terms of their actual opinions, and even embellish seemingly nonfictional stories, but the point is that the audience believes it could be true, and it feels as if there are philosophical, social or even scientific truths being told, which are very funny at the same time.

Popular comedian Patton Oswalt has a classic bit, many years old, about how the menu at Black Angus is so full of decadent, highly caloric items that it seems like a hostile “dare” or challenge to the customer. He describes a fictionalized menu item with a comically endless litany of fattening ingredients. It doesn't matter that the item and its ingredients are fictionalized to attain the comedic effect. What matters is that Oswalt really does think that Black Angus' menu is full of over-the-top, unhealthy items, and seemingly much of America would agree. We all understand that he's giving us exaggeration. But what's important is that the basic premise is very real and honest and that the exaggerated execution only highlights a concrete truth.

Bill Burr, whose act is based on a lot of daring social and lightly political commentary, is master of taking seemingly controversial, unpopular (especially among the audience he's playing to), politically incorrect stances on issues, and then defending said stances to the crowd like a criminal lawyer. Burr wins over the audience with his very strongly crafted cases that seem to be fighting an uphill battle, making his astute- and hilarious- points all the more impressive.

On one especially killer bit, Burr questions the seemingly prevailing wisdom among many women- which was proclaimed on Oprah's show- that being a mother is the most difficult job in the world. Burr launches into a tirade about how twisted and rigged that conclusion must be, how much easier many full time mothers actually have it than they'd like us to believe, and then talks about jobs which really are the most difficult. He relates the topic to one of his own jobs earlier in life, stating: “I thought roofing in the middle of July as a redhead was.” Burr then continues, elaborating with comedic specificity all of the luxurious and comfortable amenities full time mothers enjoy on the job. Whether you mostly agree or disagree with his claim, Burr's bit stands on the honest truth of his convictions and even if the specific examples can be argued, the truth of the assertion to him cannot be and that's what makes it very effective.

Lastly, in my own act I have a bit about wondering what my great achievements will be at the end of my life. I say that if one is famous, one's greatest achievements- in the form of a professional label- go right on the gravestone, underneath your name. I then list what will be under my name on my gravestone, “Comedian... Substitute Teacher.... Tech Support Specialist.... Door to Door Census Worker (seasonally).....” And it keeps going. The idea is that rather than the simple, elegant statement of “Sir Laurence Olivier – Actor” or “George Washington – President”, my gravestone will be diluted by the many unspectacular jobs I've had. As with the previous examples, the bit's strength is in the elaboration and writing of specific references with a building exaggeration, as opposed to the clipped, hyper-economical jokes/punchlines of the ironic character act. And the premise is an attitude, opinion or thought that the comedian really has.

Either type of act- ironic character or honest opinion conversationalist- can make for a very strong and successful performer, but understanding the division between the two is important, as is adhering to one or the other style consistently. While some comedians blur the line and do both kinds of jokes, a large scale study of standup comedians will show almost all immensely famous and high impacting performers come out of the population of comedians staying strictly on one side of the line.

You might be wondering-- if you're not concerned with being a stage performing standup comedian, but are just delivering the occasional roast speech for a private or business events, how do these two schools of standup impact relate to the roast jokes you will be telling. That's a good question. Roast jokes can actually cross over the line between honest opinion and ironic make-believe, although they tend toward the former. The roast form has its own specific situational needs which transcend the rules of a regular standup act, which is persona-based over the long haul, while a roast is much more material-based covering what is usually a concentrated burst of jokes lasting 10 minutes or less. Whichever comedic activity you may be up to in the near (or far) future, you can always consider hiring a professional comedy writer to help get you on your feet and getting laughs right away! A good example of such is Funny Biz Speech Writers- mention the word “Flapjack” to get 10% off on your first order and a complimentary insult.  

How To Instantly Improve A Wedding

Almost everybody loves a good wedding. There's the buffets, the music, the socializing, the open bar. But far too many weddings are not nearly as fun and compelling as they could be. With all the time, money and energy that people spend to throw a wedding, it's an unfortunate lost opportunity. If you ask attendees where the wedding took a turn for the worse, where the level of enjoyment dropped, it's very often during all of the speeches. The overly long, overly serious speeches. The speeches that are dreadfully serious and melancholy. The speeches that attempt to be humorous but fall very far from being that. If the speech givers could only deliver a speech that is really funny- quite often taking the form of a roast of the groom and/or bride- then the audience could have an in incredible time and all would be saved!

A very funny roast speech or general funny speech wins over a wedding crowd instantly. It is specifically about the person (or persons of honor) and is usually delivered by the Best Man, Maid of Honor or even the parents or officiant. The audience feels an inside connection to the material being mentioned. And the punchlines catch everyone off guard and allow everyone to loosen up, get comfortable and just have some old fashioned fun. Humor is the antidote to boredom, anxiety and social awkwardness. A funny personalized wedding speech which includes all sorts of details of the honoree's life- their strengths, weaknesses, their likes and dislikes, their biographical elements and notable anecdotes from their life, makes for one the most purely joyous and unforgettable 7 – 10 mins that a bunch of people at a wedding could ever experience.

If you want your wedding- or the wedding of any friends or family members- to be as good as it can be, to be joyous, light and full of positive energy from beginning to end, think about having the Best Man, Maid of Honor, or parents or whoever else, deliver an hilarious personalized roast speech of the groom, bride, or both. If you are unable to write such a funny wedding speech yourself then hire a professional comedy speech writer who will take the specific inside information from you about the honoree(s) and craft a guaranteed hilarious speech so that your wedding audience can experience the greatest gift of all. No, I don't mean the refrigerator magnet or hand crafted soap in the little bags everyone gets to take home- I mean the gift of uproarious, no holds barred laughter. And to get the experience you'll never forget contact Funny Biz Speech Writers at inquiry@thefunnybiz.biz.

How to Deliver a Great Funny Speech

Whatever the contents of the funny speech you are delivering, or the nature of the event in which you are delivering it, there are simple tips and tricks for the delivery- which is everything about the performance of the words separate from the written words themselves.

Whether you have written a funny speech yourself, or have used a professional funny speech writer, or comedy writer, whether it's for a wedding, anniversary, birthday or business event, or even a public or political function, with a little guidance regarding delivery, you can seriously up your speech-giving game, and powerful audience response will be the proof.

First of all, read through the speech text a few times. Start off reading it silently to yourself even, if you like. Then start reading it out loud, alone somewhere-- it could be an empty room, the backyard, a secluded sidewalk, on a hiking trail, it doesn't matter. Just become familiar with the words and rhythms of the text. Note the feel of the different parts- where is it dead serious setup, where are the lists of items, where are punchlines, where are the harsh roast jokes?

Sit down with a pen or pencil and underline sentences of note, words that you need to hit harder, or “bold underline” with your voice, as it were. Use arrows and side notes if need be to add sidebars or extra needed words, note specific emphasis you want to add with your voice. It could be an increase in volume, an uplift in your tone, a character voice, a snide panache. You may want to note (even if in your head) physical gestures, hand or body moves, You might make use of facial expressions that go with a certain line or word.

Study great comedic deliverers on YouTube or other platforms, just audio can help but video is preferable. For the basic building blocks of comedic delivery, start with comedians. For a dry, wry approach, watch some Steve Colbert, Ellen Degeneres, or David Letterman. For something with medium energy and animated style, look at Ricky Gervais, Jim Gaffigan or Jerry Seinfeld. For something even “bigger” and more energetic watch Louie CK, Bill Burr or Chris Rock. Think, compare, analyze and ask people you know- which style best suits you?

Now find and watch some great funny speeches on YouTube- whether they're professional speakers or just a guy delivering a fantastic wedding speech. Let it sink in, absorb the rhythms, attitude and emphasis of what parts that work incredibly well. Apply the template of what you have learned and absorbed from other effective speech delivery situations to the speech you have to give.

Practice it out loud using this new template of attitude, emphasis and timing, along with gestures and physicality, to take control and gain mastery over your own speech.

In general, timing requires an understanding and application of which words are much more important than other words, usually meaning that they deliver an unexpected twist, a left turn, what we call a punchline. You can and should hit punchlines hard.

Good timing also involves understanding when you can speed up slightly during certain lines or sentences- usually when you have to cram a relatively longer passage of “setup”, or dry straight information leading up to a funny payoff.

The last specific delivery tip I'll give is convincing yourself before you start performing your speech that you are by far the most important thing these people will be hearing all day or night. You need to carve out space for each single word you are saying, to a subtle extent. You never need to uncomfortably rush or cram words in as if apologizing for having to say them. If you slow it down a little bit and enunciate each word as if it carries essential weight, the audience will believe it. When you lead, they will follow. Say every word clearly and add a touch of drama to the performance. The hilarity will come in the words, the jokes. They will hit even harder when you act as if you're delivering the Declaration of Independence. Remember, this is a performance. Give yourself the permission to perform. And don't worry, you'll do GREAT!

If you want to guarantee that you have fantastic funny words to say with your new found speech delivery skills, hire a professional comedy speech writer like Adam (Me!) at Funny Biz Writers.     

Funny Biz Speech Writers - What Have We Been Up To?

Hi! This is Adam here at Funny Biz Speech Writers. We've had an exciting couple of months. Why? Glad you asked. Mostly because we've had some fun and interesting clients come through our doors. They're virtual, electronic doors, but nonetheless, if we did have real tangible doors that people could walk through they would be made of heavy, old stained oak, hundreds of years old, twelve feet high and inlaid with ornate woodwork and complemented by the finest brass knobs. Okay enough daydreaming about my Victorian mansion where I will someday retire to smoke my pipe in the Drawing Room. Or draw pictures in the Smoking Room. Gee, I guess being wealthy and respectable has its dilemmas.

We had a great prior client return for a similar type of situation as before- a very high profile political roast. This client, a top political operative in Georgia, was part of a roast of one of the most famous US Representatives (Congressman, if you will. And you should) in the past half century. He is also known as a living saint in some circles and as a man made out of integrity (with a pinch of humility and a dash of righteous indignation). Roasting him was likened to roasting Gandhi. I just admit, sitting down to write roast jokes- which by their nature have to have a "victim," must "take down a peg" the receiver of said joke- of a man who was known for selfless public service and putting himself literally on the line, in harm's way, to advance his moral principles, was a really tall order. 

I researched and thought about it and researched some more, and finally some good ideas came to me.Aspects of this man that were distinct enough to analyze and pick apart, but not the type of subject matter lending itself to inappropriately mean, vicious or risque. Once I'd cracked the right subject matter to exploit for comedy - based on info given to be my client, as well as various online searches I did- I started to feel it come together as the quality of roast that I'm proud to turn in to my clients and have performed in a room full of influential, high-powered people.

The client loved what I wrote and told me that an ex-Mayor of Atlanta may be contacting me because they Mayor themself also had to roast this acclaimed Congressman and felt like they were coming up a bit short in the comedy writing department. I got in touch with the Mayor, was sent a bunch of their ideas and angles on materials with which to roast the Honoree and I was off to the races. Once again there were some puzzles to solve, some needles to thread. But the work was done, and I managed to figure it out write a whole bunch of zingers that I felt proud of, staying true to the man's biography and inherent qualities. After their big event  was told that both my original client and the ex-Mayor smashed it, got great response and had a blast delivering their roasts. Those are the kinds of client situations that make me feel extra happy with the line of work that I do. Nothing beats joy and laughter and I give that to people to shower on unsuspecting audiences.

I'll be writing more blog posts about other interesting, very gratifying client speech writing situations I've had, but that covers this installment. I have to go feed the cat, walk the dog, re-arrange my pens, ruffle the printer paper, wash the dishes, scrape the dust off the carpet with my shoe, fluff up the pillows and put my wife's toothbrush in the toothbrush holder. She leaves it out, just lying there on the sink. It drives me crazy. But she's great in so many other ways, I let the toothbrush thing slide. And just put it back in the holder every time I see it. And then she takes it out. And I put it back. And so on and so on.... And neither of us EVER mentions it. And maybe I've just described a working marriage. Got a funny speech or other kind of comedy writing need? Gimme a shout. If you leave your toothbrush lying on the sink, I don't wanna hear about it.   

 

How To Write Funny - A Basic Lesson in Joke Science

While comedy writers work for years to develop their craft, often sharpening their skills and learning from trial and error by writing and submitting scripts and jokes, or performing material on comedy club stages, there are a few basic "tricks" of the trade so to speak, or methods, that almost anyone can apply to add humor to their written materials.

Believe it or not, comedy writing, or "humor writing" as it's often called (when they want your expectations lowered), while demanding a subtle and inexact source of inspiration and instinctive feel, still uses a set of technical templates which you can learn fairly easily. In other words there is some underlying "science" to joke writing, besides the more mysterious "art" elements that gets added in with great comedic minds. 

I will label, define and show examples of the various types of jokes commonly found in comedic materials and presentations.

EXAGGERATION

To exaggerate means to stretch, enlarge, or multiply something by a big enough factor that the effect becomes humorous by appealing to our sense of the ridiculous. We use metaphorical exaggeration all time in regular, idiomatic speech even when the desired effect is not laughs but to convey an extreme sense of something. For instance: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," "We walked like a million miles," "I swear I'm going to kill you." Similarly, if you're writing a funny speech about some people you know, you could use these lines, based on qualities of theirs you want to really spotlight: "I don't want to say Robert's a fashion hound but he has 18,000 pairs of shoes and a tailor living in his garage."  "Natalie is such a sports nut she bought season tickets to stickball." A lot of jokes are just blowing up an actual reality way out of proportion. 

REFERENCES

Comedy writing is full of references.No one is expected to know everything about everything, but if you're going to write comedy you need to have a brain that absorbs at least a fair amount of data floating around out there- pop culture, science, technology, politics, geography, history, current events (old ones are good too!), food, consumer products and so on. We call these mentions of specific things "references". A lot of good comedy writing involves well chosen and placed references. 

Specificity can be magic, too. For instance, compare "The guy walks into the Kalamazoo Elks Lodge with a bottle of wine," and "The guy walks into the Kalamazoo Elks Lodge with a bottle of '83 Chateau Bouef LaGeau." I didn't even look up a real wine name- I invented that! Real, researched references are great, and had it been an automobile make or a kind of large screen TV, real is important. But your average person doesn't know all the fancy wines out there, so my made up one works fine, cause it sounds kinda silly and pretentious, yet believable. 

A significant component of comedy, believe it or not, is the research component. The majority of the words may be very non-technical thoughts, feelings and concepts you have the words for already, but just the "right" reference often makes the difference between a joke getting silence, doing okay or smashing with the audience.

References themselves aren't really a method of joke-writing, but they are a component of many of the specific methods we use, that's why I figured they deserved their own bold heading!

COMPARISON

Just comparing a person or thing to another person or thing can be very funny, although we almost always add a twist to the comparison. For instance we could write: "Kevin is like a frat-bro Orson Welles," or "Sheila reminds me of Oprah, minus 3 billion dollars, 100 lbs, and any good ideas." 

Before getting to those those punch lines you would have set up ways in which Kevin and Sheila, respectively, do have something in common with Orson Welles and Oprah. Maybe it's looks, or career aspirations, or background. The twist adds the zing, the playful insult that makes for good roast jokes. 

COMPLEX COMPARISON
    
There's another kind of comparison joke wherein you say that X makes Y look like Z. Just by simply taking the object of your comedic aim, and setting up an algebra equation, the other side of which contains 2 famous names, you can get big laughs.

For instance: "Darryl parties so much he makes Charlie Sheen look like the Dalai Lama." Or "Jenny drives so fast she makes Danica Patrick look like Queen Elizabeth." Okay, Queen Elizabeth hasn't driven herself in a car in quite a while, I'm pretty sure, but I think it's safe to assume that if Her Majesty did get behind the wheel of a Jaguar or Mini, she'd keep it very safe and sensible and on the motorway. 

COMBINATION / HYBRIDS

This is a different from comparisons, although it might seem somewhat similar at first glance. The combination/hybrid joke does not rely upon famous references, it's more about general styles and labels, but you take one known style and then add a twist onto it. For instance: "Matt's a Southerner at heart despite living in NYC. He still loves barbecue. Now he just eats it with truffle oil, mango chutney and a kale-walnut reduction."Maria was in the Marine Corps, now she's a clothing store manager. It's not all that different. Push-up was a type of punishment. Now it's a bra."

DECOY & SILLY ENDING  

This method really goes back to the root of a lot of comedy writing which is a set up which follows a straight, sensible path, and an ending which is absurd and silly (and unexpected) but which probably reveals some kind of truth about the situation nonetheless.

Examples of the decoy with silly ending are: "Denny attended Stanford undergrad after doing diligent research and finding out they have the best lawn croquet." Or: "Sylvia loves getting meeting her girlfriends for lunch in Brentwood, and her favorite part is punching the meter maid in the nose."

IN CONCLUSION

In summary, with these aforementioned tools you can start to do some effective and funny comedic writing, whether it be funny speech writing or just writing jokes. Of course, the more work and practice you put in, the stronger and more effective will be your output. It is also advised, if you want to have superior comedy writing product right away, and leave it up to someone of proven superior ability and results, hire a professional comedy writer, whether your need be for a private event, public happening or corporate function. Funny Biz Speech Writers are one of the best.  

    



    

Another Wedding Speech Client - Another SMASH - Video Excerpt!

Funny Biz Speech Writers gets wedding-related clients all the time. We love custom writing funny, totally personalized speeches for Best Mans and Maids of Honor, or whoever else wants to be really personal, entertaining and hilarious when speaking at a wedding. 

Here is an excerpt from a recent client speech, a Best Man who wanted to roast his brother, the groom, at their wedding in Florida. Like just about all of our custom written funny speeches, it smashed with the audience from start to finish. Enjoy the clip and think of the possibilities for your own event, or wherever you have to speak publicly.

    

The Ordinary MD Becomes a Doctor of Comedy!!

One of our clients was a radiologist at a major Los Angeles hospital. Actually, he still is. His brother the incredibly successful finance guy was getting married in the West Indies and our client needed to look great and deliver a knockout funny roast speech so that the whole family would realize once and for all that he- the DOCTOR- was up to this family's incredibly high, competitive standards for excellence. (I mean, he's an MD, that's a formidable accomplishment in my book). This guy is smart- an actual medical doctor. He hired a real comedy writer- a proven professional, a specialist- the same way that I'd go see a radiologist if I needed my radio fixed.

We at Funny Biz Speech Writers knew what our mission was, should we accept- and we ALWAYS accept... I mean, assuming our client can actually PAY- and we buckled down and wrote this guy some scalpel-sharp, defibrillator-bracing jokes about his brilliant, successful brother, and the results at that fancy wedding reception were.... well, don't take MY word for it. Watch this video clip taken by a friend at the wedding. Yeah, the video quality is crummy and amateur. It's probably cell phone. But what matters is the response this guy gets. When you hire the best funny speech and roast writers around, doesn't matter if you're a tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor or even a radiologist (P.S. what's a tinker? What do they even do?), the results are astronomically good. Oh, and how was this radiologist's personality? Positively glowing. (That's a little physics joke). Alright, I'll shut up. You watch the video.   

Happy, Funny New Year! Resolve to Have Laughter & Joy!

Greetings and Happy New Year to you!

This year, how about keep it simple and resolve to have more joy, laughter and happiness in our life?

It's not that hard if you really want to- just intersperse these qualities into your everyday life, your interactions with people, your personal dealings and your work life.

One way to achieve this lighter, happier, more fun you is to integrate humor into you writing and speaking. You may not be a professional comedy writer or humor writer but you can still enjoy the benefits of humor in your letters, presentations, speeches, lectures, talks and other situations in which you have to deliver material to an audience. Hire a proven, highly effective comedy writer, or humor writer to assist you with funny material for your written or spoken content.

Those who have used a high quality comedy speech writer for their events- whether business or personal- have been extremely satisfied and pleasantly surprised as the beneficial effects have exceeded even their wildest expectations. The audience thrilled at their words and excitedly anticipated what was to come. They remembered the important message and left with a feeling of ultimate enjoyment and entertainment. They felt great about the deliverer of the message and were much more open and receptive to the message itself. 

Use the power of humor. Be the hero. Win the day and spread the joy!

Funny Biz Speech Writers