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Not everyone is born with magic powers to make people laugh. Some are better in the comedy department, some are way worse, others are just simply not that lucky with an audience. But it turns out, there are a couple of secrets to telling a good joke and it’s not rocket science.
According to Stephen Rosenfield, the author of “Mastering Stand-Up,” the biggest key to telling a joke is to get your words right and not forget the key info. “There is the setup to a joke, and that’s everything leading up to the punch line that gets the laugh.”
The setup to the joke is where all the crucial information lies and if you leave it out, your audience won’t get the joke. “You can color them a little bit yourself, but you have to make sure that you’re not leaving out something crucial in the setup,” explains Stephen.
Meanwhile, New York stand-up comedian Becky Veduccio suggests bringing a personal feel to your joke. “Talk about what matters to you. Talk about what is true to your life. If you don’t care about what you are talking about, why should the audience?”
Most importantly, stay confident in whatever it is you’re telling. If you don’t believe your joke is good, nobody is going to either. Simultaneously, make sure you have a plan B if the joke is not received, and it does happen more often than we think. After all, it’s all about the storytelling and the presence of the storyteller, and the jokes themselves come in later.
