Stories are one of the most powerful tools we have. They make us laugh, they make us cry, and they give us hope.
On this Golden Nugget of The ROI Online Podcast Michael Hauge tells us the secret to writing a funny story that is actually funny.
When you want to tell a funny story, it might seem like there is only one way to do it: by telling a funny story! But there is more than one way to tell a funny story well. There are different types of stories with varied structures that can be used for storytelling purposes; all with their own benefits and drawbacks. In this blog post, we'll discuss how storytelling techniques can help you construct your funny story in such a way as to ensure its success.
Watch now!
Michael shares with us the first rule to telling a good funny story.
I can tell you the first thing not to do. And that is asking, how can I make it funny? Funny more than anything comes from truth. Okay?
So what should one then do with whatever the truth of a situation was? On occasion, you can say something which inflates slightly or surprises people just enough for them to be entertained without being offended by your material (if possible). Humor such as self-deprecating jokes are some of the best because they don't insult anyone's intelligence but rather entertain everyone involved in order to take their minds off any other problems occurring at this moment, if only momentarily.
One tip on how to tell a story is by knowing your audience. Michael tells us how he had just learned this when there was a moment that, if it wasn't rollicking laughter, then what else could it have been? It happened in the middle of a meeting and had an anxiety attack before he arrived.
"I'd reached out for him half an hour early so we would be able to speak face-to-face without any distractions from work or anything like that-- but instead spent fifteen minutes sitting nervously waiting for our call because I couldn't decide whether or not I should take Xanax first (which seemed counterproductive). One of the principles is there's a rule of three, you create, you say two things that are expected and then you do something to turn it. But I had to think, okay, I wanted to convey my nervousness, but how can I convey it in a way that nothing necessarily is exactly true but inflates the idea of my nervousness? But that, but it was just the I mean, everything I said in that except the Xanax was true. I was there half an hour early, and I did have a script, and I did on my notes, and I was nervous as hell. But I thought, well, what can I add to just convey that and because it was sort of, you know, unexpected, that's what I think made it. Whatever humor I got out of that."
A funny story is created when the person telling it embellishes or exaggerates to make people laugh. Sometimes funny stories are based on truth, and sometimes they're entirely made up of nothing but a good imagination.
Stories can be told in many different ways depending on what you want your audience to take away from them. Humor is a powerful tool that can be used to make people laugh and forget about the problems they are facing for at least that one moment in time.
Stories can be told in many different ways depending on what you want your audience to take away from them. Humor is a powerful tool that can be used to make people laugh and forget about the problems they are facing for at least that one moment in time!
