How to Tell Jokes: Top Ten Tips

Jokes are usually short stories or a short series of words spoken or communicated with the intent of being found humorous laughed at by the reader or listener. Most jokes contain two portions: the joke setup and the punch line. There is generally a sense of irony between the joke and the punch line which provides the irony to elicit laughter from an audience. When a joke fails to elicit the intended laughter from an audience a person's delivery of the joke is usually at fault. Telling a joke or humorous story can be intimidating at times. Below I have outlined ten tips to increase the chances of success for your joke. If you follow these tips on how to tell jokes you should have audiences roaring in no time.

1) Create a joke or story pool: This is helpful to have since you never know when a situation might arise that calls for good joke or story. One-liners are the best to have and witty comments can be inserted in a number of situations. Start your joke pool.

2) Understand your audience: The jokes you tell to your friends will be different from the ones you tell at your corporate office. (or they should be)

3) Consider the time of day: Refrain from telling jokes in the mornings. People are not conditioned to laugh a lot in the early mornings. Many might not even be completely awake.

4) Avoid sexist, racist or ethnic, and religious humor: This could offend individuals or provoke your audience. It can also destroy your credibility. Plus, it's just not funny!

5) Make eye contact with your listeners: This keeps them engaged and feeling involved in the speech, joke, or story.

6) Smile throughout your presentation: Smiling is infectious and will encourage others to break a smile and laugh.

7) Be energetic and upbeat as you are telling the joke or story: This will make your stories or jokes more interesting and captivate your audience

8) Don't laugh before the punch line! This wrecks your timing and ruins everything!

9) Keep track of your timing and make sure everything flows: Also keep jokes and stories short with a three minute maximum.

10) Don't worry about messing up: Not every joke you tell will always elicit laughter. Just laugh it off or simply ignore the lack of response. Whatever you do don't keep telling jokes trying to get your audience to laugh. This comes off as desperate and pathetic.

Now that I have given you ten tips about how to tell jokes get out there and find an audience!

About the Author

The majority of jokes bomb due to delivery. Don't let that happen to you! Visit the best place for more tips on how to tell jokes or stories, and to create your pool of witty one-liners and jokes.

Source: Entertainment Articles on ArticlesTree.com





Recent Entertainment Articles

Agency Sport Theater Ticket - So Easy To Secure Online
When you obtain an agency sport theater ticket, you are sure to spend an evening just like you would have planned it- be it an NBA event or a popular Broadway show. Many people make the mistake of getting tickets from unauthorized persons that they come across online or find hanging around near the venue of the event.

Luxury Movie Theaters Come to America
Now you don't have to put up with sticky floors, crappy food, obnoxiously loud thatergoers, large crowds, and broken seats to catch the latest flick. Luxury cinemas are coming, and they seem to be well worth the price of admission.

Why Online Radio Stations Are The Way To Go
There are several ways you can listen to your favorite music without purchasing CD's anymore. Everything from terrestrial radio to the newly hyped satellite radio offers you the best music around. However, if you want to get the widest variety of music, online radio stations are the way to go.

Spurs Tickets - See The Champions Defending Their Title
Spurs tickets are selling like hot cakes this season because the San Antonio Spurs are the current NBA champions; they defeated Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2007 finals. With this win, the Spurs have the highest winning percentage in the NBA history.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue - The Most Accurate Physics Yet Seen In A Racing Simulat...
Racing has always been a strong passion of every guy out there, it even appeals to girls. The need for speed is something all car lovers have, the exhilarating emotion of racing against several competitors to the rhythm of your favorite tune can sure take things to a whole new level.

Grand Theft Auto IV(4) PS3 - Liberty City Has Never Looked So Good
A great social experiment gone wrong, that's how Rockstar describes their PS3 game "Grand Theft Auto 4" This game has evolved from the original PC version over the years and it's now ready to be launched a state of the art product where entire cities are simulated, this game is also available for Xbox 360.

Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots - Technology and Plot Holes?
A battlefield you can find anywhere, anytime / No place to hide - this is how Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (MGS4) is described. Hideo Kojima, Shujo Murata and Yoji Shinkawa are the producers, directors and writers of the game.

Wii Fit will be the best seller of the year
The Wii Fit Balance Board is a clever device that is pressure sensitive and detects shifts in balance in any direction. You put it in front of your TV, step on and use it to interact with the varied activities.

Zune 80GB Reviewed
Zune multimedia players are fast becoming amongst the most popular mobile devices around cornering the market for mobile videos. top of the current range is the Zune 80GB(second generation microsoft mp3 audio and video player).

Outdoor Games Important To Halt Teenage Obesity Disaster
With the unprecedented increase in childhood obesity, it has never been more important to ensure our kids are leading enjoyable, active and wholesome lives. In the past encouraging children was never a difficult task, with limited hours of kid's television, no computer based games and a selection of council maintained parks and playgrounds children would naturally meet with friends and play active and energetic games.

Outdoor Toys Essential To Beat Teenage Obesity Disaster
With health organisations around the globe warning of the looming surge of childhood obesity there has never been a more important time to motivate your children to live wholesome, happy and energetic lives.

Outdoor Toys Help To Beat Childhood Obesity Crisis
With the massive rise of childhood obesity, it has never been more important to make sure our youngsters are living happy, active and wholesome lives. Prior to the creation of specific kid's TV channels, games consoles and the internet kids would naturally want to play outdoors with friends participating in a wide range of energetic games.

Outdoor Toys Important To Beat Childhood Obesity Catastrophe
With the unprecedented increase of childhood obesity, it has never been more essential to make sure your youngsters are living enjoyable, energetic and wholesome lives. Prior to the creation of dedicated kid's TV stations, video games and computers children would naturally want to play outside with friends participating in a wide range of energetic group activities.

Outdoor Toys Important To Stop Childhood Obesity Catastrophe
With health organisations across the globe warning of the potential crisis of child obesity there has never been a better time to motivate your child to follow wholesome, happy and energetic lives. In the past encouraging children was never a complex job, with fixed hours of kid's T.

Outdoor Toys Useful To Halt Child Obesity Epidemic
With the massive increase of childhood obesity, it has never been more essential to make sure our youngsters are living happy, active and healthy lives. Before the creation of dedicated kid's TV channels, video games and the internet children would naturally want to play outdoors with friends participating in a diverse energetic games.