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I ran across a quote recently. It struck home so I’d like to share it with you.

“Profanity is a great shortcut of comedy and the reason I don’t use it is that I am concerned about the joke quality suffering.” – Jerry Seinfeld

If you’re wondering where this is from, I found it on an audio interview. You can purchase it here from amazon.

It took me about 500 words to say the same thing in a previous blog post. Thanks, Jerry.

There are a number of reasons of course… We don’t want to embarrass our clients and we feel magic should always be family friendly.

I was asked this recently. I hadn’t really thought about it too much so I was really caught off guard! I can honestly say that its never crossed my mind to use vulgarity in a show. I just never thought it was necessary! I was surprised when I didn’t have a good response to the question though…

Since that time I’ve put a lot of thought into it. I’d like to share those insights with you now.

First, let’s examine why obscene and sexual content “works” in the first place. To understand this we have to go back to the two pillars of comedy that I covered in previous posts. Surprise and superiority.

In our culture certain words still have a certain amount of taboo to them. They can’t be said on Network TV, kids get in trouble if they say them at school, and most of us would get fired if we said them at work!

Consequently those words hold a certain amount of shock value. They naturally lend themselves to surprise.

Likewise most of us wouldn’t openly discuss our most awkward intimate encounters publicly and candidly. The open discussion of these activities also surprises people. If the audience feels comfortable then you’ve completed the formula I mentioned earlier (Surprise + Security = Laughter).

In addition jokes regarding sexuality also lend themselves to making other people feel superior! After all, they wouldn’t ever ADMIT to anything that awkward!

So as an entertainer I have to ask myself the following questions:

1.) Can I surprise people without using blue material?
(Yes!)

2.) Can I make the audience feel superior without using blue material?
(Yes!)

So why don’t we use vulgar material? Frankly, it’s because we don’t need to!

In fact I firmly believe that vulgar and off color material is a lazy way of being funny! If you truly understand comedy and why people laugh you should never need to resort to it! Blue material runs the strong risk of offending people… Why take the risk when it’s not necessary?

This concludes our series on why stuff if funny. Hopefully I’ve given you just enough knowledge to make you funnier without ruining the joy of comedy for you! If you have any questions or comments I’d love to hear them! Feel free to contact me any time by emailing me! [Contact@ShizzleDizzleMagic.com]

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BONUS INSIGHT!

I would argue that the best comedian of the last century was Johnny Carson. He was able to keep America laughing without ever resorting to blue material! If Johnny can do it, we can too!

Last time I promised you a super cool super secret way of phrasing any joke that increases its chances of success by a billion percent! I’m a man of my word, so I’m bringing it to you today!

The number three is a strange, powerful, and important number. I’m purposefully leaving all Douglas Adams jokes at the door. If the answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything were truly a number it would be the number three.

• Three has religious significance in western culture with the Holy Trinity. (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit). Also note the THREE Wise Men and the THREE Hebrew forefathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

• Three has musical significance. The triad is one of the fundamental building blocks of music theory.

• Three is one of the cornerstones of geometry. Specifically the Pythagorean Theorem which has special significance to the world of artwork and architecture.

• Our government is “Of the people, By the people, For the people”.

• A Haiku has THREE lines.

• Goldilocks and the THREE bears.

• The THREE little pigs.

• The THREE Musketeers.

• The THREE Stooges.

• Three is the smallest number of people you gather and have an outsider.

Trust me, when you start looking for it you’ll start seeing three’s everywhere. The world of comedy is no different. Three is a golden number here as well.

Think about it… How many jokes are there about a Priest, a Minister, and a Rabbi?

Perhaps the best modern day illustration of the power of three in comedy is the Blue Man Group. The best way to watch Blue Man is in one of their smaller theaters (like New York or Chicago). When you watch them in an arena you lose the intimacy that makes their material work.

There are three characters in the show. The entire show is built around the power of three. The absolute best example of this is the “Captain Crunch Skit”. Watch the first couple minutes of this YouTube video.

Notice that they take turns being the outsider. At first it’s the Blue Man on the left because his face is covered with cereal. Later it’s the Blue Man on the right because of his oversized box. The final laugh comes from the surprise (!) when he chooses to conform.

So how can you apply this?

Whenever you are writing a joke about a group of people, always make sure there are three of them. When you make a list, always make the third item is the punch line. Whenever possible, phrase your joke using the power of three and you’re almost guaranteed success!

We’re almost done with this series on why stuff is funny, but there’s one more post left! Be sure to check in next time when we’ll be talking about foul language, vulgarity, and the infamous three letter “S” word that ends in “X”!

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BONUS INSIGHT!

I re-watched Napoleon Dynamite last night and noticed that it makes good use of the power of three! Most notably in one of the opening scenes. We see…

A.) A group of boys playing basketball. The camera then pans to…

B.) A group of girls halfheartedly playing basketball. The camera then pans again to…

C.) Napoleon awkwardly pounding a tetherball!

1 – 2 – 3! Seriously… It’s everywhere and it works. Design your humor with three in mind!

Over the last couple of posts I’ve been tantalizing you with a PROVEN way to recover from any bombed joke! This will seem obvious once I explain it, but it’s a trick that the professionals use all the time.

Are you ready? Here it is.

If you tell a joke and it falls flat, immediately make a joke about telling a joke that bombed and went flat.

I’m serious.

In fact, the more you can point a finger at your own awkwardness and laugh at it, the better. I GUARANTEE you that people will laugh! Why? This tactic is right out of the playbook from the principle of superiority! Others will laugh because it wasn’t THEM who made the joke that fell apart.

It doesn’t matter why they’re laughing. The point is you got them there. All they’ll remember ten minutes later is that you were really funny!

I’ve seen Jay Leno do this. Conan O’Brien often plowed through entire monologues doing this. Jimmy Fallon goes so far as to hand out the cue cards to his audience when the joke fails! Why? It works.

With that said there are a few rules you need to keep in mind when resorting to this.

1.) Never, EVER, *EVER* blame your audience (no matter how big or small) when a joke fails.

I’ve seen a multitude of magicians do this and it makes my teeth grind. “Wow! You guys must be asleep!î No dude, you’re just not funny! Beyond being rude, blaming your audience breaks the principle of superiority. Remember, to keep them laughing they have to feel superior to you. When you blame them they feel inferior! Not a good situation and it’s a good way to lose goodwill.

2.) If the joke failed because you offended someone immediately shut up, get serious, and start apologizing!

We’ve NEVER had this happen during a show because we script everything out carefully in advance. In general you can avoid this simply by thinking before you speak. Occasionally though on a personal level it can happen. Let’s say you make a joke about relationships and one of your friends is going through a nasty divorce. DON’T tell them they’re taking it too personally. Grow up, accept responsibility, and apologize for the insensitivity. The worst thing you can do in this situation is continue trying to be funny.

3.) Don’t overuse jokes about bombing or else it will start to look pathetic.

Joking about a bombed joke is a surefire laugh. So much so that I’ve seen people use them even when they don’t really need them! Don’t fall into that trap. Think of them as “Get out of Jail Free” cards in Monopoly. You can only use them so many times before your audience starts to lose patience. Keep a couple of them in your pocket, use ‘em when you need ‘em, and then work like heck to not get in that position again!

So there ya’ have it! This little tool is a fantastic confidence builder when you’re just starting out. It’s almost like a guarantee that you won’t fail! If you’re not used to being funny it can feel awkward at first. Knowing this trick should give you the confidence you need to get out there and show the world how funny you really are!

I’ve got another “Golden Rule” up my sleeve that I’m going to share with you next time. It’s a simple way of phrasing any joke that’s almost guaranteed to get you a laugh!

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BONUS INSIGHT

I once saw a Miss America pageant where, to mix things up, they had a quiz show competition for the contestants. At one point the host mispronounced Rudy Giuliani’s name. He immediately stopped, paused for a second, and said “I’m an idiot!”. The entire audience broke out laughing. He then pronounced Rudy’s name correctly and continued on.

My point is that a huge scandal was averted because the host understood this technique and used if effectively. Want proof? I tried searching Google to look up the incident and found nothing. If Google doesn’t remember, nobody else does either.

There are two pillars that support the house of comedy, surprise and superiority. We discussed surprise last time. Let’s move on to superiority today!

Welcome to the darker side of humanity. The truth is that everyone wants to feel superior to someone or something else. We laugh at other people because it makes us feel better about ourselves. Everyone, without exception, does this.

Yes, I’m saying that human beings have a natural bend towards cruelty. I’m not condoning it. I’m just saying that it’s real. I understand better than most. I used to weigh 400lbs. I know a thing or two about cheap laughs made at my expense!

When your cat is batting a piece of lint and accidentally falls off the couch, you laugh!

Why? Well we mask it and say “That’s so cute!” but in reality we’re laughing because we feel superior to the cat! After all, WE certainly wouldn’t fall off the couch because WE were overly excited about lint!

Yes, I know how stupid that sounds. I promise you it’s true. Another example of this is how we laugh at celebrities and politicians! We find ways to laugh at powerful people because it brings them down to our level…

Obama has big ears. Bush can’t speak. Clinton… Where do I begin?

For a while Britney Spears jokes were in vogue. Why? Put simply laughing at her monumentally messed up life made us feel better about our own.

Like I said. I’m not saying it’s right. I’m saying it’s true.

The thing is as a comedian it’s possible to use superiority without hurting anyone. Used ethically and in small doses there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it!

How do you accomplish this? You make fun of yourself.

• It’s cool to make a fat joke, but only if you’re fat!

• It’s cool to make jokes about an ethnic group, but only if you’re part of it.

• It’s cool to make jokes about your marriage if you make it clear that you really do love and value your spouse.

You can get a laugh by making fun of other people but it’s unethical. As someone who’s spent a lifetime being the brunt of other people’s jokes I can’t condone it. As a professional entertainer it’s just not worth the risk. The last thing you want is your audience turning against you.

That brings me to my final point… Let’s say that you make a joke that absolutely doesn’t work. Instead of roaring laughter you’re met with an awkward silence. Provided you weren’t offensive there’s a no-fail way to save the situation using the principle of superiority!

… But for that you’ll have to wait until the next post!

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BONUS INSIGHT!

The best example of well handled superiority is “The Big Bang Theory”. Each character on that show has obvious shortcomings and they don’t hesitate to point them out to each other. It works because in almost every case it’s a nerd making fun of another nerd! Pay special attention to Dr. Sheldon Cooper. We laugh with superiority at his social ineptitude, but his disregard for the needs and feelings of others keeps us from feeling sorry for him!

What if I told you that there was a magic formula you could use to make humor happen?

All comedy is a result of one of the following:

A.) Surprise
B.) Superiority

Today we’re discussing surprise. We’ll deal with superiority later.

Surprise is a crucial tool in a comedian’s arsenal. Without surprise it’s extremely difficult to create laughter. The reason a joke isn’t as funny the second time you hear it is because the element of surprise is gone!

“Knock-Knock” jokes are the easiest to dissect because of their simplicity. Let’s look at the following example:

Knock Knock
Who’s there?
Anna!
Anna who?
Anna one, anna two…!

The form of a knock-knock joke has been well established by eight year olds the world over. The final line always concludes the joke with a “surprise”. In this case it’s the twist on a common girl’s name.

If you’re thinking “Duh!” then you’re correct! The thing most people miss though is that more sophisticated humor still relies on that same element of surprise. The better a comedian is at surprising the audience, the funnier they are!

I’m sure you’ve heard of “comedic timing”. It’s just a fancy way of saying the comedian phrases their joke in the most surprising way possible!

A word of warning. Surprise is a dangerous tool to work with. It must always be coupled with security to be successful.

That brings us to the formula I promised earlier:

Surprise + Security = Laughter

It’s important to understand this because surprise by itself isn’t funny. Being called into a room and told you’re losing your job is a surprise, but it isn’t funny! That’s because the element of security is gone.

To put it differently, for people to laugh they have to feel that they aren’t in physical or emotional danger. An offensive or inappropriate joke is certainly surprising, but it isn’t funny because you’ve removed the audience’s feeling of security.

That’s not to say the feeling of security can’t be manipulated for comedic effect. The best example of this is the MTV show “Punk’d”.

If you haven’t seen it, they play practical jokes on celebrities. Throughout the show they slowly build up a “crisis”. In essence they’re creating an elaborate surprise.

There’s one phrase in every show that makes the entire premise work… “You just got Punk’d!” With that simple line they restore security and everyone has the laugh of a lifetime.

It’s the same surprise we saw in the knock-knock joke, just funnier because it was more elaborate…

So how can you use this? The simplest way to start is to take everyday situations and try to put a creative spin on them! Try to find something unusual about the mundane. Make an unlikely comparison. Question what’s commonly accepted. Put the world under a microscope!

Whatever you do… Don’t be afraid to be silly! Even the professionals have jokes that fall flat. Besides, I have a foolproof way of saving yourself after any dud! For that though, you’ll have to stay tuned to the next few posts!

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BONUS INSIGHT:

Have you ever watched a horror movie in a theater? You’ve probably encountered a bizarre phenomenon. Something surprising will happen and a character will meet a gruesome fate. Suddenly the entire theater breaks out laughing! Are they all sadists who delight in cruelty? Possibly, but remember that the theater is a safe environment! They’ve got a comfortable seat and big tub of popcorn. So we’ve got a surprise and feelings of safety. Laughter is the natural outcome!

We love comedy. Not only is it important to our acts, but it’s part of our core business philosophy! The very name of our business makes people smile, which is of course what we’re going for!

Let’s face it; all of us have times where we NEED to be funny. Whether you’re preparing a presentation or just need to diffuse a tense situation having a good sense of humor is important!

The question is how? Not everyone is “born funny”. Most of us tend to think that humor is a “gift”. Kind of like being blessed with a good singing voice or a high IQ.

I have good news. Humor is a skill you can learn.

To most people this comes as a surprise. They tend to think that comedy writers joke around all day and just write down the good stuff! There’s some truth to that, but a professional entertainer has to take it to the next level.

It’s one thing to be funny around the dinner table or with a few friends. It’s quite another when your rent money depends on it. Too make things even more difficult we add the complexity of arts like magic and storytelling. It’s enough to make any professional entertainer sweat!

We get sick, we have bad days, and our cat’s vomit on the carpet. We have to work when we don’t feel like it just like everyone else!

In other words, we have to be funny even when we don’t “feel” like being funny!

That’s where understanding the science of humor comes in to play. Just like going to the gym every day will make you healthier, knowing the science of humor will make you funnier!

I should warn you though… If you study it long enough you’ll never look at comedy the same way again. When everyone else is laughing in the movie theater you’ll be analyzing the structure of the joke!

Over the next few posts we’ll be looking at why we laugh, the basic structure of humor, and the way we’ve applied those principles to our own performances!

These posts aren’t intended to provide you with a comprehensive comedy education. Entire books have been written on this subject. My goal here is to give you a few basic principles so that next time you “need” to be funny under pressure, you’re prepared!