The Art of Telling a JOKE                     

A good story can help get your message across and keep your audience interested and amused. People enjoy a little nonsense now and then.

          Humour depends on life experiences and these can vary greatly between countries and different social groups within a country.

          The essence of humour is that it should contain an element of surprise.

          You should enjoy the story or joke yourself if you want to tell it well.

Five of the best tips on how to prepare to tell a  joke

*  Select your jokes carefully

          Consider the background and experience of the audience.

          Take care not to offend. Sexist and off-colour jokes could upset some people so select jokes that are suitable for the audience and relevant to the occasion.

          Before telling a joke in a foreign country test it out first on a local assistant to see if it will be understood and not offend. Ask for honest feedback.

* Make a collection of good stories and jokes

          When you hear a suitable joke or story, jot it down in a notebook or make a digital note for future reference.  It will be readily available for an appropriate occasion.

* Make it your story

          Rewrite it. Put yourself into the story.

Make it topical, use local names and places. Revise it. Edit it. Rehearse it.

          Act it out using facial expressions and gestures in front of a mirror. 

* Practise telling it to friends and colleagues

          Keep telling it until you get a good laugh every time.

          If there is a punch-line, pause, then make sure you deliver it loud and clearly.

* Build your own joke library

          File these jokes so you can use them with relevant topical references at the next appropriate occasion.

          Collect, revise, test, rehearse and practise are the golden rules for good storytellers. 

–Geoffrey Moss

(mossassociates.co.nz)

“If you aspire to be a leader learning to use humour will be a sound investment if you can tell a story well.”

Source: “Persuasive Ways. ‘Tricks of the trade’ to get your ideas across”. First published by  Moss Associates Ltd., New Zealand and in Chinese by the Shanghai People’s Publishing House, the Singapore Institute of Management, Kogan Page Ltd, U.K and in Hungarian by Bagolyvar Konyvkiado.  Also published as the “Secrets of Persuasion” by Cengage Learning Asia and as an e-book and sold by Amazon.com.