Monday, January 18, 2010

Using Humor

Using Humor

Link to Using Humor

Mining Your Past by Noting the Present

Posted: 18 Jan 2010 10:02 AM PST

HUNTINGTON, UT - AUGUST 14: In this handout p...
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The safest target for humor is always yourself, and the best material reflects your personality.

So it’s time to start digging.

I have not had much success just sitting down and looking in my past for funny stuff. I have however, nearly always been able to come up with pertinent examples of past behavior when faced with a new humorous situation.

You can’t use what you don’t remember, so today start remembering.

Write it down.

It it’s funny, write it down.

If it strikes you as odd, write it down.

If it doesn’t make sense, write it down.

All of these notes become a foundation for future material. The idea that a major comic just riffs on their childhood is crazy. A good routine, with an absolutely natural delivery, that sounds like it’s the first time it came to mind, may take months to put together.

So start a journal, or notes on your iPhone, Blackberry, or computer. As you note present day events and thoughts, related thoughts will start to appear. Maybe not right away, maybe not for every item, and not all the time, but the thoughts will come.

So write them down.

We’ll cover what to do with all this stuff in a later post.

Meanwhile, comments are open, and if you want a unique speaker or MC for your next event… contact me! There are still good dates open for 2010. (2011 is still pretty much wide-open too. And 2012 may mark the end of the world, but I can still take your deposit.)

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