How to be funny – Using suspense is KEY

January 28, 2012 · Print This Article

This new category will be updated regularly to share ways in which you can be funny in your daily interactions with others…

We have used the buddy hackett jokes video below on a few pages within our site, but that is because such a simple video offers so much value in teaching us how to be funny.

While this clip might be considered a bit risqué because of its content and the reference to penis, you will be hard pressed to find a more perfectly orchestrated funny joke. Buddy Hackett is a scream in this and it is a perfect example of how to tell jokes.

He builds the story from the ground up giving just enough background to set the scene. Then, with his pauses, his glances and his facial expressions during the pauses, he puuulllls the audience along – not knowing what to expect next.

SUSPENSE IS KEY (today, try to find a joke and build on the suspense with your audience)

Without giving away the joke, you will notice in the clip that he gives three punch lines throughout – starting with
– what he says is the girlfriend’s first reaction;
– then the mother’s reaction;
– and then the twist (the unexpected) at the end – the ‘badaboom’.

Check it out once more…