Archive for August, 2006

A pun is a play on words, words that have the same sound but a different meaning. Or a pun may involve different applications of a word.

A nightclub comic will use every wile to capture his audience, even the lowly pun: “Our next number is entitled, ‘Suffering In The Wigwams,’ or ‘Her Torture Was Intense!’ ” and “Or as one strawberry said to the other, ‘If we hadn’t been in the same bed together, we wouldn’t be in this jam now.’” The pun is sometimes referred to as the lowest form of humor. That’s because it traps the listener. To some degree it makes a dupe of him. A pun goes over best if related to the sentence preceding it. Regardless, it takes a very high degree of skill to use a pun effectively. Even the professional comedians often fall flat. Therefore, go easy on the puns.

Be careful of the tendency to associate

A speaker might pop three or four funny stories in a row. This causes the audience to become more and more relaxed. People laugh harder when they’ve been put in a laughing mood. But look out! When you leave the humor, the audience may snicker at something of a serious nature. That’s because they’re in a laughing mood-you’ve put them there. Thus, your transition to something more serious should be clearly understood.

For example, it could be prefaced with something like, “We can laugh all we want to. But seriously, folks . . .” By bringing them back down to earth before getting serious, you avoid the embarrassment of people laughing in the wrong places.

There’s also another tendency to associate. The tendency to associate actions and props with those previously used. For instance, a speaker started his talk, while wearing an old looking hat. He cracked several jokes about it. Then he bridged into his point skillfully. And, as he became serious, he removed the hat. Near the end he donned the hat again. This was a mistake. The audience associated it with the funny stories told earlier. They laughed just as he was restating his point with a plea for action. The result was a poor ending to an otherwise excellent speech.

So be certain that the serious sections of your speech are sufficiently disassociated from the humor. A laugh in the wrong place makes the speaker look weak. Additional tips on humor are contained in the chapter on “How To Emcee A Sales Meeting.” Some vital suggestions can be found there.

How to put humor in a speech?

* How to Tell Stories Effectively
* Use the Four Basic Platforms for Humor
* Have a Double Barrel Appeal
* Where to Find Funny Stories
* How to Relate Humor to the Rest of Your Speech
* Go Easy on the Pun Be Careful of the Tendency to Associate

Keywords: Sales, Marketing, Business, Sales Training

How to find humor for a talk?

Funny stories can be found everywhere. You hear them from friends. You hear them on radio and television programs. You can obtain books that are filled with jokes. You can even originate a funny story or two.*

“My best stories have been those I originated,” declared an advertising executive in Milwaukee. “I think back to some amusing incident in which I was the goat. My next step is to see how very stupid I can make me appear. Then I tell it on myself. It always gets a hoot of glee.” A friend reported, “I was required to mention my wife in one particular speech and to tell of how she had helped me. I was afraid it would sound too lovey dovey.’ So I threw in the following: ‘You can see that ours is a happy marriage. But all marriages are happy, for that matter. It’s the living together afterwards that caused all of our fights!’
“It pleased the audience for me to admit that I’d had a few battles with the wife. Why? Because of man’s inhumanity to man.”
When originating a joke, be sure to decide which of the four reasons the audience will have for laughing. Then make sure that your words and tone make the most of it.

How to relate humor to your other material?

The best humor is that related to the rest of your speech. Related stories are more natural and can help illustrate various parts of your talk.

For instance, a speaker was talking on the need for consumer acceptance of his product. He told this related story . . . The sales manager for a dog food concern was holding a sales meeting. He started in an enthusiastic manner by yelling at his men, “Who’s got the best dog food in the world?” The men yelled back in unison, “We have/”
“Who’s got the best advertising and sales promotion program for this dog food?” The same answer was shouted back “We have/”
“And who’s got the best sales force to sell this dog food?” Again it came back “We have/”
Whereupon, the sales manager said, “Let’s face it men. If all this is true, why aren’t we selling more dog food?”
* A good source book is New Treasury of Stories for Every Speaking and Writing Occasion, by Jacob M. Brande. (Englewood-Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1959).

A little fellow in the back row said, “I know why. It’s simple- the darned dogs don’t like it!”
Did he illustrate his point regarding the need for customer acceptance? You bet he did!

To relate humor to a speech, first prepare the speech. Don’t build a talk around some jokes. Develop the speech, and then work in the humor. Consider the point of your talk. What funny stories do you know on the same subject? How can they be adapted so that they will illustrate your point? A joke needn’t be told in exactly the same way that you heard it or read it. Change it to meet the needs of your speech.

Then go to the next part of your speech, the reasons for your point. Can a story or two be tied in there? And how about your examples? Certainly some of the examples will offer an opportunity for related humor. Sometimes a joke can serve as the example itself. For instance, a speaker was talking on how to give good customer service. One of his examples was that the customer should not be overloaded with any one item. He told this story, which served as the example almost by itself:

“A grocer had gone broke. The receivers were taking an inventory. They found the store filled to the brim with bread. There was bread in the front and bread in the back. They found white bread, whole wheat bread, French bread, rye bread, potato bread, cracked wheat bread, Roman meal bread, and other kinds of bread!
“They remarked to the grocer, ‘You surely sold a lot of bread, didn’t you?’
” ‘Oh, no, he replied. ‘But that fellow who calls on me from the bakery surely sells a lot of it!’ “

Keywords: Sales, Marketing, Business, Sales Training

How to have a double barrel appeal

Often a story can be based upon two of the four reasons for laughing. This increases its effectiveness.

To illustrate: “At one of our sales meetings, a fellow flinched every time an automobile horn was sounded on the street. He jumped so much that he disturbed the other salesmen. So we stopped the meeting and asked him for an explanation.” He said, ‘A few days ago, my wife ran away with our chauffeur. Every time I hear an automobile horn, I’m afraid it’s that chauffeur bringing her back!’” There’s a double sock there. First, the unexpected is spoken. Then there’s man’s inhumanity to man. The audience howls because the fellow might get his wife back when he obviously wishes she would “drop dead.”

Analyze the basis for humor in each story before telling it. If it has two platforms for laugh-getting, tell it in such a way that you fully capitalize on both foundations.

How to handle the punch line

The final sentence or phrase of a joke is referred to as the “punch line.” It’s the part that prompts the audience to laugh.

Be very sure that your punch line is worded correctly. The audience must understand its relationship to your build-up, otherwise there’s no punch. For instance, at a sales meeting a speaker told of:
“A farmer was passing an insane asylum with a wagon load of fertilizer. An inmate called out, ‘Hey! Where are you going with that fertilizer?’
“The farmer replied, To put it on my strawberries.’
” That’s funny,’ said the inmate. 1 put sugar and cream on mine.’”

The speaker got a laugh, but it could have been better. His punch line should have been more closely related to the build-up. For example, he could have “pulled the string” with: “That’s funny,” said the inmate. “I put sugar and cream on mine, and they’ve got me in the nut house!”

The improved phrasing more clearly points up the insanity angle. It doubles the laughter! Why? Because of man’s inhumanity to man. The inmate thinks he’s smarter than the farmer but that he’s in the “booby-hatch” in spite of it. The improved phrasing brings this out more strongly.

The main point here: Build-up makes way for the punch line, gets the audience ready for it. Naturally, the build-up should establish the basis for the laugh-inhumanity, natural target, the unexpected, or sex. But the punch line should bear out this basis. Unless there’s strong relationship between the build-up and the punch line, the story loses much of its sock.

Keywords: Sales, Marketing, Business, Sales Training

The Unexpected

People can be made to laugh when surprised. Apparently it’s fun to be fooled, because the unexpected has been the basis for many jokes.

For instance . . .”A man was on top of a tall building, ready to jump off. A policeman saw him and said, ‘Hey, wait a minute! You don’t want to do that. Let’s talk this thing over.’
“So they talked it over for three or four minutes. Then they both jumped off!”
OR
“A sales trainer had finished a lecture and was attempting to start group discussion. He asked for questions or comments, but none were forthcoming. Again he asked, ‘Questions or comments, if you will please.’ But a deadly silence ensued.
“When everyone became a bit embarrassed, the trainer quipped, ‘All right. Thank you very much for all those fine questions and comments. Now we’ll go on to the next subject.’ “
The audience laughed. The tension was broken. A lively discussion followed, simply because the trainer had said the unexpected.

Another illustration: “Everyone on this side of the room who likes pie, please raise your hand … if you like ice cream, raise your hands.” The speaker points to one side of the room, then the other. “I now pronounce you pie a la mode!”
They’ll laugh gustily, since it’s the unexpected.
When selling a laugh on this basis, make the turn of events as completely unexpected as possible. Phrase your remarks in such a way that the audience is taken fully by surprise. You then have maximum effectiveness.

Since the day of Adam and Eve, sex has served as the foundation for funny stories. The sex urge is both fundamental and intriguing. Since you’ve doubtless heard many jokes on the subject, elaborating hardly seems necessary.

Here’s one that regales an audience: “Years ago I was working in a little country store when a lady came in, who wanted to buy a dress. Having selected one, she asked if she might try it on.
“As I said, it was a little country store. We didn’t have a dressing room. We had simply a curtain in the rear of the building.
“The lady stepped behind the curtain, and I handed her the dress. At that moment the boss walked up and said, ‘Bill, if I catch you trying to peek while this lady tries on that dress, I’m going to fire you!’
“Now, after I lost that job . . . (!)”

The foregoing leaves something to the imagination. This is much preferred to an uncouth story or one containing profanity. Vulgarity cheapens any story. In effect, it weakens the position of the speaker; it depreciates him in the mind of the audience. A professional speaker has often told of a food salesman, a liquor salesman, and a mattress salesman. The food salesman said, “I hate to see a woman dine alone.” The liquor salesman said, “If there’s anything I hate, it’s to see a woman drink alone.” And the mattress salesman said not a word!

Keywords: Sales, Marketing, Business, Sales Training

Most of us like to laugh at the other fellow. It makes us feel superior and feeds our egos. Thus, most people laugh at the fellow who’s bashed in the face with a gooey pie or who’s the butt of a story. It’s a little cruel to laugh at the plight of the other fellow, but usually we do.

For example, there’s the story about a man who owed some money to his next-door neighbor. He couldn’t pay the debt so, naturally, he was worried. His wife kept telling him not to worry, but the man worried anyway. Finally the wife said, “You don’t have to worry. I’ll show you. . .” She went to a window and yelled to the neighbor, “Hey, Fred! Do you remember that $100 my husband borrowed from you? Well, he can’t pay you. He’s dead broke!”

She slammed down the window and turned to her husband. “See there? You don’t have to worry. Let him worry!”

An audience will roar at this joke. The laughter is basically directed at the neighbor. There’s no reason why the audience should dislike the neighbor. He had done nothing wrong. Yet the audience will howl at his dilemma. Why? Because of man’s inhumanity to man. Knowing why the audience laughs, you can tell a story more effectively. You can make the butt of the yarn look as ridiculous and stupid as possible. This increases the mirth!

A Natural Target

A tyrant is a natural target. For example, many stories belittling dictators have been told through the years. People laugh because of their contempt for the villain. They get pleasure in seeing him ridiculed.

Another example is a story on a mother-in-law. The latter is proverbially a meddlesome individual. Therefore, people laugh at seeing her taken to task: “I’m here before you with mixed emotions. Sorry about one thing and glad about another. I’m like the fellow who saw his beautiful new car roll off a cliff, with his mother-in-law inside!”

A competitor or his product is a natural target. A wise salesman won’t berate his competitor when talking to a prospect. But there’s nothing wrong with getting in a “dig” or two at a sales meeting.

For instance, “A salesman for one of those cheap imitative products dropped by the other day. He said, ‘The price you’re getting for your merchandise is atrocious!’ “I told him, ‘I can see why you think as you do. For merchandise like yours, the price we’re getting really would be atrocious!’” Adding more coals to the fire: “We know what our product is worth and it is priced accordingly. We presume that the imitators know what their merchandise is worth, and we give them credit for pricing it accordingly!”

Having fully realized that you’re aiming at a natural target, you can fire your guns more effectively. Your choice of words should show contempt. Your tone of voice should ridicule. The audience will be delighted! Be sure your natural target is not present at the meeting. For instance, at a department store sales meeting, the merchandise manager told a joke on an old maid (another natural target). Many people laughed. But the old maids didn’t!

Keywords: Sales, Marketing, Business, Sales Training

A talk at a sales meeting should ordinarily contain some humor. Granted-the purpose of the talk is not to entertain. But a few laughs make the rest of the talk more palatable. Even the highly-paid professional speakers may depend upon humor to sell the remainder of a speech. In fact, they use humor to a greater degree than speakers who are less skilled. Since the silver-tongued “pros” must use it, the less articulate should consider doing likewise.

“We have an outside speaker at most of our large meetings,” reported a Memphis sales executive. “It’s usually a ‘big man/ someone who can attract a sizeable crowd. And, of course, such a person is a skilled public speaker, but with all his skill, he invariably depends upon humor. Without some good jokes, his effectiveness would be questionable.”

Suggest to your speakers that they use a little humor. It keeps your sales meetings from being so “dry.” Not everyone can tell a joke well. But everyone can learn to do so. Joke telling can be compared with any other skill. For instance, it can be compared with the ability to use a typewriter. Not everyone knows how to type, but everyone who wants to do so, can learn.

How to become a good story teller

To become skilled at telling a funny story, one should know the basis for humor. He should know why people are expected to laugh at a joke. Armed with this knowledge, he can more effectively appeal to the reason for laughing.

The basis of nearly every joke will fall in one or more of four categories:
1.* Man’s inhumanity to man.
2.* A natural target.
3.* The unexpected.
4.* Sex.

Let’s discuss each of these. First, what is meant by man’s inhumanity to man?

Keywords: Sales, Marketing, Business, Sales Training