The Art of Telling Jokes

The aim of a joke is not to degrade the human being but to remind him that he is already degraded.
George Orwell


People like to be entertained. They enjoy laughing and appreciate a person who brings a smile to their face. They will readily accept 'most anyone who can make them laugh, even a shy stranger.

Jokes are an icebreaker. They can introduce you to a group of strangers or to a woman you have not previously met. They can renew acquaintanceships on an upbeat note. Humor can break down the wall of shyness.


Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Two. One to hold the giraffe, the other to fill the bathtub with brightly colored machine tools.


You want to tell a joke? First, learn the joke. Understand it. Memorize it. Feel it in your gut. In privacy, practice telling it aloud. Record your efforts. Listen to yourself. Practice until you have mastered it.

Save the joke for an appropriate moment. When there's a natural pause in the conversation, when silence falls and something needs to fill it, when people are looking at you, expecting you to say something, anything, when making polite noises just won't do.

Pace your delivery. Speak at normal conversational speed, possibly even a bit slower. Control your breathing (an art unto itself), and this will time your speaking. Breathing paces speaking, it limits how fast the words come out. Find your own natural rhythm. Timing is critical.

Modulate your voice. The circumstances will determine the optimum loudness. Amid crowd noise, you will speak somewhat more loudly than usual, but generally talk more softly than normal conversational level, especially speaking one-on-one. Soft, but clear, gets attention. Enunciate, but do not overdo it.

Keep eye contact and smile. In a group, shift your focus from one person to another. Make each man and woman feel that you are telling the joke for them alone. You are the conductor, orchestrating their laughter.

Enjoy yourself. Your jokes are funny, and they bring enjoyment to others.


A truckdriver walks into a bar, followed by 40 monkeys. The bartender naturally asks him what's with the monkeys. "I had a contract to deliver them somewhere or other, but I can't find the paperwork. Now I don't know what to do with them. Any suggestions?"

"Why not take them to the zoo?", the bartender answers. "Good thought", says the driver and disappears out the door with them.

The next night, the truckdriver shows up, again accompanied by the monkeys, but this time they're all wearing sunglasses. "What? I thought you took them to the zoo", says the surprised bartender. "I did, and it was a great idea. They made faces at the lions, threw fish to the seals, ate cotton candy, and had a fine old time. So, tomorrow I'm taking them to the beach."


Contents