Funny formulas
Try these fill-in-the-blanks jokes
“If we can open your mind to laughter, we can slip in a little information.”
— Virginia Tooper, American humorist
PLUG & PLAY: Try these quick tips for jokes that practically write themselves.
Want to add humor to your piece? Two professional speakers shared these formulas in SpeakerNet News, a weekly e-zine for professional speakers:
Jargon jokes
I know, I know. Your organization is overloaded with jargon. Take advantage of the situation, suggests Paul Seaburn, “The Humor Handyman,” by writing funny definitions for the worst gobbledygook.
Use the formula “Back where I come from, a ___ is a ___.”
“Back where I come from,” Seaburn says, “‘megahertz’ is a huge car rental company, ‘Tai Bo’ is the last thing you do to a present, and ‘preferred carrier’ is a mailman who doesn’t read your magazines.”
Light bulb jokes
Write your own light bulb jokes by asking, “How many ____s [members of your audience] does it take to screw in a light bulb?” Seaburn suggests. Or twist the old light bulb joke by making it a remote control:
“How many managers does it take to set the clock on a VCR?” he asks. “No one knows, because they can never find the time.”
Location jokes
Writing an executive speech? You may be able to play off the location of the talk, says corporate comedian David Glickman. One approach: Find a town within 30 miles that starts with a V. Then play with, “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From V___.”
“I know that’s true,” Glickman says, “because I read it in that local best-seller, ‘Men Are From Mars, Women Are From V___.‘”
Get humor help
Are you looking for someone else to fill in the blanks? Glickman and Seaburn write custom corporate humor.
Make fun
Want to make your copy more amusing?
- Invite Ann’s team in to handle a special writing project.
- Bring Ann to your organization for a “Make Your Copy More Creative” workshop.
- Work with Ann to make your copy more creative in one-on-one writing coaching sessions.
- Get more tipsheets on corporate humor at RevUpReadership.com.
- Find out about Ann’s next creative writing webinar.
- Subscribe to our free writing tips e-zine.
About Ann Wylie
Ann Wylie is president of Wylie Communications Inc., a training, writing and consulting firm. She works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. Wylie is the author of RevUpReadership.com, a toolbox for writers, and Wylie’s Writing Tips, a free e-zine. She has earned more than 60 awards, including two IABC Gold Quills, for her work.
Copyright © 2011 Ann Wylie. All rights reserved.
