Last summer I confessed that I can’t tell jokes. Exploration of humor to research a blog post persuaded me that this was just one more the self-limiting lies I believe about myself. Humor and the simple ability to tell a joke can be learned. This was clearly the lesson of my research and so when I committed to speak at an industry conference I told myself that I would tell a joke.
Tuesday was the day. I gave my presentation. I opened the talk with a joke and people laughed. I know that Jay Leno is not worried but I am excited by my accomplishment. It wasn’t a buffo, belly-laughing joke but it opened my remarks with something funny that tied to my topic and established a relationship with my audience which I have never accomplished before. I’m a facts guy with the right answers and I usually berate people about what they are doing wrong. Amazingly they don’t relate to my lectures. On Tuesday I was still the same guy telling them what they ought to do but I was able to refocus on helping them with a problem. I used a new technique that I won’t go into here for the content and organization but a good part of the success has to go to the simple joke that started it all off.
After my commitment to tell a joke no matter what the consequences because after all, it couldn’t make me any worse as a speaker, I searched the web for energy humor because that is the industry where I work. I hit pay dirt. The joke I found was simple, energy-related and poked a little fun at environmentalist. I thought it would work but the real question was…could I tell it?
I personalized by telling a white lie. I claimed that the story was from my sister-in-law in Pennsylvania where the joke is based. My story was that I like to keep aware of things in the rest of the country because sometimes California goes its own way. So it helps me when I talk to my wife’s family in Pennsylvania. Then I told the joke and amazingly, people laughed. It was more than the polite, humor the speaker laugh that I expected and it was all I could do to keep from giving myself a high five. But I still had the talk to give so I just smiled and moved on.
I don’t share this to pat myself on the back. I do it because there are probably many others who have told themselves that they can’t tell a joke and so they go through life proving that they are right instead of taking it as a challenge to grow and become a joke teller. Believe me, if I can tell a joke, anyone can. Stop defining yourself down. And don’t just stop at jokes. What else is there that you believe you can’t do? GO DO IT!
Great Job Ralph! Being funny isn’t in our DNA, it’s something you just gotta slide into. There’s hope for you yet!
Micah,
Thanks for the encouragement. I need all the help I can get.