What happens when no one laughs?

Ever tried to make a joke or tell a funny story and no one laughs?  It happens to all of us. What do you do when no one laughs? 

The simple answer is, you keep going. If you’re giving a talk and your joke falls flat, don’t stop and question the audience and tell them they have no sense of humour. Just keep going.

A while ago I did a gig at a retirement village. There was no response to my funny stories from the audience members. I had a sinking and queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach but I wanted to be professional so I kept going till the end. I couldn’t wait to get off that stage.

After the show, several audience members came up to me and said.

‘We loved your show. It was so funny.’

Huh, I wondered. Why didn’t they laugh?

I decided to ask them.

‘Why wasn’t anyone laughing?’

‘Oh, we smile on the inside, dear’ said a lovely lady with permed hair, a blue handbag and a matching dress.

That was a relief to know. People may not laugh for several reasons. They may laugh on the inside like this group, they may be having a bad day or they may not find your material funny. Don’t let it stop you trying again. Being funny needs practice. Whether it’s telling a funny story to your friends or giving a humorous talk, keep trying out your material till you get more people laughing.

 What makes a joke funny?


Have you ever given a speech and have an audience member yawn during your talk?

Have you ever given a speech and have someone in the audience fall off to sleep?

It happened to me. A lady in the front row fell off to sleep. Not only that. She started snoring. Loudly.

That's when I realized the importance of using humor in my talks.

Humor is like yeast in bread. Without it, the bread won't rise.
With humor you can ensure that your message is remembered.
You can motivate people and help them realize their dreams by conveying your message with humour. 

So what makes a joke funny? According to Edward de Bono, famous for his theory of lateral thinking, the mind works like a pattern machine. When a familiar pattern is interrupted and an alternative or new link is made in the brain via a different route than expected, then laughter occurs as the new connection is made.

From my experience of doing stand up comedy and watching other comedians, I found the rule of three very useful. In this rule, you have three jokes back to back to back, building up the laugh with each set up, till you come to the big punch line at the end.

Watch some of your favorite comedians on youtube. Watch them the first time for a laugh. The next time to learn.

Another useful resource is Stanley Lyndon's book 'How to be funny.'

As Toastmasters, we're often called on to give a speech that persuades, inspires and motivates. Adding humor to the mix makes sure that your message is remembered. Listen and watch the prize winning speeches of the World Champions of Public Speaking and you'll find that they use humor to make their message memorable.

Being funny is not difficult, despite what you may have heard. That is, it's not difficult if you know the basic techniques.

I'll be posting tips on how to add humor to your speech. If you'd like to receive regular tips on how to be funnier and add humor to your presentations, follow this blog by clicking on the 'follower' button and you'll receive automatic updates.

A Bollywood Shakespeare

You will be a witch said Sister Magdalene to me.

She was talking about Shakespeare's Macbeth and giving me my first stage role in a school play.

She must have had something in mind for me and that started my rather bizarre connection with Shakespeare.

An Indian Shakespeare? You've gotta be kidding, right? That's why it's a comedy routine I love.

You can see some of my comedy routines on my youtube site and access it through my website www.theumahuma.com