An Article on Humor by John
Kinde
 Less is
more. As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet: "Brevity is the soul
of wit."
1.
Brevity makes strong structure.
The punchline
is the payoff. Traditional wisdom is that the shortest distance
between the setup and the payoff is best. When a story has
a long set up before getting to the joke, it's said that the
punchline is carrying a lot of baggage. Top comedians work
hard on writing a tight setup because it's the most effective
way to structure a joke.
2.
Brevity clarifies.
The key
to humor is relationships and connections. Concise writing
helps to make crystal clear the precise words that need to
be connected to activate the joke.
3.
Brevity gives focus.
Wordiness
makes for clutter and can hide the punch word or the punch
line. That's why the punchline and the punch word normally
go last. It puts the spotlight and focus on the key words.
Anything added after only camouflages the joke and confuses
the mind.
4. Brevity creates scarcity.
The person
who is trying to be funny all the time, wears out his welcome.
People get tired of the showboating. The person who is selectively
funny wins. Scarcity creates value. It wins the attention
and admiration of others.
5. Brevity teaches discipline.
By selecting
only the best jokes and delivering only the best lines, you
develop the discipline of knowing which lines are funnier.
When you blurt out all your funny thoughts, you're not having
the mental exercise of filtering out the weak lines. Being
selective will make you a funnier person because it will make
you a better judge of good humor.
6. Brevity makes you appear funnier.
The person
who self-selects and uses only the best lines can appear to
be funny most of the time. The person who insists on sharing
all lines, strong and weak, will appear to be funny a smaller
percentage of the time. I'd rather be known as a person who
delivers a gem nearly every time he speaks, than someone who
speaks all the time and is occasionally funny. One skill set
is attractive. One has the possibility of being annoying.
(362
words)
©
Copyright 2007 John Kinde |
