With the book basically done — at least the writing part — I’ve started focusing more on the marketing, starting with a new fan page (since Facebook doesn’t let you change the names) and continuing this video series, and scripting out a bunch of new ones that I’ll be appearing in.
So humor is the lesson of the day. Practically every person who’s taken an improv class at Second City or elsewhere has the experience at one time or another of an office-mate, acquaintance or family member asking them to “be funny.”
Which, of course, is not how it works. There are all kinds of ways to incorporate humor into your communications and none of them require consulting some hacky joke book. After all, what are the funniest moments in life? When someone starts by saying, “Hey, let me tell you this joke?”
Hardly ever.
Humor happens organically. It’s arises from common experiences and perceptions. It’s about the crappy Tuesday special in the company cafeteria, the byzantine procedures for expense reporting or the terrible golf shirts the guys in engineering wear.
In the end, it’s about truth. Humor is an outcome, not a goal.
Everyone can be funny. The key is not to try so hard.