📆 Your joke writing challenge topic for today is Aging Agonies.
Unlocking Laughter: Essential Takeaways from a Pioneering Talk on Humor for Aspiring Comedians
Andrew Tarvin recently gave an entertaining TEDx talk on using humor in the workplace. As a professional humorist and former engineer, he shared valuable insights for becoming funnier and improving workplace culture through humor. Let’s look at the main lessons from his talk that are useful for our stand-up comedy class students:
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Key Lessons:
- Humor is a Skill – Humor can be learned and improved with practice. Look to comedians for examples, but find your own comedic perspective to share.
- Start with “Yes, And” – Improv’s core mindset of accepting offers and building on them applies to workplace humor. Explore “If that’s true, what else is true?”
- Engage Fully – Commit to bits and characters. Have confidence in your performance, like asking someone out. The more practice, the more natural it becomes.
- Reflect Afterwards – Learning to improve your comic timing takes being aware of missed opportunities and thinking of better responses afterwards.
- Share Funny Things – Cite humorous content or make visual jokes. You don’t have to create all your own material to incorporate humor.
- Keep Practicing – Performing helps strengthen humor skills. Take an improv class or try stand up. Humor is an ongoing skill to build.
- Stay Positive – If a joke bombs, pivot to a positive or inclusive statement. As long as the intent is good, failed jokes aren’t harmful.
- Use Humor Ethically – Humor shouldn’t replace work. It enhances engagement and productivity when used appropriately.
- Find Humor For Yourself – Even in humorless workplaces, seek out comedy on your own time. No one can control your thoughts or off work activities.
- Everyone Can Learn Humor – Regardless of age, background or perception of being unfunny, humor is a teachable skill. Start small and keep practicing.
Andrew’s talk provides many great insights for our stand up comedy students on improving their humor skills. Let’s keep practicing “Yes, and” thinking and finding the humor in everyday workplace situations!
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Take The Quiz
After watching the video, take this quiz to check your knowledge.
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First up, what should we call you?
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What recommendation was given for using humor at work?
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Use humor to replace actual work
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Add RecommendationAdd TagsView All Assigned TagsHumor should enhance engagement and productivity
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Add RecommendationAdd TagsView All Assigned TagsPractice humor skills in place of work tasks
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Add RecommendationAdd TagsView All Assigned TagsAvoid trying humor at work entirely
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Which of the following was NOT mentioned as a key lesson from the talk?
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Commit fully to jokes and comedy bits
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Add RecommendationAdd TagsView All Assigned TagsHumor can be learned and improved with practice
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Add RecommendationAdd TagsView All Assigned Tags- Make sure you understand complex math before trying to use it as humor
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Add RecommendationAdd TagsView All Assigned TagsStart conversations by accepting offers and building on them
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What mindset was recommended when improvising humor?
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"Yes, and..."
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Add RecommendationAdd TagsView All Assigned Tags"I don't know"
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Add RecommendationAdd TagsView All Assigned Tags"Probably not"
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Add RecommendationAdd TagsView All Assigned Tags"No, but..."
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Rank | Name | Score |
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| 1 | Stacey | 30/30 |
| 2 | Tracey | 30/30 |
| 3 | Suzanne Linfante | 30/30 |
| 4 | Carla Ulbrich | 30/30 |
| 5 | Alan Salzbank | 30/30 |
| 6 | Jennifer B | 30/30 |
| 7 | Zygy | 30/30 |
| 8 | Robert | 30/30 |
| 9 | Alyson Chadwick | 30/30 |
| 10 | Jane Joan Costagliola | 30/30 |
