Delivery!

Consider these two jokes:

                                            “What is brown and sticky? … A Stick!”

                “What is a ghost’s favorite fruit? … Boo-berries!”

These jokes are equally corny and rely on silly puns to make the listeners laugh. Yet, the logic behind these jokes is so basic that the jokes themselves cannot be wholly responsible for the laughter. Often what makes a corny joke funny is not the joke but how it is delivered and how the person telling the joke acknowledges the silliness of the joke. These two videos display very different, but I think equally effective ways of delivering corny jokes to maximize their humor.

I were to tell you the joke about the stick as if I thought that it was the most hysterical joke I have ever heard, much of the humor in the joke probably would have been lost. The delivery of the stick joke involved playing up the contrast between the silliness of the joke and the seriousness of the setting. The guy telling the stick joke used a very stern tone of voice, and the setting leads one to expect that he is going to say something intellectual and serious. The book and fireplace make the ridiculous punch line come as even more of a surprise because it goes against the listeners’ expectations of an intellectual comment. In this way, the delivery of the joke amplifies the surprise that the listener feels when hearing the punch line and elicits more laughter as a result.

In contrast, the person telling the ghost joke takes the opposite approach and plays up the ridiculousness of the joke by wearing a sheet over his head and using silly sound effects. These added elements to the delivery emphasize the fact that the joke-teller does not take the joke seriously, and this makes the listeners more receptive to the stupidity of the joke. Acknowledging the corniness of the joke is an effective way of eliminating the possibility of listeners feeling awkward because they find themselves questioning whether or not the joke was meant to be silly. By matching his delivery of the joke to its absurdity, the person delivering the joke makes his listeners feel more at ease.

            Consider this a warning. If you want to add these two jokes to your repertoire, definitely take into account the fundamental role that the delivery plays in how your listeners will receive them before attempting to stir up any hysterical reactions.