In addition to playing music, most bands tell band jokes to liven up the crowd. Some of them are funny and get everyone laughing. Good band jokes are those that are not offensive or corny and give everyone a laugh. Bad jokes are those that are inappropriate for the situation.   

There are plenty of good band jokes for band members to tell at weddings, parties and other occasions. Obviously, there are some jokes that should not be told at certain functions at they are bound to cast a pall upon the occasion and some bad jokes may end up having the guests ask you to leave. Many parties have been broken up because of bands telling band jokes that they thought were funny, but others found to be in poor taste.  

When you think of bad jokes, you may think about tired old jokes that everyone has heard before. These may be bad, but not as bad as telling an off color joke at a bar mitzvah in front of a bunch of kids. If you have a band and want to tell band jokes to liven up the crowd, be sure to choose jokes that will be appropriate for the occasion.  

There is an old urban legend about band jokes at a wedding. The singer got up and decided to take a break from singing and liven up the crowd by telling jokes. He decided to tell a joke he had heard from a friend. The problem was that the joke was not a made up tale, but a true revelation about the bride. The groom felt that the band member was insulting his wife by telling bad jokes about her. The bride was mortified. The singer and the groom ended up in jail because of a fight. Apparently, it was not a good idea for the band member to start telling band jokes and should have saved his voice for singing.  

This is an urban legend, although like all urban legends, it has a ring of truth to it. The thing that makes these stories so plausible is that they can actually happen. Anyone who wants to tell jokes at a party or celebration better be aware of the origination of the joke and be sure that it is right for the occasion. Telling bad jokes can end up getting someone into a lot of hot water and is not good for any band.  

You can find band jokes that are not bad jokes by going online. When you go online, you will find hundreds of good jokes that are ideal for any occasion. Remember that the same jokes you choose for a bachelor party may not be appropriate for a 50th wedding anniversary with the entire family present. Telling good jokes that are right for the occasion just takes knowing how to find the jokes and using a bit of common sense.

Here is how to find humor in not-so-funny stuff. Before long, you will have people laughing a lot at your presentation without telling jokes. Below are some ways to get people to laugh.

Steps

1. Set the scene for laughter. If you want to lighten up your program, you might want to let the audience know this, even before you say one word. Project some lighthearted visuals as the audience is entering the room. Play some uplifting music as they enter. Or, add some humor to your presentation title or program description. Your bio, for example, can have a list of accomplishments, playfully followed by “His mother is very proud of him.”

2. Poke fun at yourself. Again, even before you open your mouth, you can show the audience that you do not take yourself too seriously by adding some playful things about you in your introduction. For example, have the introducer tell the audience that you are the author of seven books which have sold well over 30 copies. Then the person corrects their mistake and says, “Oops, that is 300,000 copies.”

3. Get some laughs with a prop. It has been said that learning is enhanced with visual aids. If this is true, then speakers need to enhance their talks with something to visually illustrate what they are saying. A prop is a great way to do this because it not only makes your message memorable but it can also get a laugh. Use balloons to illustrate how people can let go of their stress; an inflatable globe to illustrate how we often carry the world around on our shoulders; and a plastic hammer with which to hit yourself on the head when you goof up. All make a point and all get a laugh.

4. Tell your humorous stories. Open your humor eyes and ears and look and listen for the funny things that happen all around you. Families are an especially good resource for finding humorous stories. One such story involves the author’s 93-year-old mother. Every time she goes to the doctor, she hires a van service to take her there and back. One late afternoon, it did not show up to take her home. Since the doctor had to close the office for the day, he suggested that she wait for the van in the pizza parlor next door. After waiting a long time without the van arriving, she went up to the counter and asked, “Do you deliver?” When the man behind the counter replied, “Of course, we do. We’re a pizza place.” She said, “Great. Then I’d like a pepperoni pizza and I’d like to go with it.”

5. Borrow some witty words. While waiting for your own humor-related stories to appear, you might want to borrow some funny short quotes from famous people to lighten up your talks. Quotation books, the TV, newspapers, and magazines such as Reader’s Digest are great resources for locating great quotes. For instance, if you frequently speak to hospice groups, Woody Allen’s comments about death and dying are appropriate (e.g., “There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?”).

6. Collect audience anecdotes. Sometimes audiences say the funniest things. When they do, write it down. It could be a big laugh in your next presentation. For years, I have been asking audiences, “How do you spell relief?” My answer is “L-A-U-G-H”. Then one day a woman in the back row called out, “D-I-V-O-R-C-E.” It got a huge laugh for her that day and continues to get a laugh for me when I retell it.

7. Remember the bottom line. For non-humorists, some of the ideas presented here may seem too frivolous for your subject matter. Nevertheless, I would still encourage you to seek some way of upping the entertainment value of your talks because it might also increase what you can charge. As Steve Allen once noted, “People will pay more to be entertained than educated.”

8. Make it relevant. One final word about using humor in your presentations–make sure it is relevant. Amusing an audience for the sake of getting a laugh might be ideal for a stand-up comedian or an after-dinner humorist but it’s probably not okay for most speakers. If your humor does not make a point or have a purpose, do not use it!

Tips

· When speaking to a group of people, sweep the room with your eyes so that everybody pays attention to you

· In sweeping the room, periodically make eye contact for a few moments with one person, then with another – don’t appear too animated and speak to that person as though they were the whole room, then break contact and look at someone else.

· In Powerpoint presentations or similar situations, use crudely drawn pictures you threw together in MS Paint (or similar program). Make it quite obvious that you are not an artist with stick figures, incoherent blobs, and poorly drawn simple pictures, all with the brush tool. No predefined shapes, text tools, or anything of that sort. The idea of this is that you threw this picture together in paint in 30 seconds. Present it as you would any other slide, starting off with “this diagram I put together…” or anything that mentions that you did it.

Warnings

· Be careful while poking fun at yourself (step 2). If you do it, do it without losing credibility, or else no one will take the rest of your presentation seriously.

· Do not dress funny for, let’s say a presentation. That is a surefire way for people not to take what you say seriously. You should be able to make people laugh and still get your message across. If you look like a clown you will be perceived as a clown.

The article is written by Stanley Lyndon, author of “How to be Funny” ISBN 1-4276-1392-3 sold at: How to be Funny . This may be distributed free of cost anywhere as long as the author note is preserved.

Stanley Lyndon is a well established comedian/writer and author of “How to be Funny”. His website can be found at: How to be Funny

Try this longer joke:

And elderly couple were having trouble remembering things so they decided to go see their doctor, and they explained their concern. The doctor checked them out and said, “Well, you’re pretty healthy for your ages. It’s normal to get a little forgetful as you get older. You might want to start writing things down.”

So they were relieved it wasn’t serious and they went home. That night while they were watching television, the old man got up from his chair and his wife asked, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the kitchen,” he replied.

“Will you bring me a bowl of ice cream?” she asked.

“Sure,” he said.

She asked, “Well, shouldn’t you write it down?”

“I’ll remember.”

“Well I’d like it with some strawberries on top. Shouldn’t you write it down?” she asked.

“No, I can remember that.”

“I want whipped cream, too. I know you’ll forget. Please write it down,” she said.

Getting angry, he snapped, “I don’t need to write it down!”

Twenty minutes later he returned with bacon and eggs and handed it to her. She stared at her plate a moment and said, “You forgot my toast.”

To remember this longer joke, break it down into it’s parts. There are three parts. In the first part, the couple goes to see the doctor. You can tell the details any way you like, so long as you include that the doctor tells them to write things down so they don’t forget.

In the second part, the husband is going to the kitchen. His wife wants three things. That’s really all you need to remember. It could be a strawberry Sunday or anything else that he will bring back for her.

In the third part, he brings back something different, she says he forgot something but it is not any of the things she originally asked for. This is what makes it funny.

Now practice the joke as you did before. Remember that there are three parts. It’s okay to substitute different foods or tell the conversation differently. When you can remember it without looking back to it, call someone and tell your joke.

Practice will help you to remember jokes. Try a new one each day until you are comfortable. You will have fun making others laugh.