When I started out as a comedy MC, I used to think killer material was all that mattered. If you had the best jokes, sharpest lines and coolest concepts (and I don’t mean props), you’d win over the crowd every time.
It didn’t take me long to realize how wrong that was. As much as I hated to admit it, I soon learned that delivery is just as – or in some cases more – important than the writing.
I was thinking about that on the weekend, watching and judging comics competing for the 2011 Yuk Yuk’s Great Canadian Laugh Off.
Sure, each comedian’s jokes have to be original and stand out (stand up?). That’s a given. But if they don’t know how to sell them properly and quickly establish a bond that lets the audience know they can trust the comic to be funny, they won’t be chosen to move on to the next round.
Great comedy is like great communications in many ways. We have to combine the very best content + delivery. Though it can be argued that an amazing presentation of weak material often trumps top material, badly presented.
Think about how many times you’ve been turned off by shrill, aggressive or lacklustre messages which could come via email, on the phone, face to face or online.
We need pay attention to our tone (i.e. listen) and make sure it conveys the appropriate emotion, energy and content. If we don’t do that, there’s a good chance our story will get misinterpreted or lost.
Disclosure: Yuk Yuk’s is a long-time client.
