Laugh Tactics Flashcards

Question

Whats the comic triple?

Answer 1

The comic triple is one of the most famous joke structures. It gives a two-part setup, and then the third part of the triple completely shatters expectations. An easier way of thinking about this is to just state two positives, then one negative about something.

Answer 2

The comic triple is one of the easiest and most recognizable jokes in the world. Step one: think of your topic or theme. list two positives, or list two negatives. list one negative, or one positive. put it all together.

Answer 3

Sarcasm is truly the art of saying something without saying it at all. In fact, you are saying the opposite of what you feel and relying on other people to deduce your true meaning based on everything besides your actual words.

Answer 4

For the most part, sarcasm is saying the opposite of (1) an objective fact, (2) a subjective emotion, or (3) thought. It makes a contradictory statement about a situation to either emphasize or downplay its effect. When someone says something or does something very obvious, you respond by saying saying something equally obvious. The next application of sarcasm is when something bad happens. You say something about how that good or bad event reflects on the other person. If it's good, you say that it reflects badly on them; if it's bad, you say it reflects well on them. Objective fact: Bob plays Tetris at work constantly. Sarcastic statement: Bob, you are the busiest man I know. Subjective emotion or thought: It is hilarious that Bob plays Tetris at work constantly. Sarcastic statement: Bob deserves a medal for worker of the year. Objective fact: There is a surprising amount of traffic lately. Sarcastic statement: What are we going to do when we get to our destination super early? Subjective emotion or thought: I hate traffic so much. Sarcastic statement: This traffic is the best part of my day. How to receive sarcasm and be a good audience. You need to amplify their statement and what they are implying. Does this look familiar? It’s a self-deprecating remark + a witty comeback!

Answer 5

Witty comebacks are easy because you can make them formulaic to a degree. Agree and bounce it back to the other person, which also has the benefit of making you look secure and comfortable with your identity.

Answer 6

Wit is essentially spontaneous creativity. You take a topic or statement and see it from a different angle in a way that is relatable, yet novel. First, when thinking about a witty comeback, don't think generically. Second, don’t act like you can’t take a joke. The vast majority of the time, people are indeed joking when they say something negative about you in your presence. In a sense, it’s a compliment because they assume you have a sufficient sense of humor and the emotional resiliency to deal with it. The people who aren’t involved in jokes and good natured ribbing don’t have many friends. Third, use the right tone. The best witty comebacks are delivered with 50% indifference. When you deliver one with 100% excitement and 0% indifference, guess what happens? You blow it and the comeback falls flat. Indifference is the correct tone because comebacks are about your attitude – pretend that you are James Bond delivering a witty retort after a failed murder attempt by a villain. 50% indifference also ensures that you aren’t being aggressive or hateful. Type #1: Pick apart their words. Think about the other person’s word choice and quickly analyze whether there is another angle or meaning to those words. An easy approach is to interpret their words as overly literal or outlandish. The key is to interpret them in a way that is favorable to you to make it seem as if they complimented you instead of put you down. Type #2: Agree and amplify. The idea here is to agree with whatever the insult was, and then add to it in an absurd way. You amplify the initial sentiment to a degree that is ridiculous. This was my go-to technique to deflect jokes about my weight. Type #3: Reverse and amplify. This is a simple deflection. This is when you get back at them in a subtle way. When someone says you are bad at X, you basically turn it around by saying that they are even worse at X. It’s the exact same as the previous type of witty comeback, except instead of directing the amplification at yourself, you direct it to the other person. Type #4: Use an outlandish comparison. This brings the conversation into a different sphere and makes both people laugh at the weird outlandish imagery. What makes this work is that the comparison, although extreme, is still somewhat realistic. To use the same framework, you’re amplifying (to yourself or the other person) with an analogy here.

Answer 7

Schadenfreude is the pleasure you receive when something bad happens to somebody else. To intentionally use it to get a laugh, you can either point out small failures and misfortunes of you or your conversation partner.

Answer 8

A quick comic quip is to acknowledge the elephant in the room, which is something people actively try to avoid mentioning or giving attention to. Sometimes it’s an uncomfortable truth that people tip-toe around, and sometimes it’s something relatively simple, like the fact that someone’s new haircut is terrible. There are always inconvenient truths that most people know and are aware of, but are walking on eggshells to avoid. When you acknowledge the elephant in the room, you end up releasing a lot of comedic tension, even with the person who might be the butt of the joke. Why? Because you say out loud

Answer 9

Stating what you see is what it sounds like: Stating what you see in literal terms. You point things out in their most literal and descriptive form. You are simply observing and calling out what you see with your own eyes. And that’s another way to look at it: think in terms of how a child might describe an observation, and be creative and vivid with it. You’re making an observation and breaking it down into basic elements of shape, color, size, weight, and dimensions. It’s creative, unique, and can be funny if you approach things in ways that no one has thought about.

Answer 10

Misdirection is when you say one thing and then proceed with an immediate opposite. For example, “It’s a secret, but let me tell you immediately,” or, “That show is great, except for everyone in it.” It seems confusing, but what you are doing is breaking a sentence into two parts. You’re stating something in the first part, then contradicting it immediately in the second. People won’t immediately be sure of what you mean, and part of the humor comes from this introduced confusion. You have both positive and negative, or vice versa, in the same sentence. The second part of the sentence is the part that people will react to, while the first part is typically the setup. The second part is your true sentiment on the topic. Why does misdirection work? Most of us try to be polite to people. We use euphemisms frequently, and we don’t say what we really feel. The first part of a misdirecting statement is what people expect— politeness. Then, you contradict yourself and give them a dose of reality, which sets up a humorous contrast since you have deviated from what most people Last but not least, misdirection is a funny way to express your feelings on something. If you really feel X about a topic, then use misdirection! “Opposite of X, but actually X,” will almost always be received far better than “Gosh, I hate X.”

Answer 11

Sometimes if you want to be funny, all you need to do is react. You don’t have to proactively say or do anything. It’s the way you react to something mundane or funny that makes you funny. All we need to do to be funny is to simply react to the situation in front of us by tapping your inner reservoir of extreme reactions. That’s the key here. For any comedic effect to happen, it has to be an extreme and exaggerated reaction, otherwise there’s too much ambiguity about what you actually think. Reactionary humor doesn't require a language, or certain information. All you need is something to react to that people can see in plain sight, and then you can convey an exaggerated emotion to draw attention to the absurd. One good example of this is the character Jim in the British version of the television series "The Office." Jim's boss, Michael Scott, is ridiculous and outlandish, but recognizable. Jim isn’t inherently funny, but what makes him funny is the way he reacts in shock and disbelief when he’s faced with Michael’s absurdities. In many scenes from "The Office," Jim simply looks at the camera as if shocked, and the audience back home laughs. He set up the contrast between his inner monologue and the situation at hand. This also works, because when we see his reaction, we know it’s exactly the reaction that we would have, too. It puts a face to our inner thoughts and is like exchanging a knowing glance.