The Anatomy of Funny

What does a nosey pepper do?
It gets Jalepeño business!

What do you call a fake noodle?
An Impasta!

Now that you're going on about your day feeling so much better, lol, imagine how much more fun you can add to your day if you simply laughed more. Think of the joyous sound of your own laughter. How much more fun do you see yourself having in your day? Although you don't need to know why something is funny in order to laugh, it can add to your sense of enjoyment to the funny things you and your friends say, and even help expand your sense of humor.

Standup comedians spend countless ours developing material. Yes, many have an individual style, or genre of comedy. Not every comic is funny to everyone all the time. Yet there are similarities that exist between the structure of what each comedian does. The structure of jokes include 3 elements: The Setup, The Punchline, and the Tag. In the setup, a comedian will relate an experience with the audience. Usually these are current event issues. There is also issues with the self that a comedian will bring up in order to set themselves up for a punchline. The details are important, however it's more important to relate and have strong rapport with their audience. With this rapport, a comedian can talk about almost any subject.

Next comes the punchline. Punchlines are usually unexpected ironic statements that complement the setup in a way that deviates from the expectations of the audience. In doing so, the element of surprise is conducted and because of the ridiculous nature of the subject matter, we laugh.

With the element of the Tag, it's possible to have an additional piece to laugh at. You won't always find a tag, yet having one or hearing one can make something that was funny into something that's now hilarious.

There are countless examples of jokes from professionals to those of us being the life of the party. What's important here is that you can easily incorporate the comedy of your own inner comic into the daily grind. Doing so can help alleviate any issues with stress you may be feeling.

You don't need to be a professional standup comedian to tell a great joke. Just get out there and enjoy your time with your friends!