STAND

AND

DELIVER

Whilst slurping the web, I came across some topping tips from a book with the title, "The Everything Big Book of Jokes. Hundreds of the shortest, longest, silliest, smartest, most hilarious jokes you've ever heard!"*, by Evan C. Thomas.

I reckon this volume offers sound advice for performers who are on an ego trip with very little luggage! But, will they take heed?

The book informs us that...

"When a joke fails, most likely it is the fault of the joke-teller. One of the biggest issues people have is the tendency to keep the spotlight shining on themselves for as long as possible. Because all eyes are on the person delivering the joke, the joke-teller tends to elaborate on the joke's premise to prolong the attention.

This craving for the spotlight leads to additional material that's irrelevant to the joke. Therefore, the joke fails.

It's never ever the joke's fault. Every joke is funny. Human error is always to blame for a joke falling flat. Joke-telling doesn't come naturally to everyone, and even those blessed with an incredible sense of humour constantly work on joke-telling abilities."

Sound advice!

*The book is available for free perusal on the Internet Archive: Digital Library at archive.org