Master the Art of Telling a Joke

Humor is one of the most effective tools in any type of communication—it builds rapport and trust, boosts engagement, and relieves boredom. If you’re presenting a serious topic, adding a joke lightens the mood and helps audiences relax and lean into the message.

But using humor successfully is a skill that often doesn’t come naturally. This is where Toastmasters can help. If your club wants to provide more opportunities for members to hone their funny bone, add a Jokemaster to your meeting roster.

The Jokemaster role benefits not only the person telling the joke but the other members as well. It’s not only a fun learning opportunity, but it also livens up meetings, and provides an additional speaking role. My club has incorporated the role for years, and I’ve seen the difference it can make.

The skills needed to tell a joke successfully often feel intimidating. How many times have you heard someone tell a joke and then completely fumble the punch line? Have you ever cringed when someone asked, “Does anyone know a good joke?” knowing that either you or the other person is likely to embarrass themselves?

Think of telling a joke like giving a short speech. Both require using carefully chosen words and expressions (and remembering them!), as well as vocal variety, gestures, and of course, perfect timing.

Practice Those Jokes

Knowing how to tell a joke doesn’t mean you’re aspiring to be a stand-up comedian—although perhaps you will find you have that talent. Here are some ideas to keep in mind when you practice telling a joke at your club, or anywhere:

Know your audience. Like any other presentation, before selecting your joke, consider your audience. Toastmasters, like the workplace, is not the place for off-color selections and language. Keep it clean and inoffensive.

Keep it simple. Few people can pull off telling a long, complicated story with a funny ending. Unless you’re a professional, you’ll lose people and deliver an anti-climactic ending. Until you have more experience, stick with a short dialogue that’s easy for your audience to follow.

Personalize if possible. Let’s say your club includes a member who is a lawyer. If they are a good sport, incorporate their name into the joke. It’s easy to hook your audience into thinking you’re telling a real story … until you get to a ridiculous ending. That surprise element at the end makes the joke even funnier.

For instance, a joke might start with “A group of lawyers were having lunch …” You could adapt it by saying, “I don’t know how many of you heard what happened to John recently, but he and some of his lawyer friends were having lunch when …” You’ve immediately grabbed the attention of all the members who know him. They know you are telling a joke, and suddenly they feel privy to a funny and perhaps embarrassing story about John. You continue to reel them in and then finish with a strong punch line that makes them realize the story was all a buildup.

Be sure to rehearse the punch line. Your joke-telling success rests in the delivery of those last words. This is especially true if the ending is complicated or a tongue twister and easily confused.

Successful Jokesters

Being able to tell a joke and then receive a genuine positive reaction via smiles and laughter is a terrific feeling for anyone who has ever said, “Oh, I could never tell a joke.”

One of our past Club Presidents was always afraid to sign up as Jokemaster and only did so reluctantly when no one else came forward. After a few years of this, she had to speak at a Division club officer training session. She stood onstage holding a microphone and successfully told a joke to nearly 100 attendees.

Her obvious pride at realizing she had overcome one of her biggest fears made those of us at her club who knew her struggle ecstatic. That year, she was our club contestant in the Area Humorous Speech Contest.

Taking on the Jokemaster role requires preparation and practice. If you add it to your meeting role roster, provide expectations of what is required. Having someone sign up for the role and then read internet jokes is a waste of meeting time, and a missed learning opportunity. Nip that in the bud! The fine skill of joke-telling is no joke.

If you’d like to add humor to your speeches or presentations but aren’t comfortable or don’t know how, a Jokemaster role is a great way to start small. The laughter that follows will tell you if you’re successful.

While many Toastmasters recommend that members have a “speech in their pocket,” all of us could have a “joke in our pocket,” not just for club meetings but to surprise people the next time someone asks, “Does anyone have a joke?” You might surprise yourself when you raise your hand!

Editor's Note: If the Jokemaster role inspires you, consider the Engaging Humor path in Pathways, or compete in a Humorous Speech Contest.

Share this article