I have mentioned more than once, okay, okay – a thousand times that I am a member of Toastmasters International. One of my favorite parts of the meeting is a 1-2 minute recap of actions or comments members present during our meeting. This is called “Observational Humor.” The goal is to turn your observations of members and speakers into something humorous. Sometimes it is not easy, so creativity has to be invented. Here is how I do it:
- Watch for odd body postures and movements. Mimic them wildly out of proportion if you must.
- Listen very, very carefully. Note improper sentence structure or double entendres. Repeat the members own words to them in a slightly exaggerated, or wildly exaggerated manner.
- Note improper words, colloquialisms or accents.
- Read humor posts like Dave Barry of the Miami Herald. He is by far one of the best observational humorist around. He takes the news and twists the events completely into absurdity.
- Read quotes of humorist, comedians, and others who you admire for their humor.
- Write blog posts. Hone your craft with simple posts under humorous categories such as the one’s I have created under: humor, female code, golf indigestion, or man club.
- Try entering a humor speech competition which will allow you to draft humorous speeches.
As an author I love serious stories, but would love to write a few humorous stories as well. Being a member of Toastmasters helps me to see humor on a weekly basis. From those weekly experiences I can attempt to write about humor. So be an intent observer and a careful listener and commit to life-long learning. It is so much more fun than so called and staged reality TV.
