There’s nowhere to learn more about confidence than from a dude in tennis shoes, b*tchin’ at his kids about adjusting the thermostat.
Dad jokes can teach us a thing or two about delivery.
Even when they’re… so bad…
American actor and comedian, Buddy Hackett, said:
“99% is in the delivery. If you have the right voice and the right delivery, you’re cocky enough, and you pound on the punch line, you can say anything and make people laugh maybe three times before they realize you’re not telling jokes.”
There’s power in DELIVERY.
Easier said for a dude ON a screen than a service provider BEHIND a screen, though.
We need to use structure in our copy to translate our offline delivery online.
1) Pause before the punch.
The idea is to draw out the silence to build anticipation before your punchline.
In copy, this looks like formatting your paragraphs so folks read your copy with pauses. The return key is your BEST friend, so use paragraph breaks to adjust the cadence.
2) Act it out.
In the 4 Humor Types, the Rodeo Queen is most likely to try on impersonations and our Homestead Humorist is briiiilliant at storytelling.
In both instances, you want to “take on” the role. Use dialogue and storytelling details to make it visual.
3) Dial up the drama.
This is similar to using exaggeration, but I want you to change tone and inflection in your copy.
Again, formatting is your tool here. Use ALL CAPS, bold, and italics.
Drama is obviously easier to do in-person, but we can replicate the effect if you keep the formatting CONSISTENT.
4) Repeat funny lines.
The idea is that by repeating your punchline, you’re “staying in the bit.” This works really well in video format, but not with copy.
Very weird to rewrite the same sentence a few times back-to-back…
But we have Callbacks!
A Callback is simply referencing something you previously mention. It creates an inside moment.
Very exclusive, oooooh…
So if you make a funny in an email, for example, using your sign off or ps to callback has the same effect.
5) Match delivery to content.
Understand your Humor Type and stay on-brand. Don’t force something just to be funny because you can’t sacrifice clarity for humor.
Humor is like a fart – if you have to force it, it’s probably crap.
5) Deliver with confidence.
Deliver your content emphatically. Speak boldly, enunciate, and with authority.
Get “if” out of your vocabulary.
As someone who naturally speaks fast, this can be challenging. I find that leaning more into my deadpan/dry humor helps slow it down, and I can deliver better with shorter, punchier sentences.
You have to practice and figure it out, which just takes some time. And maybe a few pieces of content fall flat… but that’s just how it goes.
Follow other humorous written content because the more you consume, the more you’ll pick up on the rhythm.
