Jay Speyerer

 

 

 

 

 

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Copyright © 2008, by Jay Speyerer


 

 

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When Jokes and Trees Fall Flat


If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a noise? The short answer is no.

If you say something funny and no one in the room gets it, is it still funny? The short answer is yes.

Assuming the thing is actually funny, of course. Even if only one person thinks it's funny, it is. But that's not a license to be obscure. Whether you're writing or speaking, go ahead and throw in one or two just for you and the rest of the cognoscenti. But for every lofty bon mot that sails over the heads of the majority, the majority of your goodies should hit them right between the eyes. Don't be your own best audience.

The first memorable example of the subjectiveness of humor happened back when I was teaching photography at an art school. I was subbing for another instructor for two evening classes on successive days. It was an introductory class, so I introductoried myself and told them what we would be doing. Included in the intro were a few jokes and one- liners and some self- deprecating humor.

The Tuesday group was very open and receptive, laughing in all the right places. Then we got into the content of the class. It was an enjoyable evening. I did the same routine with the Wednesday group. Same intro, same humor, same flawless delivery. It was like the night of the living dead. No response. Nothing. I might as well have been speaking Finnish to Brazilians.

So sometimes it's the audience. One group will get what you're saying, whether you're spouting humor or explaining a concept, but another might not have the first clue what you're talking about. It might mean you're on a different plane than they are. But if you want to connect with your audience, you need to change planes, sometimes in midair. If they aren't responding to your humor, set it aside and go on with the information.

Humor in writing is safer. You won't know if each of your readers gets the joke or not, but at least there's no flop sweat because you don't need to time the laugh. But if you're up there speaking to a group, it's a different game entirely. Lob those high ones at your own risk. Few things are as unnerving as leaving a pause for a laugh and hearing only your heart pounding in your ears.

Speaking of ears, here's my take on the falling tree. Sound is all in the receiver of the noise, whether that receiver is the tympanic membrane of an ear or the diaphragm of a microphone. If you're near the tree when it falls, the tree's landing sets the surrounding air molecules vibrating at various frequencies. Some of those molecules vibrate against your eardrums, resulting in electrical impulses being sent along your auditory nerve to your brain, where they're recognized as the sound of a lot of heavy wood hitting the ground. Without those receiving membranes, there would just be a lot of frantically moving air molecules, but no noise.

If some people don't get your joke, let it go and move on. They wouldn't get it if a tree fell on them.


~end~


 

 

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FORM AND FUNCTION IN DIALOGUE

(Edited excerpt from The Stories of Our Days)

Dialogue can take two overarching forms, direct attribution and summary. Direct attribution relates the exact words people spoke, while summary dialogue gives us the gist without the actual spoken words.

Direct:
Joan stood in the doorway of the family room and watched her husband read the paper. "That's all you do," she said, "read the paper and watch television. Oh yes, and eat." She took a deep breath. "I want a divorce."

Summary:
Joan walked into the room and told her husband that she wanted a divorce.

We readers get much less emotional depth in the summary example because we don't get to hear Joan's exact words at this time of emotional crisis, words that explain her reasons and emotions.

Summary dialogue works fine for summarizing a conversation about a series of events:
Six-year-old Billy told his mother about his day at school: reading aloud, arithmetic at the blackboard, and skinning his knee at recess.

The average child takes many more words to describe an event than are truly necessary, even though the words are invariably entertaining. This is also true of many adults, except for the entertaining part.

Send in your communication tips to biztips@legacyroad.net.