Prepare at least two jokes.

You’ll do better if you have two or more jokes to tell.

Why?

People get defensive when they hear one joke. They’re likely to resist laughing. They’ll tell you your joke is bad, or silly, or stupid.

But now they’re primed.

The second joke will always make them chuckle.

If you can tell a third and a fourth joke, you’ll own your audience. You’ll have them gasping for breath. They’ll be laughing so hard that they will hardly be able to hold themselves up.

Is this because your jokes are so funny?

No, it’s not that.

People like to laugh. They want to laugh.

They just need you to flirt with them. They want to be tickled a little bit first.

So, no, people don’t laugh at your jokes because they’re so amazingly funny. And they don’t laugh because you’re such an amazing performer. 

But it doesn’t hurt if you have some good jokes to tell, and some proper instruction for correct joke telling.

There is skill in this. You need to know your jokes, and you need to know how to tickle your audience, and you need to know how to effectively deliver your jokes.

So, back to what we said first. Have at least two jokes ready when you find your audience.

You’ll knock’em dead!