
Weekly BBC comedy show(Mock The Week) has a section Things you wouldn’t say. Fun and practical comedy exercise:
Bad Things To Say at a Job Interview (Mock The Week, BBC)
Hugh Dennis appears on every show, and he is talented:
I served for 10 years in Afghanistan.. I was in the Taliban
Everyone can create a twist, based on the listener created assumptions from the setup(the first sentence of the joke). However, to make the twist actually unpredictable and make the audience laugh — requires skill, good ‘feel’ for it and comic talent. In Hugh’s example, he paints the picture, that the character served in the army. However, he delivers the unexpected punch(the Taliban).
One of my favorite comedians, Ed Byrne, cracked a couple of nuggets, using absurdity in his jokes:
(smirking face)You ask a lot of questions..
My 3 strongest points are: attention to detail, determination to see thing through, and yada yada yada
Influenced by this show, I created a challenge in the Comedywire community.
Comedy-wire — is a community of professional and aspiring comedy writers, sharing jokes, posting challenges, writing on current issues — to improve and share their craft. Some comedians get jobs in the industry, and the comedy-wire itself, provides numerous comedy-writing services for outside companies.
What You Want, Actually Want to Say in a Job Interview
Some gems, from the writers:
Look I really need this job to support my drug habit
( Eric Eldridge)If hired, what’s the least amount of work I have to do without being fired?
( Jack Dowler)Please hire me — I don’t want to have to move back home with my parents!
( Maggie LeVine)If published, my resume would win in a literary prize for fiction.
( Jack Dowler)
What do You Actually Want to Tell your Boss/Employee/Client?