Telling a joke is not simple. You have to have good timing and a sense of what your audience is expecting so that you will be able to deliver your joke flawlessly – even when your audience is a bunch of loved ones and not customers of a comedy club.

You don’t want to ruin a great joke because you weren’t able to deliver a joke like a comedian. It would be quite embarrassing for your and also for the people who are listening to you due to the awkwardness of the situation and the sudden silence. Thus, it is important to know how to tell a joke properly, like what the professional comedians do.

How to Tell a Joke

Here are some tips on how to tell a joke.

Right Material for the Right Audience

There are various kinds of jokes. You have to know what kind of joke you should be telling to different people. You should base it on the background of the audience to determine which joke is appropriate for them. The personality, age and sometimes, belief of the person, should be evaluated to see if the joke would be funny for them and would not sound offending.

Good Timing

Timing is key on how to deliver a joke like a comedian. You have to know the right timing on when to deliver the punch line. This is the moment when your audience’s attention is yours. This will make or break your joke so be sure that you watch your audience closely to know when you have their full attention.

After you have delivered the first joke, and you think that your audience wants more, you have to have a good timing in delivering the second one. Pause for a while, but deliver the second one before the laughter completely dies down.

Good Setup

You should also be able to build a good setup so that your audience will be able to follow through your story. This will enable them to visualize what you are telling and get more excited as the picture gets clearer yet more obscure to them; because they don’t know what to expect next – and that is the punch line.

Avoid being in a hurry when building the setup just to get to the punch line. This will make the scenario obscure in a bad way, which will prevent your audience from relating to your story.

Surprise at the End

To deliver a joke like a comedian, you should be able to build up the scenario and the tension in the story first before you deliver the punch line.

Once you have delivered the punch line, do not say another word. Never explain your joke as this will eliminate the essence of the joke itself. Jokes should play with the listeners’ mind so never explain them.

Also, to deliver a joke like a comedian, let your audience have a hearty laugh before you give your own reaction to the joke or before you deliver the second one.