Doc Blakely's Handbook of Wit and Pungent Humor

Book excerpt: There is a magical ingredient that, when added to a speech, is one of the most powerful attention-getters known to mankind - humor. The average audiences expect speeches to be dull; they anticipate boredom by an unimaginative dialog. Humor, if skillfully handled, works wonders. But, let's face it, much humor is not skillfully handled because too many speakers think laughter is precipitated by a long, drawn-out joke that may, in reality, turn out to be just as boring as a dull monologue on the population growth statistics of the snail darter. The important question is, "Where does one find humor that will be appropriate, to the point, short enough to prevent boredom, & funny enough to excite the laughter mechanism?" This book answers that question with over 1,200 entries categorized by 92 subjects & cross-referenced to ease your search for that special pungent line or joke. In addition to the thousands of witty lines, a special feature--Rx for that ailing speech--gives you 81 specific tips on how to best use a story, what can go wrong, & how to prevent that from happening, plus where to use it, when to include it, why it works, & a host of helpful pointers.