How to Be Funny
The One and Only Practical Guide for Every Occasion, Situation, and Disaster (no kidding)
Published on 15. June 2010
192 pages
978-1-4516-0347-7 (ISBN)
Description
An invaluable guide on how to "lighten up" from a distinguished pro who has provided laughs for JAY LENO, BILLY CRYSTAL, STEVE MARTIN, ROBIN WILLIAMS, BRAD GARRETT, WHOOPI GOLDBERG, AND MANY MORE.
Who hasn't wished for the perfect withering comeback line, a clever tension-breaking quip, or a winning flirtatious remark? Being funny is hard work and not everyone is a natural. How to Be Funny is a witty guide that teaches readers precisely how to be funnier in everyday life. It's a must-read for anyone who has to speak in public, be engaging and funny at work or at play, or who hopes to one day go out on a date.
Jon Macks, a comedy writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards, Hollywood Squares, and the nation's top comedians, politicians, and corporate leaders, knows his funny business. Here he demystifies the process of making people laugh, breaks down the basic building blocks and types of humor -- which include self-deprecation, misdirection, deadpan delivery, sarcasm, and "the reverse" -- and reveals the best approaches to use in common situations.
How to Be Funny features helpful (and hilarious) tips and anecdotes from the comic legends Mack's worked with -- including Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall, Gilbert Gottfried, Billy Crystal, Rita Rudner, Dave Barry, and Carrie Fisher -- in his eleven years as one of the nation's top television writers.
Whether the goal is to give a memorable public address or deliver a killer line with friends, How to Be Funny is a charming, instructive, and practical read.
Who hasn't wished for the perfect withering comeback line, a clever tension-breaking quip, or a winning flirtatious remark? Being funny is hard work and not everyone is a natural. How to Be Funny is a witty guide that teaches readers precisely how to be funnier in everyday life. It's a must-read for anyone who has to speak in public, be engaging and funny at work or at play, or who hopes to one day go out on a date.
Jon Macks, a comedy writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards, Hollywood Squares, and the nation's top comedians, politicians, and corporate leaders, knows his funny business. Here he demystifies the process of making people laugh, breaks down the basic building blocks and types of humor -- which include self-deprecation, misdirection, deadpan delivery, sarcasm, and "the reverse" -- and reveals the best approaches to use in common situations.
How to Be Funny features helpful (and hilarious) tips and anecdotes from the comic legends Mack's worked with -- including Jay Leno, Arsenio Hall, Gilbert Gottfried, Billy Crystal, Rita Rudner, Dave Barry, and Carrie Fisher -- in his eleven years as one of the nation's top television writers.
Whether the goal is to give a memorable public address or deliver a killer line with friends, How to Be Funny is a charming, instructive, and practical read.
More details
Other editions
Additional editions
Jon Macks
How to Be Funny
The One and Only Practical Guide for Every Occasion, Situation, and Disaster (no kidding)
Book
11/2003
Simon & Schuster Australia
€13.50
Article exhausted; check different version
Person
Jon Macks is a former writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He is the author of Heaven Talks Back and From Soup to Nuts. Macks lives in Los Angeles.
Content
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Building Blocks of Being Funny
- 3 Proactive and Reactive Humor in Everday Conversation
- 4 Advice from the Pros-The Comedy Roundtable. Without The Table
- 5 The Comedy Prescription: What You Need to Do to Be Funny When You Really Need to Be Funny
- 6 When Not to Be Funny/What's Not Funny
- Epilogue
- About The Author
