I was idly playing videos on You Tube recently and I came across Dean Martin’s Roasts from the 1970s. I had a jolly old time watching some comedians from yesteryear engaging in humorous roasts. So I figured I should write a post about roasts and provide some roast speech examples. Although I talk about them…
Category: Comedy
Secret Comedy Writing Technique – Callbacks
Here’s another post in my on-going series Secret Comedy Writing Techniques. This one deals with Callbacks. What’s a callback you ask? Well, a callback is repeating a joke verbatim, or paraphrasing a joke, that got a laugh earlier in your speech or comedy routine.
Public Speaking: Playing a Large Audience, part 2
This is a follow-up to my recent post about my M.C.-ing job. Unfortunately, even though I’d heard that the show was pretty much a sell-out, most of the audience didn’t turn up. However, I still opened the show with the energy and professionalism as if there were 750 people.
Public Speaking: Playing a Large Audience
I’ve got an M.C.-ing job tomorrow night at the Ashcroft Theatre in the Fairfield Halls in Croydon. It’s for a charity called Living Water Satisfies. The Ashcroft is a 750-seater theatre and is the largest that I recall playing. Even in my days as a theatre actor I think the most I’ve performed to was…
Two Killer Ways to Increase Your Laughter Power
I was doing my penultimate speech in an Advanced Manual at my Toastmasters club Grosvenor Square Speakers recently. There were only 16 people in the audience, including the time-keeper and General Evaluator. I was all set to go on second, when my name suddenly got read out to speak first. I went up and did…