Editing Your Funny Material

Editing Your Funny Material – part of the Humor Power series

When you first sit down to write, do not edit. Just let the ideas flow. Put them on paper or into the computer. If you are writing jokes, write as many as possible. Later when you edit you will sharpen the words and eliminate the weaker lines.
Sleep on it. My preference is to edit material after I have had a day to let it rest. You will see it with a fresh eye and your edits will come easier and more clearly.
Enlist a friend. If you have a humor buddy, ask him or her to look over your manuscript and give you an editorial opinion.
If you have a long manuscript, look for the balance of humor throughout the text. Is all the humor in one place, or is it evenly paced? It is generally recommended to have at least one piece of humor every seven minutes in a so-called serious talk. Highlight the humor in yellow to visually see the balance.
When you are editing, read the text aloud. The talk needs to sound great when you SAY it. Some lines look better in written text than they sound when spoken. Be sure you know the difference.
Check the flow of your transitions as you move from one point to the next, from one joke to the next, from your opening into your first point, from your last point into your closing. The smooth flow of your talk depends on well developed transitions.
Examine the humor for structure. Have you eliminated the clutter and unnecessary words? What is the word (punchword) that triggers the joke? This word should be, in most cases, at the end of the funny line or story. Following the punchword with additional text buries the funny impact of the story or joke.
Does your humor or joke paint pictures? Does it describe the characters and the scene? Do you use colorful words? Use a thesaurus or a synonym finder as you edit to find that perfect word.
In the editing process, actually give the talk to a real audience. Perhaps you can practice at a Toastmasters meeting or civic club. The best judge of whether or not something is funny is an audience. If they do not laugh in places where you expected them to, they are gently telling you that your judgment might be wrong. Or at least they are putting up a red flag that the material is not funny YET, and that further editing in needed.
One edit is probably not enough. When I draft a new talk, I generally expect it will take at least three or four edits before the final version begins to take shape.