Las Vegas Humorist Looks Behind the Gervais Humor at Golden Globes

Las Vegas observationalist humorist John Kinde looks behind the Gervais humor at Golden Globes.

All public speakers want to be funnier. We can learn from the masters who make us laugh and humor experts like John Kinde who teach us the techniques behind what they say. This was first published in my favorite ezine Humor Power check it out for yourself.

Gervais Humor at Golden Globes
When a comedian hosts an awards show, you can expect some roast-style humor.  That’s why they hire the comic.  A roast structure creates a vehicle to ensure the success of the jokes which follow.  Before you start firing jokes at people in the audience, you need permission.  This is usually received by making fun of yourself, which gives you permission to make fun of the boss or authority figures, which gives you permission to make fun of the honored guests.

Last night Ricky Gervais hosted the Golden Globe Awards for the third year.  Some people were surprised he was chosen as this year’s emcee because many thought he was over-the-top offensive last year.  But in his pre-show appearances, he made it clear that he was going to do some sharply-pointed humor this year, too.  The anticipation of what he was going to say helped build the tension, which is an important trigger for humor.

Here are some bits from his monologue (not the whole monologue) and some observations:

So where was I?
(A transition from last year’s performance to this year’s.  Sets the stage for “more of the same.”)

Nervous? Don’t be. This isn’t about you.
(He will start primarily with jokes about the sponsor of the event and himself.)

Hello, I’m Ricky Gervais and welcome to the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.  Voted for by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
(His formal opening lines establish the fact that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was an authority figure, a fact which may not have been well-known to the television viewing audience.)

Tonight you get Britain’s biggest comedian, hosting the world’s second biggest awards show on America’s third biggest network.
(Uses the rule of three.  Pokes fun at the host network.)

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Hope you can benefit from the advice from one of my sessions at Lady and the Champs How to Speaking Conference February 25- 26 in Las Vegas. Thought you would enjoy a sneak preview of what we will be discussing. The ideas apply no matter what you are selling.

Would it be helpful if your prospect remembered what you said?

Here are the most common mistakes that my sales clients are making at the beginning of our coaching sessions. By the time we’re through, they’ve learned how to avoid them.

Thanking prospects for their time instead of thanking them for the opportunity to discuss doing business.

Using a flawed conversation or speech structure. Focusing on your company history instead of how you can discover or solve the client’s problems.

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A great salesperson is a hungry fighter – someone who is committed to action and results: An average salesperson tells. A good salesperson explains . . . and a great salesperson demonstrates.

Integrity is the backbone of sales. Honesty is the best policy even when it has a high premium. Today’s Internet world is too transparent to be anything other than absolutely honest.

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