The Joke’s on You!
With fifteen minutes to go before delivering a speech, Tony Blair would often begin a desperate last-minute search for jokes he could use in it. One of his speechwriters, Philip Collins, said it was as though Blair thought that jokes come entirely disembodied from the process of writing.
We all know that telling jokes is a risky business at the best of times, but Collins’ observation suggests there may be deeper reasons for thinking twice before using them in a speech or presentation. Collins' remark reminds us that, if a speech is to work as a coherent whole, its various elements – arguments, stories, images, metaphors, etc – need to evolve organically from the process of writing it. But adding a last-minute joke to a well-crafted speech involves taking an entirely unnecessary risk – it is rather like going to a fine restaurant and sprinkling your own mix of seasoning onto the great chef's signature dish.
But there is an exception to the rule. Sometimes we come across a joke at the beginning of the speech-writing process that sparks off ideas for the speech we're about to write. Using a joke in this way makes sense because, far from being disembodied from the process of writing, the joke acts like a seed from which the rest of the speech will emerge.
This kind of joke is likely to be a very different animal from the majority of jokes we come across. Most jokes are modest little creatures who have no interest in being thought-provoking or memorable; their sole purpose in life is to raise a laugh. However, a joke capable of acting as a foundation stone for a speech or presentation has its sights set on bigger things. This kind of joke has one essential quality its run-of-the-mill cousins lack – and that quality is wit.
The wisdom of wit
A witty joke or comment demands more from its audience than the sound of laughter. It has loftier ambitions than the simple joke because it wants to make its mark by getting its audience to reflect more deeply on what is being said. Wit accomplishes this feat by taking two (or more) apparently unrelated ideas and forging a meaningful and surprising connection between them. When wit pulls off this trick, an audience experiences both enlightenment and amusement. What's more, audiences are flattered by wit because it appeals to their intelligence.
There are of course times when the result of making a witty remark is laughter, but it's important to remember that laughter is never the primary purpose of wit, it's just an occasional bonus. From a speaker's point of view one of the main benefits of using wit is that a witty observation is likely to be more memorable than a straightforward joke – which is probably why it's so hard to remember most jokes.
Wit at work
Let's look at an example of wit doing its job to devastating effect. In November 2007, Gordon Brown's honeymoon period was brought to an abrupt and painful end when Liberal Democrat Vince Cable said in the House of Commons that "the House has noticed the Prime Minister's remarkable transformation in the past few weeks – from Stalin to Mr Bean."
The remark made members of the House – including some of Brown's own party – howl with laughter. Even now, a year and a half later, the wound it inflicted on Brown still weeps. For years, Brown and his PR machine had assiduously cultivated an image of a prudent, authoritative Prime-Minister-in-Waiting – a man who knew his own mind, and acted on his convictions. But a few months after taking up the reins of power, Brown's reputation began to crumble as he dithered over whether to call a general election or sit tight. Cable's witticism perfectly, and economically, encapsulated Brown's predicament by seeing his fall from grace as a bathetic character transformation from Stalin to Mr Bean.
The idea of Brown as a Stalin figure wasn't new. But the idea of Brown as a Mr Bean figure was new, and very unexpected. Brown as Mr Bean was certainly a somewhat extreme analogue, but it has turned out to be an inspired one. The image of Brown morphing overnight from Stalin into Mr Bean has proven to be highly memorable because it is visual, surprising and surreally funny. Like all successful witticisms, it made us see someone (or something) familiar in a profoundly different, and eye-opening, way. It was an unwelcome makeover for poor Gordon – and one from which he'll probably never recover. That's the power of wit.
© 2009 Martin Shovel
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