WAKKA WAKKA WAKKA …Check out part one here.

Pastor Joel Osteen starts EVERY sermon with a joke. I don’t usually laugh at them, but the 40,000 people at his services do. Here is what I gathered from listening to Osteen tell THESE JOKES (the first one cracked me up!):

• Know the structue of a joke. All jokes follow a very simple path from beginning to end. First, there is the introduction. This is foundation of the joke. Second comes the punchline…this is where you want people to laugh. And, last there is the payoff. The payoff could be you getting booed out of the room or you receiving roaring laughter including but not limited to the throwing of undergarments in appreciation. Since you’re reading this we’ll assume your looking more for the second payoff.
• Get the setup right! For your average bear, this is where jokes fall apart. Don’t feel pressure to tell the joke exactly “right.” You don’t speak the same as whoever told you the joke, so set it up in a way that is comfortable and a good fit for you.
• Let tension build. Don’t ever rush through the set up or skip right on to the punchline. Instead, be sure that you give your audience time to follow the joke. But don’t go to slow either…see, joke telling is an art!
• BAM! Make the punchline STRONG. Don’t just limp in with a light finish. You have already put time into the joke. Use a good punchline and deliver it in such a way that it will be a real side splitter.
• Evaluate the response. You told the joke this time, why not again? Evaluate the responses you get from the joke so that you can see what scored points with the audience or what totally lost them. This will allow you to improve your delivery and timing for the next joke you tell.