The Art of Shocking Humor

Have you ever wondered what makes a shock jock funny - someone like Howard Stern?

Now as I understand it, Howard is an extremely intelligent individual. He can not only converse with anyone on just about any subject, but also be humorous – to at least some people.

And that’s the key – to some people. To many, Howard and other shock jocks are just offensive. You see, they generate their humor by literally trying to shock their audiences into embarrassment. Some audience members find it humorous and entertaining while others find it insulting.

Is this a technique that you should use? Well, yes and no. 

A shock jocks job is to get people to listen – plain and simple. They are not trying to motivate their followers in any way. They simply want more people to listen so that the station can claim a certain audience size when negotiating advertising contracts.

In fact, some of the shock jocks’ most regular listeners aren’t those who enjoy the show – it is people who are offended by it. They listen each day so that they can hear what else is going to be said (and be more offended).

All of this works for a radio station – it does not work for an influential speech. I keep stressing that we want to endear the audience to us. Using shock jock techniques will most likely alienate them. Any attempts at influencing your audience will be lost.

So does that mean that you never use embarrassment as a source of humor?

No, it just needs to be done carefully.

I was at a wedding over the weekend – in fact I was the master of ceremonies. As is the custom, there were numerous speeches. The ones that were the most effective were not so much toasts as they were roasts of the Bride and Groom. The speaker spoke about some embarrassing moment that s/he shared with the target of the speech. In turn the audience laughed because a) It wasn’t them and it feels good to laugh at others, and b) they could imagine themselves in that situation and it was embarrassing.

Now if the descriptions of the situation had gone to far the speech might have become offensive. It was important for the speakers to give enough of an embarrassing image without taking the story too far.

The art of embarrassing your audience to the point of laughter can be quite effective – but be careful, it can also offend. I would suggest that you practice the speech and rehearse before someone you trust. Get her/his feedback as to whether you are going to far or not.

If they find it funny, then consider using it. Chances are it will endear the audience to you.

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