There are only so many formulas to make a joke which causes the human reaction of laughter. These joke structures are like the chords in music.

All music you've ever heard is made from the same limited set of musical chords, and every joke you've ever heard fits into a formula you've heard many times in the past.

Once you are familiar with the joke structures on the following pages, you will be able to see how stand-up comedians and movie and TV show writers are building their jokes. You'll recognize the joke formula the same way professional musicians hear a song as, for example, the I–V–vi–IV chord progression—which is a common chord progression used across many genres of music. A professional musician could then immediately play that song on any musical instrument. You'll be able to do the exact same thing with the joke structures—recreate the jokes yourself using any subject matter.

In the following pages, you'll learn the most commonly used joke structures. For each joke structure, you'll be given several examples of 'filling in the blanks' with people, places, things, and actions to create new jokes that are both timely and relevant to whatever situation you find yourself in.

In the following pages, you'll learn how to create spontaneous jokes using the people, places, things, and actions that are relevant to the conversation you are having at that very moment.

These joke structures are not new. These joke structures are the building blocks used to create all of the jokes you've heard from the top stand-up comedians and the funniest movies you've ever seen.

Is this really true? You might be thinking, "But all of the jokes I've heard sound so different. Wouldn't I get tired of hearing the same joke over and over again?"

Well, with all of the new songs released every year, despite being made up of the same musical chords used over and over again throughout the past hundred years, these new songs still sound interesting and pleasing to the ear, don't they? It's the same with jokes.

The same joke structures are used, but the key positions in the joke structures are filled with different people, places, things, or actions. These substitutions make an interesting new joke. These substitutions also make a joke both timely and relevant to the current situation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

- There Are Only So Many Joke Structures That Make Up Every Joke (Like Music Chords that Make Up Every Song)

- Learning from the Very Best Professional Stand-Up Comedians

- Applying the Joke Structures to Everyday Life

- Why Being a Good Storyteller Can Make You the Alpha Person of a Group

- The Exact Same Joke Structures Being Used Over and Over

- How to Format Your Jokes for Maximum Impact and Get the Biggest Laugh

- The Classic Fake-Out (#2)

- The 'If by' Swap (#5)

- One Step Further (#9)

- Way Too Literally (#13)

- Pulling A (Fill in the Blank) (#19)

- Flirting - Exaggerated Strong Words (#21)

- Exaggerating - How Obvious Something Is (#23)

- Something Absurd - Far from Normal (#27)

- Seize the Crazy or Ridiculous Keywords (#29)

- Stating the Obvious (#31)

- Flirting - Calling Someone Out (Exaggerated) (#38)

- Self-Deprecating Humor (#47)

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