It is the Humor and Evaluation Contests time again! The club level contests will be held on 25th August and the Area level will be held on the 5th September 2009.
Please contact Vallie (012-6067495) our Contest Chair or Kay Ku (017-2910422) for further informations.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
The Language Perfectionist: The Perfect Blend
The Language Perfectionist: The Perfect Blend
By Don Hauptman
You hear and use them every day, perhaps without realizing why they’re special. I’m referring to what linguists call blends: new words created via the marriage of two other words.
Familiar words of this type include the computer term bit (binary + digit), brunch (breakfast + lunch), smog (smoke + fog), and Spam – the edible kind (spiced + ham).
They’ve also been called telescope words and centaur words. Lewis Carroll called them “portmanteau words.” That reference is now rather obscure, but back in the day, a portmanteau was a traveling bag that opened into two compartments. Thus, as Carroll defined the term in Through the Looking-Glass: “two meanings packed up into one word.” And, by the way, several of Carroll’s own blended-word coinages are still used, most notably chortle (chuckle + snort).
Decades ago, Time magazine and the gossip columnist Walter Winchell were known for devising new blends, some of which survived while others faded away. Among them: cinemactress, frauditor, genethics, guesstimate, and infanticipating.
If you keep your eyes and ears open, you’ll discover that the list of blend words is surprisingly long: advertorial, camcorder, Chunnel, glasphalt, infomercial, Jazzercise, minicam, pixel, and sitcom, for example. Because new things are constantly being created, and they all need names, the roster will surely continue to grow.
Here are a few more, the origins of which may not be immediately apparent:
guacamole: from the Aztec ahuacamolli – a conflation of ahucatl (avocado) + molli (sauce or paste).
happenstance: from happen + circumstance.
Tanzania: from the names of two countries, Tanganyika and Zanzibar, that merged in 1964.
Velcro: from the French velours (velvet) + croche (hooked). The ubiquitous fastener was invented in Switzerland.
By Don Hauptman
You hear and use them every day, perhaps without realizing why they’re special. I’m referring to what linguists call blends: new words created via the marriage of two other words.
Familiar words of this type include the computer term bit (binary + digit), brunch (breakfast + lunch), smog (smoke + fog), and Spam – the edible kind (spiced + ham).
They’ve also been called telescope words and centaur words. Lewis Carroll called them “portmanteau words.” That reference is now rather obscure, but back in the day, a portmanteau was a traveling bag that opened into two compartments. Thus, as Carroll defined the term in Through the Looking-Glass: “two meanings packed up into one word.” And, by the way, several of Carroll’s own blended-word coinages are still used, most notably chortle (chuckle + snort).
Decades ago, Time magazine and the gossip columnist Walter Winchell were known for devising new blends, some of which survived while others faded away. Among them: cinemactress, frauditor, genethics, guesstimate, and infanticipating.
If you keep your eyes and ears open, you’ll discover that the list of blend words is surprisingly long: advertorial, camcorder, Chunnel, glasphalt, infomercial, Jazzercise, minicam, pixel, and sitcom, for example. Because new things are constantly being created, and they all need names, the roster will surely continue to grow.
Here are a few more, the origins of which may not be immediately apparent:
guacamole: from the Aztec ahuacamolli – a conflation of ahucatl (avocado) + molli (sauce or paste).
happenstance: from happen + circumstance.
Tanzania: from the names of two countries, Tanganyika and Zanzibar, that merged in 1964.
Velcro: from the French velours (velvet) + croche (hooked). The ubiquitous fastener was invented in Switzerland.
10 Commandments of Humor Part 2
Stainton's 10 Commandments of Humor (Part 2)
Bill Stainton
3. Thou shalt avoid jokes……unless you tell them really, really well! Let me rephrase that. Unless other people have told you that you tell them really, really well! Look, we might as well be honest about this—most people don’t tell jokes well. I know I don’t—and for heaven’s sake, I’m a professional! In my mind, jokes have three serious flaws that make them a risky choice for all but the most seasoned and confident platform speakers.
First, they’re difficult for most people to remember properly, even without the added pressure of that unblinking audience. And if you don’t have the joke down cold—and I mean so cold that somebody could wake you out of a sound sleep and you could still tell it flawlessly—you’re probably not going to tell it well.
But even if you do tell the joke well, that doesn’t get around the second flaw: jokes are not unique! Unless you wrote the joke yourself, there’s a chance that at least a percentage of your audience has heard it before. If it’s a good enough joke, other speakers are probably using it already. And really, do you want to be known as “another speaker who’s telling that stupid parrot joke”?
The third flaw with jokes is that jokes exist solely to get a laugh (see Commandment #2). If it doesn’t get a laugh, you bomb. There’s no other option. The audience knows you’ve told a joke, that it was supposed to get a laugh, and that it didn’t. It’s called bombing, and it’s a bad feeling. When you do it in front of 500 people, it’s a really bad feeling!
4. Thou shalt develop personal storiesPersonal stories, or anecdotes, neatly bypass virtually all of the problems inherent to jokes. First, your personal stories are unique to you. Your audience will not have heard them from five other speakers (unless they are five very unethical speakers—see Commandment #8). And because you're telling stories that happened in your life, you're letting your audience "in." You're revealing something of yourself; thus, you are helping the audience to create a personal bond with you, Second, your personal stories are easier to remember. You’re not likely to forget what comes next, because you were there! (An added benefit to this is that you'll probably sound more spontaneous and conversational when telling the story, because instead of simply reciting something you've memorized, you'll literally be "re-creating" the event each time you tell it!) Also, these are the stories you’ve already told dozens—maybe even hundreds—of times to your family, your co-workers, and your friends. Yes, you’ll probably need to tweak them a bit for the platform, but by and large you know how to tell these stories! And third, if you’re following Commandment #2, you’re using your stories to illustrate your message. This means that even if the story doesn’t get a big laugh, it still has use as an example, and you can just move on as if everything is exactly the way you planned it to be. Believe me, this works!
Bill Stainton
3. Thou shalt avoid jokes……unless you tell them really, really well! Let me rephrase that. Unless other people have told you that you tell them really, really well! Look, we might as well be honest about this—most people don’t tell jokes well. I know I don’t—and for heaven’s sake, I’m a professional! In my mind, jokes have three serious flaws that make them a risky choice for all but the most seasoned and confident platform speakers.
First, they’re difficult for most people to remember properly, even without the added pressure of that unblinking audience. And if you don’t have the joke down cold—and I mean so cold that somebody could wake you out of a sound sleep and you could still tell it flawlessly—you’re probably not going to tell it well.
But even if you do tell the joke well, that doesn’t get around the second flaw: jokes are not unique! Unless you wrote the joke yourself, there’s a chance that at least a percentage of your audience has heard it before. If it’s a good enough joke, other speakers are probably using it already. And really, do you want to be known as “another speaker who’s telling that stupid parrot joke”?
The third flaw with jokes is that jokes exist solely to get a laugh (see Commandment #2). If it doesn’t get a laugh, you bomb. There’s no other option. The audience knows you’ve told a joke, that it was supposed to get a laugh, and that it didn’t. It’s called bombing, and it’s a bad feeling. When you do it in front of 500 people, it’s a really bad feeling!
4. Thou shalt develop personal storiesPersonal stories, or anecdotes, neatly bypass virtually all of the problems inherent to jokes. First, your personal stories are unique to you. Your audience will not have heard them from five other speakers (unless they are five very unethical speakers—see Commandment #8). And because you're telling stories that happened in your life, you're letting your audience "in." You're revealing something of yourself; thus, you are helping the audience to create a personal bond with you, Second, your personal stories are easier to remember. You’re not likely to forget what comes next, because you were there! (An added benefit to this is that you'll probably sound more spontaneous and conversational when telling the story, because instead of simply reciting something you've memorized, you'll literally be "re-creating" the event each time you tell it!) Also, these are the stories you’ve already told dozens—maybe even hundreds—of times to your family, your co-workers, and your friends. Yes, you’ll probably need to tweak them a bit for the platform, but by and large you know how to tell these stories! And third, if you’re following Commandment #2, you’re using your stories to illustrate your message. This means that even if the story doesn’t get a big laugh, it still has use as an example, and you can just move on as if everything is exactly the way you planned it to be. Believe me, this works!
10 Commandments of Humor Part 1
Stainton's 10 Commandments of Humor (Part 1)
Bill Stainton
1. Thou shalt target thy audience
This is the first and great commandment! You must know who your audience is, and choose your humor appropriately. This doesn’t mean just knowing who the group is, or even who the individuals who comprise the audience are. It means understanding the occasion, knowing the back-story of the group, assessing the dynamics of the event. I was speaking to a group whose venerable and much beloved founder had just passed away the week before. Now, I don’t do a lot of death related material, but you can bet I went over my entire presentation with a fine-toothed comb just to make sure there was nothing that might offend this audience, given the situation. I also made sure to work my way into the humor a bit more gently than I normally would. The point is that without this information, I could have gotten myself into a deep, deep hole!
It's also important to know your audience so that you can gear your material specifically towards them. For example, one of the workshops I offer is called How the Pros Write Comedy. I've delivered this workshop to many groups, and while the basic information stays the same, my approach - as well as the examples I'll use - will vary depending on whether I'm speaking to, say, a group of television writers or the editors of a religious newsletter (which, incidentally, turned out to be one of the best and most creative groups I've worked with!). The key to remember is that every audience is different; therefore, to one degree or another, every presentation you give should be different as well!
2. Thou shalt use thy humor to make a point
There was a time when I thought everybody knew this, but I continue to see speakers telling jokes whose connection to their message is peripheral at best. Now, I’m not saying you can’t throw the occasional one-liner or ad-lib in for a quick laugh. But if you’re going to launch into a story of any length, you’d better not be doing it just to get a chuckle! If you are doing this, you are committing 2 egregious platform sins.
First, you’re setting yourself up to bomb! Think about it: if there’s an element of your presentation that exists solely to get a laugh, what happens if it doesn’t get that laugh? You bomb! You know you’ve bombed, the audience knows you’ve bombed, and because the only point of the story was to get a laugh, you’ve got nowhere else to go. That’s not a good feeling. If, on the other hand, that same story is designed to exemplify one of the points of your presentation, it no longer matters if it gets a laugh!!! Sure, it’s nice, but the story no longer depends on it.
The second egregious platform sin of using a lengthy story just to get a laugh is that you’re wasting your audience’s time! Unless you were hired strictly to entertain, the audience is expecting to get useful information from your presentation. They’re investing their time, and they expect a return on that investment. When you use humor to make a point, you are providing both good entertainment and a good return on your audience's investment.
Bill Stainton
1. Thou shalt target thy audience
This is the first and great commandment! You must know who your audience is, and choose your humor appropriately. This doesn’t mean just knowing who the group is, or even who the individuals who comprise the audience are. It means understanding the occasion, knowing the back-story of the group, assessing the dynamics of the event. I was speaking to a group whose venerable and much beloved founder had just passed away the week before. Now, I don’t do a lot of death related material, but you can bet I went over my entire presentation with a fine-toothed comb just to make sure there was nothing that might offend this audience, given the situation. I also made sure to work my way into the humor a bit more gently than I normally would. The point is that without this information, I could have gotten myself into a deep, deep hole!
It's also important to know your audience so that you can gear your material specifically towards them. For example, one of the workshops I offer is called How the Pros Write Comedy. I've delivered this workshop to many groups, and while the basic information stays the same, my approach - as well as the examples I'll use - will vary depending on whether I'm speaking to, say, a group of television writers or the editors of a religious newsletter (which, incidentally, turned out to be one of the best and most creative groups I've worked with!). The key to remember is that every audience is different; therefore, to one degree or another, every presentation you give should be different as well!
2. Thou shalt use thy humor to make a point
There was a time when I thought everybody knew this, but I continue to see speakers telling jokes whose connection to their message is peripheral at best. Now, I’m not saying you can’t throw the occasional one-liner or ad-lib in for a quick laugh. But if you’re going to launch into a story of any length, you’d better not be doing it just to get a chuckle! If you are doing this, you are committing 2 egregious platform sins.
First, you’re setting yourself up to bomb! Think about it: if there’s an element of your presentation that exists solely to get a laugh, what happens if it doesn’t get that laugh? You bomb! You know you’ve bombed, the audience knows you’ve bombed, and because the only point of the story was to get a laugh, you’ve got nowhere else to go. That’s not a good feeling. If, on the other hand, that same story is designed to exemplify one of the points of your presentation, it no longer matters if it gets a laugh!!! Sure, it’s nice, but the story no longer depends on it.
The second egregious platform sin of using a lengthy story just to get a laugh is that you’re wasting your audience’s time! Unless you were hired strictly to entertain, the audience is expecting to get useful information from your presentation. They’re investing their time, and they expect a return on that investment. When you use humor to make a point, you are providing both good entertainment and a good return on your audience's investment.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Power of Silence
You might find this book by Horatio W. Dresser interesting. Download it!
http://www.beliefbusterkit.com/ebooks/PowerofSilence.pdf
http://www.beliefbusterkit.com/ebooks/PowerofSilence.pdf
Monday, August 10, 2009
More Freebies
Enjoy 2 FREE downloads as my gifts of thanks to you for being a valued subscriber to the Ron White Ezine.
- 22 Success Lessons from Baseball by Ron White (eBook) Retail value of $12.95
- How to Have a Winning Year by Ron White (MP3) Retail value of $69.00
Paste the link double quick before it is gone!
http://www.memoryinamonth.com/100thissue.php?utm_campaign=100thissue&utm_medium=email&utm_source=freegifts
- 22 Success Lessons from Baseball by Ron White (eBook) Retail value of $12.95
- How to Have a Winning Year by Ron White (MP3) Retail value of $69.00
Paste the link double quick before it is gone!
http://www.memoryinamonth.com/100thissue.php?utm_campaign=100thissue&utm_medium=email&utm_source=freegifts
Discovering Your Talents-Brian Tracy
A free report on goals by Brian Tracy. Title is "Discovering Your Talents". Copy link to download and enjoy!
http://www.briantracy.com/files/pages/Newsletters/pdfs/discoveringyourtalents.pdf
http://www.briantracy.com/files/pages/Newsletters/pdfs/discoveringyourtalents.pdf
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