It seems lately whenever I invite people to post in this COMmunity I always get this answer "I don't know how to write funny posts". I always had a problem with people treating comedy like a no-entry zone. I am a firm believer that comedy can be taught just like everything. And that's what this post is about.

In its simplest forms, comedy is about setup and punchline. And I believe those two can be taught. This is why I will be the most boring thing a comedian can do and explain jokes. Let's start at the simplest level:

The Set Up

The useful about Hive posts is that you have more space to set up your punchlines than you would with one-liners. You can have 2-3 paragraphs being only the setup, which is a lot. The punchline is where the funny part is, the setup is where you give it context.

The punchline can be anything out of the ordinary. People thinking they're not funny probably think that because they focus on the punchline rather than the setup. If your setup is clear, the simplest punchlines will work. If your setup is unclear, the most brilliant punchlines won't work.

Let's Put This In Action

Perhaps one of the best examples of this was a bit by Chris Rock titled: "Black People VS Niggaz"

The setup was pretty simple and to the point. That's because Chris Rock always emphasizes setups, he always makes sure to repeat the setup more than once to make sure that he and the crowd are on the same page before going into a parade of punchlines. Once you set up everything, you can go anywhere.

The entire bit starts with Chris Rock pointing out the difference between Black People and "Niggaz" and how he is tired of the actions of the latter. With the latter being obvious enough for association yet vague enough for any punchline to work with that association.

Here are examples of the punchlines to show how unremarkable they are without the context provided by the setup.

Can't keep a disco open for more than three weeks

Can't go to a movie the first week it comes out

You can't have a pitch screen TV

Without context, those just seem like random statements. That's where the brilliance of the setup lies. If you watched the video then you know that Chris Rock goes to the setup in between sentences to emphasize it. Later on, the setup evolves into the latter group wanting credit for stuff they're supposed to do. The punchlines are pretty mundane statements.

I take care of my kids

And after that everything becomes a punchline and a setup for a newer punchline. It almost doesn't matter what he says afterward because the setup already did the job to a group of people being problematic. Because he emphasized the setup you're going along with him during the journey.

How Does That Apply To Jokes

If you're good at digging the source of a strange action, you could paint it in a comical light. Setup how shy you are and your actions will remain odd but thanks to the setup, they will also be funny.

There are punchlines that are better than others obviously, and I will talk about those in a later post. But, you just need to remember how important the setup is before getting to the punchline.

If you're an awkward person, any example you will give will serve as a punchline and also a setup for another action.

Here's A Real Example

The following is an actual thing that happened to me.

I am so afraid of awkward situations I was once stretching my arm and a taxi stopped for me. Out of awkwardness I just ended up taking it to the mall.

Now, the latter part serves as a punchline but also a setup that helped make it clear how afraid of awkward situations I am. After that, you could put any addition and it will, at least in theory, be funny.

Halfway through the trip in the taxi I pretended to forget something so I'd get out of the taxi.

Or it could simply be

I spent 20$ on a taxi ride to the mall and wasted 3 hours just because I didn't want to admit to the driver that I was simply stretching my arm.

In Conclusion

Once you have your setup, everything should be easier from there. Of course, there are more things down the line but the basics will always remain the same.

Setups will always be the key part to focus on in order to write a funny post. You just need to emphasize it enough to give context to what you're talking about.