Stephen Colbert is one of the most popular comedians on television today
and it is largely due to his ability to think on his feet and make people laugh.
Today, we're going to talk about three go-to jokes that form the foundation of Colbert's humor.
Once you learn these jokes will start to come to you on the fly and you'll have people cracking up without even trying.
I tell him, "You're trapped in the wrong body."
For him.
Yeah, he— [Laughs along with the audience]
Because I'm a nerd, I'm a nerd trapped in the right body.
We're very excited — Deadpool... the whole thing.
I'm excited that I have more than one suit. [Audience laughs and cheers]
The first go-to joke Colbert uses is the Fake-out.
The idea is to set up expectations going one way and then say something that goes the other way.
Obviously. Did you see him the other night? That guy is on fire.
He is on a rocket ride to plausible at this point. Did you watch?
I did. It was a strong debate.
What was it like? I didn't see it.
Your new book is America Again: Re-becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't which makes no sense.
Of couse, it does. Of couse, it does because America is perfect... and we have to fix it.
It seems simple because it is simple; that's the beauty of it and is why Stephen can come up with his jokes so quickly.
Watch Letterman's reaction to this in the next clip.
You don't like the new pope? Because he wouldn't meet you.
Well, that and he's not as doctrinaire as I would hope.
He's not into judgment — that sort of thing. [Audience and Letterman laugh]
He clearly was not expecting that and the absurdity of it has him in stitches.
Now, Stephen has the benefit of years of experience in improv comedy
but that formula he just laid out, you can practically steal verbatim.
If you want to build this habit, just wait until the next time you're about to say
you like something then instead say you don't like it then list its positive qualities.
It may feel clunky at first but you will very quickly find it becomes natural
and you'll start to crack up everyone around you. It can be as easy as one sentence to set expectations and one to save you unexpected.
I said no gotcha-questions. I promise you no gotcha-questions but I'm gonna leave with one.
If you want to get good at this type of humor simply get in the habit of asking yourself,
"What are people expecting me to say in this situation?" and then say the opposite.
...and you know his mother was Scottish?
I heard that, yeah.
Well, then what the heck's... that's the f**** problem right there. [Audience laughs]
Can I say that in CBS now?
Oh, yeah. You can say, "F****," all you want on CBS now. [Audience laughs]
The second go-to joke Colbert uses is the caricature.
Watch it in this next clip and notice how he changes his voice to create a character.
They got everything in the world. They've got mountains, they've got valleys —
the land is so raw — volcanoes... You feel like, when you go, there's a deep feeling
that, "If I moved here — if I just stayed, I would be a man." [Audience laughs]
It feels very raw.
Now, imagine if he hadn't changed his pacing and his tone and he had simply said,
"There's a sense that if I just stayed here, I would be a man."
You'd know how he felt about New Zealand but it wouldn't have gotten a laugh
but by slowing his pacing slightly and taking on the caricature of the manly man,
he captures the audience's attention and makes them laugh.
Stephen made his career out of this for a long time —
playing a character that shared his name and face but not his views or mannerisms.
In this next clip, watch him switch between the two
and listen for how you notice when he's in character.
People invite me to do things I don't always know who they've invited — me or the guy on the television show.
So who are you?
This is me. This is me.
What do you want to know about, father? I was asking you why, okay? Just because you got the dog collar on
doesn't mean you know more about the Catholic church than I do. Do you understand me? Are we clear on that?
Saint Basil? I'm no fan, okay?
Saint Arugula, that's the saint. That's the saint I worship.
If you want to experiment with this type of humor, you don't have to invent the over-the-top character ahead of time.
Just wait until the next time you naturally find yourself telling a story
and make it a point to try to embody the different characters involved as you tell it.
In this next clip, Stephen shows us three things we can play with to embody a character — voice, body language, and the speed at which you speak or move.
...but it would be different. It would be—
What exac— "Go improvise about..." you know...
Carrell: ...derivatives. Colbert: Really? [Audience laughs]
"Generalize ten obligations. Make it exact. Go."
[Carrell and audience laugh] Exactly.
And the characters don't even have to be the punchline.
Here's an example of Stephen showing you how you can take on characters much
more subtly not to get a laugh but just to set the scene and captivate attention.
Just for context, he was doing a shoot for The Daily Show at a KKK rally
and some KKK members saw them doing it and approached them.
Notice how he creates a slightly different voice for himself,
his female producer, and the KKK members.
...he was just, "Comedy thing? Are you making fun of the Klan?"
And she goes, "Look, guys. The president of the Klan's over there across the field. He knows all about what we're doing; go talk to him."
And they said, "We're going to," and they all walk up across the field and she goes,
It isn't a huge difference he doesn't go fully into character
but it helps him keep your attention and makes him more interesting to listen to.
The third go-to joke Colbert uses is Yes And.
Yes And is the act of taking something someone else says, accepting it, and then building off of it.
Stephen shows us how to do so effortlessly. If you make this a habit of yours,
people will love to be around you because you become incredibly fun to joke around with.
Seriously, there is no one I would rather perform with than you.
Really? Why?
Seriously. To be on— [Audience cheers] But it's true.
Yes And is great for multiple reasons. One reason it's great is that you don't need to invent a premise or set yourself up.
You can just listen for a joke and then ask yourself one of two things.
Either — what's the same as that but amplified or what's the next logical conclusion if that joke were the case?
Here's the thing — don't propose to a woman on top of the Eiffel Tower
because you want a woman who's gonna settle for less; that's what you want.
Oh. That's when I get to the bottom of a mine shaft; that's far away as you can get.
And it can create a great back-and-forth if the person you're with catches on.
You can crack each other up and crack up everyone around you.
Listen to this clip how Craig Ferguson throws out two random subjects,
Colbert combines them, and then Craig decides would be funny to act that out.
This is the History Channel. For a long time, History Channel's like Hitler and then it was aliens.
That's part of our history, Stephen, whether you like it or not — aliens and Hitler.
Stephen: And Hitler alien.
"We have come from another planet."
They're building on each other. What do you think Stephen does in response?
Stephen: Oh. Yeah, that's a good Hitler alien. That's a spooky good...
Stephen: He doesn't know he's like this. "Do you like it?"
He complements the impression and then mirrors it to join in on the fun.
Not only does that two-person back and forth make everyone around you think you're hilarious, it's also incredibly fun to be a part of.
And another reason that heightening someone else's joke is so great
is because, as Steve Carrell showed, it makes the original joker feel good
because they feel listened to and like you get their humor.
If you make someone feel listened to and understood and then make them laugh,
that is an extremely powerful recipe for very quickly making someone like you.
They remember.
Yeah, yeah. You don't get an empire from necessarily being nice guys.
You don't. But we did it with that certain gentlemanly swagger.
Right, you did. With a gin and tonic in one hand.
Bang.
What's nice about these three jokes is that it's very easy for them to become happy.
If you want to, you can make them second nature to you so that they just come to you on the spot.
And to make it even easier on yourself, don't try to master all three at once;
just pick one to focus on at a time. That way, instead of your brain having to spin
through multiple options, you know immediately whether to use a Fake-out, go into caricature, or build off someone else with Yes And.
Once you've gotten the hang of that one joke formula, then add in another.
Today's video was short so you might as well watch more, right? Here's three options.
Also, if you enjoyed this and want another on Colbert, please share it.
He's a captivating storyteller and quite good at standing up for himself.
If this gets enough views, I'd love to make a second one.
And if you like this video, click subscribe to see more about how you can become
your most charismatic confident self. Thank you so much for watching; I'll see you in the next video.