Mess You Up June
It’s Mess You Up June, and we here at Let’s Talk Funny (spoiler: it’s just me) are concentrating on obstacles, the sh*t that makes our lives annoying but makes our stories way more interesting.
This week, I want to talk about Bad Luck. Have you ever had a string of bad luck that makes you feel like someone is sticking pins in a voodoo doll that looks like you? Do you believe “bad things happen in threes?” Have you ever had a series of unfortunate incidents that made you wonder whether you had sleepwalked under a ladder and crossed the path of a black cat on Friday the 13th?
If the answer to any of these is yes, congratulations, you have a funny story. If the answer is “I’ve had bad luck from time to time, but nothing that bad,” that’s good news for storytellers too, because even one instance of bad luck can be a funny obstacle that could escalate your story from good to great and engage your audience.
If you can laugh at the absurdity of bad luck happening at the worst moment, so can your audience. In fact, bad luck can be funniest when it happens in high-stakes situations.
Back in nineteen ninety mumble, I was in a big comedy competition and I made it to the finals. One of the gigs was in a huge venue and there was a packed crowd. My bad luck occurred when I pulled the short straw and had to go first. Going first in a competition is more difficult than any other spot because the judges tend to use your performance to set the bar for everyone else. This bit of bad luck raised the stakes for me. I had to be head and shoulders better than anyone else.
My main competition at that time was a guy who pulled the better spot. He was going up fourth. There was supposed to be an intermission before his spot, BUT bad luck for him, the MC made a mistake and introduced HIM, rather than the intermission. He ran to the stage, but he wasn’t mentally prepared and he didn’t have the set he was capable of. Now we both have bad luck. BUT, he also had some good luck: a friend on the Judges’ panel “scored him up,” which pushed him past me in the competition, and locked me out of first place for the rest of the competition.
Bad luck for me.
Here are some other common high-stakes situations…
…where bad luck can become a big obstacle:
Dates. And not just any dates, first dates. Emotional stakes are high on a first date, and they will get raised when you accidentally spill soup on your shirt or a waiter trips and drops a tray of food on you. I’m looking at you @laurahouse.
Presentations: They’re stressful even when everything is going smoothly. But what happens if you knock a water glass over on the Macbook that’s running your PowerPoint?
Big Meetings: Bad luck, I got a call an hour before I was to pitch for my first big job. I knew the competition was significant and one of the hiring people wasn’t keen on my lack of experience. And I only had an hour to come up with 5 great ideas. (Spoiler it all worked out ok for me!)
Dinner Parties: Especially ones with people you are trying to impress. If you misread the recipe measurements as tablespoons rather than teaspoons, now you’ve got a inedible disaster on your hands #ithappens.
Travel Mishaps: I almost feel like it’s impossible for only one thing to go wrong in a travel story. Your flight is delayed, your luggage is lost, and the hotel is booked and there’s no record of your reservation. Now add a wedding to the mix and it’s time to call in FEMA. And if you’re in the wedding party, it’s even worse.
Tools for you:
Mine your life for stories of bad luck. You know you have them. Think of dates, travel and work. If you’re drawing a blank, ask a spouse or co-worker. They’ll help you relive the hell that you can laugh at now.
Credible exaggeration: Now you have your story. Exaggerate it as much as you feel comfortable. Condense the timeline, elevate your feelings. All good storytellers do that.
Escalate the bad luck. Start with the small setbacks and build to the larger ones. Fiddle with the timeline and put the worst stuff last. (Again, all good storytellers do, and your favorite biopics do that as well. Don’t be a purist!)
Are you interested in 1:1 Coaching? A primer course on humor? Visit www.laughwithchris.com to schedule a free 15 minute call to discuss your goals with a 20+ veteran of TV comedy whose worked with folks like Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart and Nikki Glaser.
Reactions: If the ones around you are bad, be bad. If someone in your story has a good reaction or a good attitude that you didn’t expect them to, that’s a comedic twist. Exploit it for impact.
Physical comedy: Bad luck often involves it so paint the picture for us. (i.e. A bad date where you are covered in spaghettii!)
Set up the surprise as you reveal the bad luck …. All is well and then bam! Disaster!
These stories are generally entertaining and sometimes the only lesson is “roll with the punches” which is a good lesson.
See you next time!
More great insight. I love learning how to identify the parts of a good story. I generally have a sense of it but if something feels off, I can see elements missing. Like, I should up the stakes.
Love this: Condense the timeline, elevate your feelings.
& thanks for the shoutout!
Plus on that date, I'm 47 and scared I'll die alone--STAKES!