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James Nokise, 2024 Topp Award winner , relates. “My dad does more jokes per sermon than possibly I do per show. And my aunties all rip him to shreds, even though he is a revered church minister, his status is lowered immediately by my aunties. With humour. Always with humour,” Nokise told Nine to Noon
“Everyone knows that family dynamic of skewing reverence with comedy.”
But honing that comedic skill often means enduring public humiliation – especially in stand up.
“I’ll tell you what, there’s nothing more painful for an audience than watching a comedian grow,” Nokise says.
Is it a skill or does it come naturally?
Hotene believes everyone is intrinsically funny – just look at babies. But as we grow, we carry masks. “Sometimes the funniest thing is to just respond quite genuinely to how you actually think about stuff. But maybe sometimes people are afraid of that.”
For comedian Annie Guo, not everyone can be funny. “It’s like singing, right? Everyone can be better after singing training, but only those who have it [naturally] can be really good singers after training.”
Comedian Annie Guo says not everyone can be funny – natural talent matters.
Elisa Bonnafous
Billy T Award winner Guy Williams – whose brother and sister are also comedians – reckons anyone can learn to be funny. Just look at Jimmy Carr, he says – he’s just dropping one-liners that resonate for gags.
“The number of comedians who I’ve seen who are not funny people at all, I realise it’s a ridiculous thing to say, but there’s a lot of them out there who have just learned the skill just in the same way like a woodturner might learn to make furniture or a chef might learn to cook a pasta, similar sort of idea.”
Does watching funny shows make you funnier?
If you’re obsessed with The Office , Peep Show or Napoleon Dynamite , Williams reckons that can exercise your comedic muscles, especially if you also practise writing jokes.
David Mitchell and Robert Webb star in British comedy, Peep Show.
Channel 4
Hotene, on the other hand, reckons you should switch off. Get out, touch grass, and learn more about the world and yourself.
“I definitely know that when I just spend all my time watching stand-up comedy, I come out of it not being funnier.
“But if I spend the day, like doing arts and crafts and then learning about stingrays or whatever it is, all of a sudden I go into a conversation and I’ve got like 20 things to talk about.”
Making the normal funny
British comedian Jake Lambert, known for poking fun at everyday familiar thoughts via his social media, says recounting real events word for word can be funnier than trying too hard.
“I thought, oh, God, I’ve sort of become someone that would have been my mum and dad’s friends when I was younger, you know, people that sort of speak in cliches.
“I thought, what if I mock myself? And then everyone was like, ‘oh, my God, that’s me’.”
Williams says comedy often comes from addressing the elephant in the room. “One of my big skills is just getting comedy from going ‘what the f**k did you just say?’
“The number of times we’ve probably been in meetings or something and the boss has said something whack but we have just let it slide … Like, did the boss really just say orgasm instead of organism?”
James Nokise says being funny on stage involves trial and error.
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Even doom and gloom headlines can become tension relieving humour, Nokise says. “There are occasions where I’ll go and read New Zealand headlines on stage to the audience live. I think I did it last weekend when the Iran negotiations broke down and it was the number three story on Stuff behind the score of the Chiefs versus the Hurricanes and the weather report.”
Reading the room
People who fail to read the room – like “the guy who just talks too much in office meetings or is just a d*** or is just constantly offending people and then thinking that they’re right all the time” – need to be banned from comedy, Williams says.
Comedian Annie Guo watches the crowd’s the reaction to the MC and energy before walking on stage. Keep an eye on whether your ‘audience’ is more reserved or bubbly and adjust your jokes.
“When I just started, I did notice that some jokes land better with a Kiwi audience, some jokes land better with more immigrants or even Asian audiences.
“If they’re not vibing because of the cultural barrier or the context, then is it worth still trying? Or is it better to use another intro or hook to get them on board?”
Williams says comedy is analysing human behaviour – so if you can’t read the room, rethink your skillset. “If your miss rate is higher than your hit rate, you should think about retiring from comedy.”
Can you say whatever you want?
Speaking freely can be liberating but also land you in hot water, Williams says. Saying things on a TV show is one thing compared to real life.
“A lot of people would watch Curb Your Enthusiasm and think Larry David is hilarious and a lot of people would think he’s an arsehole,” Williams says.
Guy Williams say his New Zealand Today persona is “just a heightened version of myself”.
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So, before you drop a revealing joke about your childhood trauma or a controversial political opinion to someone you just met, he suggests earning trust first.
“You have to spend the first 20 minutes like earning that trust and then you can push the boundaries a little bit more. But it’s a dangerous game and I lose the audience all the time. That’s the price you pay when you do political or slightly less socially acceptable comedy sometimes.”
Guo, who jokes about Chinese stereotypes and Kiwi politics, says such material must be smart, original and unique. “[Don’t] like just go on stage and be like, ‘I hate white people’. For me, that’s just a way of trying to write something you think the audience might find funny instead of trying to write something you find funny.”
Nokise warns that some hide behind “jokes” to downplay racism. “We’ve seen that in New Zealand of people using dog whistle language and then using comedy as a shield to say, ‘no, no, no, I wasn’t dog whistling to bigoted stereotypes or bigoted language towards my followers. I was using comedy’.”
Should you say sorry?
Williams says he often says things he shouldn’t. If he loses the audience, he acknowledges it and apologises. “I do think that most people are forgiving, because we’ve all been in that situation we’ve all made jokes that we regret saying.”
Sometimes it’s just bad timing. “Everything has double or triple meanings and you’re like ‘oh my god, this would be a normal joke but because such and such has just had this situation…’ you’re worried about it.”
Hotene says it’s nearly impossible to be fail safe.
“I’ve talked to other comedians who have put out stuff where they’re like, I was just talking about laundry. I thought it was the safest thing in the world. And then somebody underneath will be like, ‘actually, this detergent comes from this company and this thing’…
“I think part of trying to be funny is that you just have some days where you just think about the embarrassing thing you said for about four weeks.”
Find your crowd
If three friends think you’re funny, you’re ahead of the game, Hotene says.
Guo agrees that supportive friends help you grow.
“They’re more encouraging and more supportive [than strangers] and then when it’s funny, they laugh louder than others. I mean sometimes it’s fake laughs. But it’s always nice to have someone react to what you say.
“Even if you bomb once, it’s like you’re still friends. Then next time or after six months, after they’ve forgotten you’re bombing, you can still invite them back and refresh the memory.”
When it’s time to let it go…
Guo says you don’t have to be funny to win people over. Everyone brings something different.
“If for example, there are five people talking in a group and everyone is trying to be funny, that doesn’t make sense.
“There’s got to be someone who is funnier, there’s someone who is more silent or someone who is more interesting, like talk some weird shit, and someone who is like the diplomatic peacemaker.
“For me, the diversity of people in terms of their communication style is more fun.”
