William Shakespeare said “Brevity is the source of wit”. Quality comedy requires brevity. Jerry Seinfeld relentlessly trims his jokes, even to the point of removing syllables and letters from words in order to maintain the tempo, timing, and brevity of a joke. We say “cut the fat!” That doesn’t mean the important stuff has to go. If you have something people want to hear, then leave it in! The hard part is understanding that most people don’t care about what you think is important. it has to be important to them! My best material is usually an abbreviated version of a shortened version of a tightened version of a concise version of what I thought was really important. I was reminded of this recently when I read a joke similar to one I wrote years ago but never used. In his book “The Comic Toolbox”, John Vorhaus takes me to school.
My version: Q: How many Amish does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: One to commit the sin; the rest to shun him for doing it.
John’s version: Q: How many Amish does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: What’s a lightbulb?
My Amish heritage interferes with my joke because I think it’s important to everyone. Turns out nobody cares about swapping an eternal-reward for electricity. They just want to laugh!