How to add comedy to your show
How to add comedy to your show
You may be wondering why, when reading a trivia blog, you are encountering a post giving comedy tips? Well wait there just one second as this could be the reason your trivia night is failing or could be an easy route to more success. You may be sat there right now shaking your head but let us look at a few key pointers and the reasons why…..
After all its “For fun”
The team of professionals in the corner may indeed base their weekly schedule around revising for and competing in your trivia night and may be uber-serious. Indeed, you may run a trivia night with a high level of competition where you feel like you are in the middle of a Western Saloon ready to explode….but on the whole 99% of players are there to have fun. For most it will have been a long working day, maybe a hard week and the trivia night is there chance to unwind so try not to be “Mr or Mrs Serious” behind the mic. It is essential to liven up proceedings with the odd joke.
Don’t rush in
However, in saying that one of the worst things you can do as a host is to think you’re a comedy god on your first night. If you go into your first event all guns blazing, hitting the jokes left right and centre people may be put off and remember…first impressions count. Ease into the comedy and the one liners, wait until they know you a little and you know them and gauge the reaction.
Know your audience
Your sense of humour may not be the same as your trivia crowd. Telling the wrong sort of jokes could move trivia players away from your venue. Sexism, racism and anything avoiding offence is never acceptable as a trivia host no matter what you may think.
Using comedy in questions
During your trivia night it is always good to break it up with a few questions that will make your trivia audience laugh. If you have a long round of tough testers on science, geography, history and sports and leisure then break it up by throwing in a questions with funny multiple choice answers, or along the lines of a funny news story or at least a questions that will stump the audience but cause amusement when they hear the answer.
For instance I used a question like this recently and it went down well –
“What caused a toll road to be close in Utah last week?” The answer was that a truck load of smarties had tipped over spilling them onto the road and having used this question a few times it always works.
So your job as a trivia host is to look in the local papers, the net and back end of the tv news and find the quirky “you won’t believe this” kind of stories”.
But DON’T turn it into a joke
I have seen many trivia masters before turn their entire trivia night into a joke and this is exactly what you want to avoid. I would say in a quiz of 50 questions 2 funny questions is acceptable. Any more and they stop becoming funny. I have seen trivia hosts fall into the trap of doing 10-15 questions per 50 on joke questions and if you do this guess what happens?….Your trivia night becomes a joke and most of the players will leave.
So add comedy for value, fun and excitement and to take the edge of proceedings but don’t overdo it!
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