Never Show Your Trump Card Too Early

Never Show Your Trump Card Too Early

Have you met people who would say, “I’m gonna tell you a joke” or
“here is a joke for you” … which almost never worked?
Never begin a joke by indicating it is one, such as “I got a great joke”,
“let me tell you something funny”, “you are gonna love this joke”.
Think for yourself. When you were told this the last time, did you
really laugh whole-heatedly or did you force yourself to laugh though
it didn’t meet your expectation? And did it put pressure on you?
Sure, it can possibly win a few “sympathy laughter” but disclosing your
plan to tell a joke will invariably destroy all the tension you intend to
build.
In rare cases, you do need to suggest you’re joking—when
people miss the punch line or totally don’t “get it” (usually it’s because
of your overly serious tone or manner).
If such tragedy happens, your best bet is to smile or make a face
right away to indicate it’s a joke. If the same thing happens more
than twice for the same joke, do not tell it for some time. Although
you find it extremely hilarious at the moment, you might soon look at
it in different light.