Presentation Skills: Funny Sounds

Some words are simply funnier than others. Your word choice can be the key to creating a successful witty line or a dud. All professional comedy writers agree on the following fact. The sound of certain words can virtually guarantee a laugh. In particular, the 'K' sound in words is the granddaddy of all funny sounds. In Neil Simon's play, The Sunshine Boys, Willy, a main character, gives his nephew a lecture about comedy:

"Fifty-seven years in this business, you learn a few things. You know what words are funny and which words are not funny. Alka Seltzer is funny. You say "Alka Seltzer" you get a laugh . . . Words with "k" in them are funny. Casey Stengel, that's a funny name. Robert Taylor is not funny. Cupcake is funny. Tomato is not funny. Cookie is funny. Cucumber is funny. Car keys. Cleveland . . . Cleveland is funny. Maryland is not funny. Then, there's chicken. Chicken is funny. Pickle is funny."

Someone actually researched why the 'k' sound is funny. It has something to do with the sounds we, as babies, associated with comfort. Like cootchie-coo, cuddle, cozy, etc. Note that these words don't have a 'K' in them, but they have the 'K' sound.

Examples:

Those turkeys over at XYA (remember no Z's allowed) company can't hold a candle to our team of installers.

I'll bet you a cupcake to a cucumber the blue team will outsell the gold team.

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