Who is your favourite comedian?
All of us love a good laugh. Whether it’s a funny YouTube video or a stand-up comedian, all of us like to be amused. There are so many different types of comedy that caters to different kinds of people. How many of you have a favorite comedian? We all do, right? We all would love to talk about them too.
Sometimes though, we all face problems when trying to accurately convey exactly what we’re trying to say.
Read on to learn exactly what to say, to make your partner understand why you love your favourite comedian so much. Happy learning!
So, let’s start by taking a basic situation that all of us can relate to, and work from there.
*Your favorite stand-up comedian has just come to your city, you are telling your friend, X, about him, and convincing X to go with you to see him perform*
Read on to find the overall flow, specific vocabulary, phrases, and expressions that can be used for an effective and fluent conversation on this topic. Right below is your guide to having an engaging conversation!
A conversation has specific phases that it goes through. Here is a quick look at what we suggest to guarantee you a smooth conversation.
Content : What is it that you are going to talk about?
Use the wh questions along with the keywords to help you put together the content.
- Who is your favourite comedian? – Ellen Degeneres, Vicky Kaushal, Kenny Sebastian
- Where is he/she performing? – Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi etc.
- What type of humour does he/she specialise in? – Jokes, Satire,* Slapstick* humour
- What is your favourite thing about him/her? – Singing voice, political puns, etc. (could be anything unique about the comedian)
- What forum does he/she use? – Talk show, Reality TV show, Game show, YouTube videos etc.
Choosing Contextual Vocabulary
Choosing contextual vocabulary to suit the scenario you’re talking about can be very important when it comes to giving depth and clarity to what you’re trying to say, as well as piquing* your partner’s attention. In this case, you’re talking about your favourite comedian.
Listed below are a few words and phrases that could come in handy while elaborating on the dish you like. Additionally, the meanings of a few starred (*) words are given at the end of this article that you could also use!
- Punch line*
- Genre*
- Personality
- Props*
- Creativity
- Laughter
- Audience
- Rapport*
- Performance
- Humour
- Platform
- Improvisation*
- Set*
- Wordplay*
- Trope*
Similarly. given below are a few descriptive words and phrases that you could use to make your conversation more interesting!
- Slapstick comedy*
- Humorous personality
- Comedy as a platform (to express ideas)
- Talented improvisation
- Well-executed set
- Clever wordplay
- Effective trope use
- Open mic events
- Audience rapport
- Quality entertainment
- Comedy scene
- Stylistic device use*
- Funny punch line
- Paid/unpaid gigs*
- Surprising twists
Organizing the Content : Putting it all together to create a comprehensive picture
Now that we know what to talk about and the words to use, let us put them in a logical order.
Initiate the conversation by bringing up the comedian you like, this could be done in many ways. One such way is given below.
‘Do you know Kenny Sebastian? He recently performed a stand-up set at the Egmore Museum Theatre.’
‘Express your excitement over the comedian – this could be why you brought him/her up in the first place.
Kenny Sebastian is so funny, I always end up laughing until I can’t breathe when I watch him perform!
Talk about why you like that particular comedian – here are 5 examples of things you could say
- I love how Kenny Sebastian always sings a funny song as part of his set.
- I really like how X is so talented at onstage improvisation.
- My favourite part of Y’s performance is how he uses comedy as a platform to express his political views.
- I think it’s interesting how Z’s stand-up sets always have an element of slapstick comedy.
- A’s jokes are so relatable, I love watching her.
Tell your conversational partner why you think they should watch the comedian, for example :-
- I know how much you love slapstick comedy, you should definitely check Kenny Sebastian out, he’s great at slapstick!
- You and Y share a lot of the same political views, you should check her out.
- I heard you were looking at ways to improve your improvisational skills, you should watch X, he is great at onstage improvisation.
- Z’s humour is really dark, it’s just your type!
- A is performing clean comedy* at an open mic near 5th Avenue, you should take your son and check it out, kids love him!
A model answer would be as follows :-
Do you know Kenny Sebastian? He recently performed a stand-up set at the Egmore Museum Theatre. He is so funny, I always end up laughing until I can’t breathe when I watch him perform! There is never an empty seat at his show, and the laughter never stops. I love how Kenny Sebastian always sings a hilarious song as part of his set. I know how much you love slapstick comedy, you should definitely check him out, he’s great at slapstick!
Meaning of starred (*) words
- Satire – The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s actions.
- Pique – Arouse interest.
- Punchline – A punch line (punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people laugh
- Genre – A style or category of art, music or literature.
- Props – A portable object other than furniture or costumes used on the set of a play or film.
- Rapport – A close and harmonious relationship between people for good communication.
- Improvisation – create and perform (music, drama, or verse) spontaneously or without preparation.
- Set – A group of jokes put together for a performance by a comedian.
- Wordplay – The witty usage of the meanings of words – For example in puns etc.
- Trope – A recurring theme.
- Stylistic device – Something said that has more than one meaning.
- Gig – A job, especially one that is temporary or that has an uncertain future.
- Clean comedy – Comedy that is generally free from objectionable material.
- Slapstick comedy – Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity which exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy.
- Hilarious – Funny
