Comments on: Humor is not teachable! http://www.bradlaughs.com/2006/03/22/humor-is-not-teachable/ Motivational Speaker & Humorist Brad Montgomery Writes about Humor In the Workplace, Office Pranks, And Office Humor.. Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:09:14 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rory Vaden http://www.bradlaughs.com/2006/03/22/humor-is-not-teachable/comment-page-1/#comment-29 Rory Vaden Wed, 29 Mar 2006 03:18:16 +0000 http://www.bradlaughs.com/?p=178#comment-29 Well having studied directly under Brad Montgomery on a few occasions (not physically under, but, well you know what I mean) I definately think that humor can be learned. Whether he knows it or not Brad is truly one of the masters! In fact, I have spent most of the last year of my life blowing off my MBA studies and reading books, watching films, and attending conferences to learn to be funny. As part of my learning I am now teaching others to be funny and I believe that humor can certainly be learned! However, as with anything else that can be learned, I believe you then have to apply the discipline to use what you have learned and exercise your new skill. That is the part that most people never get around to; being disciplined to sit and write and then disciplined to try it on stage. Humor can be learned exactly as math can be learned; and it can be forgotten exactly as math too. To master anything it takes discipline to work at it everyday to strengthen your funny bone (or your math bone or whatever). So I would say that "art" is more often a term used by amateurs as a way of describing the unexplainable high level of skill of a professional (like Brad Montgomery or Jerry Seinfield) that in reality is just the output of their discipline. When you love something, it is easy to be disciplined about it-even without noticing. You're a champion! Signing off, Young Grasshoppa rory vaden Well having studied directly under Brad Montgomery on a few occasions (not physically under, but, well you know what I mean) I definately think that humor can be learned. Whether he knows it or not Brad is truly one of the masters!

In fact, I have spent most of the last year of my life blowing off my MBA studies and reading books, watching films, and attending conferences to learn to be funny. As part of my learning I am now teaching others to be funny and I believe that humor can certainly be learned!

However, as with anything else that can be learned, I believe you then have to apply the discipline to use what you have learned and exercise your new skill. That is the part that most people never get around to; being disciplined to sit and write and then disciplined to try it on stage.

Humor can be learned exactly as math can be learned; and it can be forgotten exactly as math too. To master anything it takes discipline to work at it everyday to strengthen your funny bone (or your math bone or whatever).

So I would say that “art” is more often a term used by amateurs as a way of describing the unexplainable high level of skill of a professional (like Brad Montgomery or Jerry Seinfield) that in reality is just the output of their discipline. When you love something, it is easy to be disciplined about it-even without noticing. You’re a champion!

Signing off,
Young Grasshoppa
rory vaden

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