The great debate: unsolicited advice right after a joke bombs

So here's the thing, I told this joke at my buddy's BBQ last Saturday about a horse walking into a bar and the bartender says 'why the long face.' It got a couple groans but mostly silence. Then this guy I barely know jumps in and says 'you know, timing is everything with that one, you rushed the punchline.' Honestly, I wanted to deck him. But part of me thinks maybe he was right? Like, is it better to let a bad joke die in peace and move on, or is there actually a right way to handle the silence by accepting feedback? I've been on both sides, I've had jokes flop and someone tried to 'help' me fix it, and I've also been the one who couldn't help but offer a suggestion. Which approach do you all lean toward? Let the joke rot or let someone tell you what went wrong? Have you ever actually taken advice and ended up telling the joke better later? I'm curious where the line is between being helpful and just making it worse.

2 comments

2 Comments

wrenh6524d ago

Yeah I gotta push back on the idea that anyone needs to give you advice on a joke that already bombed. That guy was just trying to show off how clever he thinks he is. If you rushed the punchline, so what? You'll figure that out yourself next time if you care enough to retell it. I've had people try to "fix" my jokes too and it never helps, it just makes me feel like an idiot in the moment. The helpful move is to just laugh and change the subject, not analyze the failure like it's a group project.

vera_campbell24d ago

Honestly @wrenh65, I kinda disagree - sometimes getting a quick fix on why the joke flopped helps you avoid the same mistake next time, it's not always about showing off lol.