HOME   |   ABOUT   |   KEYNOTE SPEAKER   |   CONSULTATIONS   |   TRAINING   |   STORE   |   CONTACT          

Steal This Blog...Please

I was watching a speaker open with something really funny.  I know because this speaker was opening with MY JOKE!  The Internet has become a place where people post jokes and stories that their grandma emailed them and, somewhere along the line, the name of the person who wrote those jokes gets removed.

Nobody seems to care as stealing is becoming acceptable.

You tell me – is this really weird?

I got a call from a speaker who watched my acronym routine on YouTube and requested a transcription of it.  Why? Because she wanted to use it!  How lazy are you that you need additional help from the very person you are stealing from -- to write out the routine you want to steal?

As I ripped her a new one, she was shocked and said, “It's not like it's so original.”

Now, she's dissin' the very material she thought a few minutes ago was good enough to steal!

So – here is why stealing is SO wrong:


1. It doesn't look good for you to do material that people have heard elsewhere. If your grandma emailed you a joke, chances are it's gone around.

2. An audience will sense that material is NOT authentic to you and thus destroys credibility.

3. You are undermining your own creative process. Stealing says, "I can't create."

You CAN write your own material and I can PROVE it!  Comedy material is not just relating the so-called funny things that happened to you or memorizing Internet jokes. Comedy is where you take something that is UNFUNNY and you do SOMETHING with it.  You act it out. You compare it to something. You discover the irony. You DO SOMETHING.

For instance: A pen is NOT funny.  But let's do something with it.  Answer this question:

A pen is JUST LIKE SEX BECAUSE...

Don't be scared – try it.  WRITE YOUR JOKE in the comment portion.


Congratulations!  You’ve now engaged in the creative process.  You are now GIVING rather than STEALING.  Doesn't it feel good?  Continue on!

24 comments:

  1. Judy, No, it's complete as it is. A penis just likes sex, because....

    See you at NSA. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sometimes they just don't work

    I like Alan's, if you remove a little space...

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. it's a drag when you run out of ink...

    ReplyDelete
  5. A pen is like sex because if your too rough with it, springs can go flying everywhere or if you play with it too much it will explode.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Both serve to make up stories!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Even the crummy cheap ones are still pretty good.

    ReplyDelete
  8. As for the lady stealing your "acronym routine" I understand you think you need to steal my TV, but please don't ask me to carry it to the car for you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. A pen is like sex because it can make a mess on a dress that can get you impeached.

    ReplyDelete
  10. because when you really need it you can never find it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. A pen is JUST LIKE SEX BECAUSE... afterwards, you can't find the top.

    ReplyDelete
  12. A pen is just like sex because after it's used, what's done can't be erased.

    ReplyDelete
  13. ... it's great to have when it's new and works right, but half the time it either blows too fast and leaks all over you or just graaaaaaadually runs out and isn't any good for anybody. (Christopher Easton/Aida Libido)

    ReplyDelete
  14. "A pen is just like sex because, when it gets old, it just dries up" You may steal that. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. A pen is like sex because both are better controlled by your own hand.

    ReplyDelete
  16. A pen is like sex because Tjust as you get the creative Tjuices flowing...it runs out of ink! ...and Nobody wants to get up and look for a replacement cartridge in the middle of deep thought

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. wow is MOM upside down! My name is Normally Rob Tjader ..not sure what d028c0f0-c0eb-11e3-85db-000bcdcb2996April IS....oh well Enjoy Tjudy!

      Delete
  17. A pen is like sex...cheap or expensive they both give the same amount of ink with each stroke

    ReplyDelete
  18. A pen is like sex because HAHAHA no way, write your own pen jokes lady ;-) I'm looking forward to your books arriving in the mail.

    ReplyDelete
  19. .....you also don't want to be seen with a Bic in your mouth

    ReplyDelete

Judy's Blog

Judy Carter blogs on comedy, storytelling and public speaking techniques, using personal stories and her adventures as a stand-up comic turned motivational public speaker. Her weekly blogs are read by fans of her books, “The Comedy Bible” (Simon and Schuster) and “The Message of You” (St. Martin’s Press), which include comics, speakers, and entrepreneurs. She is also known for teaching the value of humor and storytelling to businesses as a leadership and stress reduction tool.