I think the importance of believability is why so many comedians turn out to be great actors. We’re practiced at making an audience accept some pretty wild premises. People will ask me after shows, “Did that really happen?” and the answer they want, and always eagerly accept, is Yes. They want to believe, which means they’ll work with us and do their best to buy in, but we still have to do our part to sell it.
They want to believe, or at least to be able to suspend disbelief. Let’s look at Superman. He could fly. He could jump over tall buildings in a single bound (Which is flying, yeah?) He could run faster than a speeding bullet, but if he let that bullet hit him it would just bounce off his chest. We accept all of this because we’re given a reason to believe it; he’s from another planet. Now, this isn’t scientifically sound, but it’s there and it's enough to let us suspend disbelief and enjoy the story. But what detail do we get hung up on? What detail have comedians been lampooning for years? The glasses, he puts on or takes off those glasses and suddenly nobody recognizes him, including his good friends Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen? We’re talking about a journalist and a photographer. These are folks you’d expect to have a sharp eye for detail. We get hung up on this because we’re not given a reason to accept it. We know he has superpowers, it’s explained by him being from Krypton, but we’re not given a reason for Lois, and Jimmy being morons.* Give your audiences their Krypton so they can believe you.
If you have a punch line that isn’t believable because its too outrageous or doesn’t fit your character there are ways to make it true. You can frame it as what you wish you did, or said. A simple “I wanted to…” or “I should have…” or even “It’s not like I…” before describing yourself doing this outrageous thing can make all the difference.
Another easy way to deal with believability is to tell the truth, or mostly the truth. But, know this; something being true, does not guarantee it’s believable. I once opened for the Wu Tang Clan. Nobody believes this when I say it, even though it’s true. They start listening for the punch line, assuming it’s a put on. But when I set up the context and explain that it was part of an all day show on the Capitol Mall in DC. I was on before noon. Wu Tang would be closing it out that evening. When they were late, the promoter asked me to go out and fill time until they arrived. I got to do ten minutes with my mic cutting out in front of an audience who were there to see Wu Tang Clan. It was a disaster, but getting to announce Wu Tang, and pass Method Man on my way off stage was the coolest thing ever. And now, with these details, you believe me, probably. It’s true, I swear.
Help your audience understand how it came to be this unbelievable thing would happen, or that you’d do something so out of character for you. Were you drinking? Was their peer pressure? I’ve even described my mouth saying something without my brain’s permission, and I got a bonus joke out of the fight between my mouth and my brain.
Sometimes just acknowledging that what you’ve said is hard to believe, makes it more believable.
I have encouraged brevity, but this is a case where the details may serve a purpose in supporting the joke in a less direct way. The words still have weight that the punch line has to carry so it helps if you can find some jokes in these details as well.
In a rather extreme example, I have a joke called Tadpoles about my daughter attempting to bring her pet frog back to life the way Jesus brought back Lazarus in the bible, yelling “Hippity Hoppity Come Forth.” I describe the frog actually seeming to respond, and me then stomping on it, and its quick enough, and shocking enough that the audience doesn’t get the chance to not believe it before responding. The joke has always worked worked well, but it didn’t sit right with me, and eventually I wrote a follow up where I explained that it of course didn’t really happen like that. I told the audience that I wanted them to know this because my comedy comes from my heart and I wanted them to know they can believe me, that I’d let them know if I was pulling their leg, but more importantly, I wanted them to know the truth because my daughter already had too many Twitter followers (a call back) I didn’t need her now having disciples. Eventually this follow up joke hit almost as hard as the original joke, and it helped the jokes that came after it in my set by maintaining my status as a reliable witness.
For a great example of a comedian doing a masterful job of helping their audience suspend disbelief and totally buy in to truly outrageous premises, check out the great Emo Phillips. His “Live from the Hasty Pudding Theater” is one of the best hours of comedy I’ve ever seen. The pageboy haircut, his silk, mismatched, colorful, and oddly fitting clothing, wonderfully exaggerated mannerisms, and singular voice all conspire to help us believe any outrageous thing he says. He’s created a character that perfectly fits his wild stories.
*Footnote
Yeah, yeah, I know, they do eventually explain the Superman glasses thing in the comics. You may collect your nerd points from me the next time I see you.