Podcasts Health Physician's Guide to Doctoring with Bradley B. Block, MD Learn to Make Your Patients Laugh with Scott Dikkers of The Onion

Learn to Make Your Patients Laugh with Scott Dikkers of The Onion

Published: Oct. 19, 2021, 10 a.m.

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Last month marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Two weeks after that tragic day, The Onion, the famed comedy newspaper, put out an issue with jokes about 9/11. How did they do that? Scott Dikkers, one of The Onion\\u2019s founders teaches us how. His rule is that comedy is meant to \\u201cafflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.\\u201d That\\u2019s why they put out that issue. To comfort the afflicted. As physicians, that\\u2019s what we do! How can we be funny, even in the face of tragedy?

Mr. Dikkers teaches comedy writing and has turned what seems unteachable into a science. He has described funny filters and all comedy fits into one of those filters. He teaches us which are the best for the exam room, how to recover from a failed joke, how to work humor into our office visits and lectures, and what jokes comedians can\\u2019t use, but we can!
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Scott Dikkers founded the world\\u2019s first humor website,\\xa0TheOnion.com, in 1996. A few years earlier he helped found the original Onion newspaper. He\\u2019s served as The Onion\\u2019s owner and editor-in-chief, on and off, for much of the last quarter century.\\xa0 He led The Onion\\u2019s rise from small, unknown college humor publication to internationally respected comedy brand.\\xa0 He is also a New York Times best seller, and Peabody Award winner.\\xa0

He documented his process for creating humor in his book, How to Write Funny, and the second in the series,\\xa0How to Write Funnier, and next on the way, How to Write Funniest, which are the basis of the\\xa0Writing with The Onion\\xa0program he created and teaches at The Second City Training Center in Chicago. Scott offers other courses and free resources for comedy writers on the\\xa0How to Write Funny\\xa0website.

Today\'s sponsor is\\xa0CompHealth. To find out more visit\\xa0financialresidency.com/comphealth\\xa0
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