I did a bond tour during the Second World War... We were raising money, and we played Boston and Philadelphia and most of the big cities. And we got to Minneapolis. There wasn't any big theater to play there, so we did our show in a railroad station. Then I told the audience, that I knew a girl in Minneapolis. She was also known in St.Paul, she used to come over to visit me. She was known as 'The Tail Of Two Cities.' I didn't sell any more bonds, but eh... they didn't allow me to appear anymore.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker recounts a funny story from WWII where a joke about Minneapolis and St. Paul failed to sell bonds and ended their venue access.
- In plain terms
- A joke about two cities ruined a bond drive.
- What can you take from it?
- Timing and audience matter in public speaking.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you recover from a bad joke?
- What makes a joke fail?
Another view
It focuses on one anecdote to generalize about performance.
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