Ever see a cartoon in The New Yorker and miss the joke? Wonder how it sailed over your head? Redeem yourself through understanding. This presentation offers an enjoyable perspective on what makes New Yorker cartoons funny, even when they aren’t. (Sometimes they just aren’t. It’s not you.) The presentation takes 30 minutes, works as a great ice-breaker for teams, and includes an interactive “you-be-the-cartoon-critic” exercise. The topic is always fun, because the source material (New Yorker cartoons and the perspective of New Yorker cartoon editor Robert Mankoff ) is witty, once you understand.

BASICS: 30-minute presentation, including “you-be-the-cartoon critic” exercise. Required materials: each person needs a pen or pencil.

RECOMMENDED FOR: audiences 12+ years of age, 4-30 people

FIELD TESTED: Artie has developed and presented this topic as an after-dinner (or between-the-courses) ice-breaking exercise. Artie has presented “Cartoon Lovers’ Taxonomy” to corporate audiences.