There is a great deal to unpack here. Just a few things: when you and I tell a story AT THE EXPENSE of Dear Listener/Reader, we are dead in the water. In other words, I NEED to FEED off your attention to bolster my confidence. When you and I tell a story TO UPLIFT, BENEFIT Dear Listener/Reader, we are far m ore likely to be successful. That simplifies it further. Bottom line, am i dragging you along for MY benefit or yours? Do I so desperately need validation AT YOUR EXPENSE that I expect you to suffer through my verbosity? and one final note: funny speakers get work, more work and better paid work. VERY funny speakers (an d writers, etc) are never out of work. THE BEST find humor in themseleves and use themselves as their biggest target. Why? That teaches mastery by example, demonstrates personal power, and gives Dear Reader/Listener permission to relax, find their own sense of humor, and live a better life as a result. Wallowing in angst and bitterness? You will have an audience for a while. But you wil exhaust them, and folks will move on. All of us at some level seek hope and validation. We don't find it where the writer/speaker sucks the lifeblood out of us.