Funny

I've been fond of Monty Python since I was a teenager.  Looking back now at their television and film performances you can see the tropes that they now express regret about (stereotyping women, people of color) and that is off-putting. At the same time their sense of humor was incredibly subversive and many of the concepts are still stunning to folk who experience them from scratch. I feel that way about much of the alternative humor I enjoyed in the 70's: Firesign Theatre, Bob and Ray, and so on. Mixed bag but much of life is that way.

I have read many of the writings of the members of Monty Python; they were all Oxbridge graduates and very literate. One point that several of them have made repeatedly has changed how I think of teaching.

When they were first cresting in fame and popularity, Monty Python came to America and did many live shows. Occasionally they would do two performances, a matinee and an evening performance, with exactly the same material. One show would bomb, the other would have the audience rolling in the aisles. The members of Python consistently stated that in such cases the first show was not funny while the second one was.

Humor is a collective quality; it is jointly created by the performer and the audience. 

I have come to think of my teaching that way. However much effort and expertise I put into my class preparation, learning occurs more in some classes than in others. The goal is always to get the audience you have laughing, not to pat yourself on the back about how clever the joke/skit you wrote is.

I am far from perfect but one of the things that I think I do better with more years of experience is reading a room.  That is useful in debriefing myself (about what I said that was heard and understood versus what I said and only I understood) in teaching and in public speaking. The hard part, the part that truly gifted teachers and performers do is adjust their performance in real time. If something isn't working, change course to make it work.