This thread is for discussing the article Head Judge O-pun-ing Announcements by CJ Shrader.

Great article, CJ.

One thing that I've found in my experience is that breaking a Limited (let's say PTQ) HJ announcement into relevant parts can make a big difference for important information getting through. You have a stage where players don't have product, a stage where players have product and are registering, a stage where players are building, and a final stage where players are seated for round 1 and about to play.

Breaking information about playing into the latter section, while giving time-sensitive or super important information about opening packs, can be much more effective when said right at the start. A few seconds into your speech, players will switch off, so important stuff should go first.

Thank you CJ for this article that I will for sure use for future reference, either for mentoring or self-reminder. And like Jack, I like to break down my announcements - keeping players attention for a long time may be difficult, and unloading many information at once may make it harder to memorize them all. After all, players don't need to know how many rounds will be played to sort and list their pool: I like to deliver information just before the moment they become important.

I'd just want to add about this statement “For the proper number of rounds for your tournament, see Magic Tournament Rules Appendix F.” that event fact sheet supersedes the TR, and should be checked as well.

And as for using humor, I'd warn judges that it's best to know what you are doing, as it's something that could easily backfire if poorly executed, and the message you want to convey could be misinterpreted.

I'd like to add one thing that isn't mentioned one way or the other in the article.

In a Comp Rel Sealed DeckReg + PoolSwap Scenario:

I've seen some head judges make the announcements to ‘pass left / pass left again ….’, then once done passing, make construction announcements (time for construction, register basic land played, anything not played is sideboard, etc). But as those extra announcements are happening, 20% of players are fidgeting with the cards/decklist if not outright laying the pool out. Extra noise. Reduced attention on you. Some players having (slight) head start (and then some players feeling bitter of the head start).

I prefer (and advocate): making these announcements prior to passing. “In just a moment we will be passing these pools. Once we've done that, …. 30 minutes …. basic land …. etc. Okay now pass to the left”.

Great article, thanks!

Like emilien, I want to caution using humor, too. Besides what he said, theres one other thing that might make it a bad idea to be punny, esp at the start of the announcements: acoustics. If the acoustics at your venue are less-than-optimal, and lets face it, they often are ;), a pun that makes players chuckle makes you harder to understand, esp for those that sit somewhere where you are barely audible to begin with.

Originally posted by Philip Körte:

…a pun that makes players chuckle makes you harder to understand, esp for those that sit somewhere where you are barely audible to begin with.

Don't worry, judge puns never make players chuckle. The groan might be a problem for acoustics, however.

Well written! I definitely agree with the expressed opinions that humour is something to use carefully and sparingly. I tend to dislike puns especially because it is already hard enough to follow a long set of announcements and if part of that announcement requires having to figure out if the judge is saying something meaningful I just did not catch or was just trying to be funny, it automatically negates something actually relevant that was said earlier. This is especially an issue if any of your players are not native speakers in the language you think you are being funny in. And, finally, each time you force a listener to use up some extra attention to figure out something you are saying, you reduce the chance that some other part of your words will be remembered.

For everyone cautioning about puns and humor. Let's not lose sight of the purpose of that section. It was titled: “Let Them Know You’re Here to Have Fun”. We are here to have fun too. There is nothing wrong with showing players that. We aren't soulless rule dispensing automatons (well, I am before I've had my coffee). Players seeing you have fun is a great way to inspire them to ask about becoming a judge. Id rather players see us enjoying ourselves than say “wow, those guys look miserable, I want to be just like them”. It's also a great way to set tones. Politicians make jokes during speeches. Many TED talks use humor to engage the audience. They do these things for a reason. An entertained listener is *listening*

I wouldn't stress that some might not get the joke. Yes…some jokes might cause problems. Declaring That for your Legacy Open all High Tide players start with one Slow Play warning might not go over well. But announcing GP Orlando as GP Hogwarts, while wearing the Sorting Hat, (universal studio had just opened a Harry Potter section of the park) is fine way to get some laughs and set a happy tone for your event.

Originally posted by Bryan Prillaman:

Politicians make jokes during speeches.

I would just like to stress out that this stance on humor is a really cultural thing, as your example demonstrate: this is something that is perceived as really unfit in some countries, where it usualy starts a controversy when such a thing happens.

Hence my advice: be sure that your personal community will perceive humor as a sign of being here for fun, as it could also be, in other communities, be perceived as a sign of lack of professional behavior.

I recommend avoiding humor if you're not funny. :D

I didn't comment because Bryan said basically everything I would, and he said it better.

I'm not saying go up there and practice your new 10 minute set for your next stand up routine. A quick joke lightens the mood, it can get attention (People want to hear a joke more than they want to hear everything else you say), and it sets the tone.

When I start an event, the first thing I usually say is some dumb joke.

“Why should you take two shirts when you go golfing?” “In case you get a hole in one!”

“What makes Switzerland so great?” “Well the flag's a big plus!”

(By the way, you'll never have their attention more than the moment they are waiting for the punchline)

Am I going for uproarious laughter here? No, I rarely get that ever. But what I have done is taken the big scary unapproachable HJ and brought him down a level. For just a moment, I've shown that the HJ is a human being and not a DQ dispensing robot monster.

I also personally find it much easier to go from “not talking in front of 100 people” to “talking in front of 100 people” if I have this little prepared line ready to go, it is an easy entry point to talking in front of a crowd.

Ultimately, humor is a small part of the overall process. It's only a small section of the article. But I do think it's important and beneficial.