1. Before Starting
2. Selecting the Joke
3. The Set-up
4. The Delivery
5. The Punch-line

Before Starting
Remember this...
 * Good grooming is important.  Be sure to look presentable.
 * Being personally offensive or threatening isn't funny.

Selecting a Joke
Remember this...
 * Short jokes are usually better than long jokes.
 * Know something about your audience before trying to tell them a joke.
 * Before telling a joke to someone, put yourself in his/her shoes.
 * Know yourself.
 * Pick a funny joke.

The Set-up
Remember this...
 * Avoid trite or inappropriate set-ups.
 * If you are unsure that the jokee hasn't already heard the joke, don't ask them by using the punch line to describe the joke.

The Delivery
Remember this...
*  Tell the joke in a language your audience speaks.
*  Tell the joke to a crowd who will understand the context.
*  Don't try to use a foreign language if you don’t know how to pronounce it.
*  Use full sentences.
*  Don't use contractions or TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms).
*  Don't touch a cliché or a pun with a ten-foot pole.
*  Don't use profanity.
*  Avoid jokes requiring accents if you can't do the required accent.

The Punch-line
Remember this...
*  Before telling a joke, clearly remember the punch line so, when you get to the end of the joke, you don't mess it up.
*  If you don't remember a joke's punch line clearly, a cardinal rule is the funny part always belongs at the end.
*  A premature punch line is never a good one.

Notes from: http://www.yucc..yorku.ca/~dmitryb/fun/tell_jokes