How to be funny: 7 easy steps to improve your sense of humor (2023)

Learning to be funny is importantpeople skill.

Most people don't know that you can learn to be funny. In fact, I want to convince you that the funniest people improve their minds.

And being funny is important.

You will be more successful if you know how to make people laugh.

…but only the good laugh, not the embarrassing one:

Learning to be funny can make everything easier. let me tell you a story

A year ago I had dinner with my favorite person. But he hadn't said anything remotely funny in the last hour.

Dinner was great. The company was great. The strangeness was great.

He wanted to impress this guy. And yet he just said "Wow... awesome" and "OMG that's so amazing..." with overly dramatic expressions that make your jaw drop. my heart was beating My insides scoffed, "What a loser!"

I couldn't think of anything clever at the time.

I woke up the next day and knew I had screwed up. I'm sure he found it boring - dammit, I found it boring!

Feeling stupid, I asked Uncle Google, "How can you be funny?" I have some interesting but not that helpful answers. Things like "listen carefully," "appreciate irony," and "surprise."

I'm sure all of these fun tips are true, but HOW EXACTLY DO YOU USE THEM?

I set out to find actionable, user-friendly ways to be funny. I chose the best:

• Claire Siyan Li after reviewing over 1,000 talk show videos (yes, she admits to mild OCD).Video course: Become fun in 14 days- Anyone can use them to be fast and fun.
• My friend, comedian David Nihill, who spent over a year interviewing and researching comedians for his book, do you talk funny 7 comedy habits to become a better (and funnier) speaker

My goal was to find accurate lines and formulas that EVERYONE can use to be funny in everyday conversations. I wanted to get past the vague instructions that still left me at a loss as to what to say. We will change that for you too.

Using the research I just mentioned, I wrote a post on how to have more fun. If you want to know how to have more fun in your personal and professional life, here are the exact lines, formulas and practical strategies.

For yes/no questions, give the opposite answer

The easiest way to be funny, even when you're not, is to give the opposite answer to yes or no questions.

Yes, it's that simple. If people expect you to say yes, say no; If people expect you to say no, say yes. The more obvious the better. Let's see why this works:

This is Jennifer Lawrence's preferred strategy.

This clip was shot shortly after Jennifer became famous with itinsatiable games. Don't forget, I was only 20 years old at the time.

Considering all these factors, it is reasonable andexpected answerto "Are you used to it (all the attention and publicity)?" It's a big, fat "no".

I bet 99 out of 100 people would have answered Ellen's question with "NO! It's awesome/fantastic/crazy,” he nods, taking over the humility and giving you chapters and verses about how lucky they are and who to thank.

You expected Jennifer Lawrence to answer no. When he didn't, it got funny.

If people expect you to say yes, try saying no.

A yes/no question is your cue.

Let's look at another example from J Law - you'll know how much he loves this tactic!

Jennifer war die GastmoderatorinO Show von Jimmy Kimmel, Interview with Kim Kardashian. It was Jennifer's first time. Then Stephen Colbert asked Jennifer about her first experience as a talk show host, "Not that easy, huh?"

Guess what Jennifer said?

"Pretty easy! It's not that hard!"

I fell in love with this tactic when I saw Stephen's shocked face. The truth, of course, is that it wasn't easy. Jennifer went on to talk about why it was so hard right after.

A tip from 'How to be funny':When people ask a yes/no questionwhere you think they already know your answer,First try to state the opposite. Then, of course, laugh and give your actual answer, which Jennifer did after pausing for a high-pitched laugh.

The magic is that the moment you give the opposite answer, you surprise your audience and make them laugh. Then you can move on to your true story.

I recently tried this technique myself.

At a dinner party, a group of new friends chatted about each other's pasts. Knowing I'm a China student, one guy joked, "So you must be one of those smart Chinese students picked by the government, one in a million, huh?"

I said "OH YES!"

Loud laughing! Of course I probably am not. 🙂

Special note: For yes/no questions, provide the opposite answer.when there is a strongly expected answer. Otherwise, answering questions like "Is the weather nice?" is neither "Yes" nor "No" fun.

The best part? You don't have to be naturally funny to think of clever things. Just enter a "yes" or "no" and you're done.

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play with numbers

Uncle Google says "surprising" is the way to be funny. It's true. But how?! One way to surprise is to play with numbers.

For those who are afraid of numbers: fear not. Numbers are your best friends when it comes to having fun.

Why? Because the numbers are specific. If something is small, the numbers tell it. When something is big, the numbers tell it. If someone is an idiot, the numbers will tell. (Please forget the last sentence, but the first two are true.)

Therefore, surprisingly, it is enough to make people expect to be the opposite of what this number suggests. For example:

Amy did a phenomenal job preparing Ellen for the fact that the prize money was too small. But then she decided to make fun of it, so she spent $10 million, which is a huge sum! And that's why everyone was surprised and laughed so much.

Most people would think that a group of 150 people is not small. Sofia also made people believe she was saying a very small number 1) by first saying "It wasn't that big". and 2) the use of the word "JUST". Both are very convenient ways to steer people's expectations in the opposite direction.

A tip from 'How to be funny':If you're about to say a very large number, add "just" before it. If you really want to say somethingkleinNumber, say something like "that's a big number" beforehand.

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Use a rule of 3

At the most basic level, the Rule of 3 creates a pattern and ends up with something unexpected. For example, I say red, white and blue. But what if I say red, white and vomit? It's kind of funny and your brain cheers up because it was an unexpected turn of rule 3.

This break with the pattern of the first two elements creates tension and surprise,usually leads to laughter. Think of it as 1 normal, 2 normal, 3 funny/weird/different.

As you speak, try to see if you can think of an unexpected answer to 3. This is what makes writing so much fun. For example,

• I want to teach you to be more charismatic, loving and rude.
• I love hot dogs, hamburgers and handsome men.
• I'm so excited and happy and scared to be here!

See some examples from the world of TED here:

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Use a character change

When we tell a story, there are usually multiple characters in that story. For the most part, these characters have very different personalities that people speculate about. For example, Little Red Hood is thevulnerableone, and the big bad wolf is thatdangerous1. But what if you switch characters and suddenly the big bad wolf is vulnerable? Then people's assumptions get thrown into disarray and things get really interesting and fun.

Ellen was obviously talking about itFrom SofiaEnglish as Sofia is the heavily accented foreigner here. But Sofia acted as if Ellen wasn't talking about her, but about herReese. This unexpected character change is hilarious.

Two characters are involved in the story of Jennifer Lawrence fighting in a Budapest bar: Jennifer and the attacker.

Seth hinted that Budapest was a dangerous place.Jenniferget into a fight. But Jennifer acted like Seth didn't mean itare, but the other character in the story —the attacker.

A tip from 'How to be funny':If you and your friends are talking about an experience or story that involves at least two characters (that's pretty much any story, right?), then this might be your chance to be funny. Change character traits for an unexpected twist.

Bonusbeispiel: Fifty Shades Freed

In the moviefifty shades freeAna asked Christian: "If you don't come with me into the forest, what if I find a bear?"

"Too bad for himendure!” christian jokes

Christian replaced Ana with the other character in the story - the bear.

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Use "whatever" as your secret weapon

Sofia Vergara is one of the funniest actresses in the business in my opinion. She has a slogan:whatever is.

she useswhatever isespecially when people ask weird questions.

Example 1: Sofia shared that she ate a lot of pizza in Italy. Jay Leno saw an opportunity to poke fun at her, so he asked her how much weight she'd gained. It all got a little weird. Sofia didn't want to answer, but Jay kept pressing...

blow! By throwing an "whatever," Sofia changed things. She made it seem like she wasn't the one they were laughing at; it was those who tried to make fun of her who made fools of themselves.

We all have a friend like Jay who is bubbly and funny but can be a bit too much at times, for example when you are the butt of his jokes. Instead of secretly getting upset and putting everyone down, just say "whatever islike Sofia.

Here's another example of using "whatever" to turn a mistake into a fun opportunity. Ellen teased Sofia about her pronunciation of "pyramids". Sofia got angry? no Sofia was angry? no Sofia was upset? Probably a little!

But "whatever is' made it funny instead of being the butt of the joke.

A tip from 'How to be funny':Did your parents tell you that difficulties are blessings in hiding? Turns out, being funny and charming is also true.

When people make fun of you, make fun of you, ask you tough questions, those moments can be your golden opportunities.

When everyone expects you to lose your cool and you really turn things around by making fun of it, you'll become an instant star.

So don't be afraid of annoying questions. Be a star who exudes confidence, intelligence and charm. scream an'whatever is.“

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Use real life stories, not jokes.

Since the 1960s, particularly funny people have relied on something called "observational humor" to make people laugh. Classic examples include Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, whose experiences led them to not only do stand-up comedy, but also to create two award-winning comedy shows (NBC's Seinfeld and HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm). The beauty of using personal experience as fodder for humor is that your life experience is unique and therefore the stories based on it are original.

The easiest way to be funny is to highlight the really funny things that happen in your everyday life. It's a lot easier than trying to joke about it. Exceptionally funny people track down anything they find funny and practice sharing. Once upon a time, great comedians kept notebooks to jot down funny thoughts or observations and scrapbooks for news clippings they found amusing.

Today you can easily do this with your phone. If you have a funny thought, record it as an audio note. If you read a funny article, highlight the link. The world is a fun place, and your existence in it is probably even funnier. Accepting this fact is a blessing that gives you all you need to see humor and create stories on a daily basis. All you have to do is document the stories and then tell someone.

A "how to be funny" tip: Tell stories, not jokes

You may think that the story of your tripping and falling at the grocery store is no joke. In fact, in real life, jokes are harder to tell than stories. A joke is a false story presented as a joke. If the prank fails, you end up a fool. Instead of telling jokes, particularly funny people tell relevant stories with humorous elements. If people don't find a story funny, it's no big deal because the story has a purpose that's not just funny. If people laugh, better.

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delay the fun

When you have a funny joke, idea or joke, it's hard not to share it right away. But the best placed pun is at the end. Put the funny part at the end of the sentence. For example, if a cat is the surprise or twist in your story, don't say, "There was a cat in the box." Say, "There was a cat in that box." That way you still don't talk when the audience should be laughing. It also makes your period look amazing.

You can see President Obama doing it here:

An easy way to delay (and play back) the fun is to use callbacks. The recalls tie everything together in the end. Here it comes back (recall) and references the items you laughed at or builds something from the items previously mentioned in the conversation. It could be one of your jokes that worked, or something funny or memorable from someone else. Remember, you don't have to tell a new joke to be funny!

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Bonus Tips

If you don't strike up a good conversation after your pranks, you could end up ruining the night... Or worse, earning the nickname "One Line Larry". phew Need a little help with your self-improvement communication skills? Look no further! We've got you covered with this free gift!

Now I'm going to end with something you know but don't want to know:Practice creates masters. The more you practice your jokes, your stories, and your timing, the funnier you'll be. Start small with a few written jokes, a few casual water cooler stories. If you're really brave, sign up for an improv class or volunteer to write a wedding toast. His grace is worth it.

You can learn to be funny with these tips. I know because I wasn't born funny. Actually, I wasn't funny at all. I'm not a comedian yet. But I can say that after analyzing and applying these tactics in my daily conversations, I have become a much more resourceful person.

I want to say a big thank you to David Nihill and Siyan Li for these amazing tips. They have even more fun tips to share with you:

David Nihill has been invited to give a talk about Google which he would like to share. Watch her full presentation on how to have more fun here:

Siyan Li published his incredibly helpful book,Make yourself funny in 14 days: humor hacks for everyone who wasn't born funny, so you can speed up your path to fun!

Speaking of funny, here are a few jokes I raved just for you: