How to be funny
Expert sources (2)
- 1
Body Language Expert Explains Why People Dislike You
Vanessa Van EdwardsBehavioral researcher - 2
13 Years of Communication Skills Knowledge in 53 minutes
Vinh GiangCommunication coach
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Summary
You can learn to be funny by taking improv classes, studying comedians whose style matches yours, reusing reliable jokes, and structuring lists so the third item is unexpected. If a joke falls flat, move on quickly. People who do not tell jokes can still come across as funny by sharing great memes and clips or by hyping up the joke-tellers.
Behavioral researcher Vanessa Van Edwards suggests you can learn to be funny by taking an improv class, where you get to try material and see what lands 1. She also recommends studying funny people whose style matches yours, paying attention to how they build their jokes, and reusing reliable lines or finding a comedic "flavor" that fits your personality 1. One dependable pattern is to structure a list so the third item is unexpected, which catches people off guard and gets a laugh.
Communication coach Vinh Giang adds that if a joke does not land, the move is to drop it quickly and carry on, since others rarely dwell on a line that misses 2. And you do not have to be the joke-teller to come across as funny: you can be a "curator of funny" who shares great clips and memes, or the enthusiastic person who hypes up whoever is telling the joke.
Find your comedic flavor and study people who share it, borrow the structure of jokes that work (especially a three-part list where the third item is unexpected), and adapt it to your own voice.