How to Make People Laugh
Everybody loves to laugh. It makes us feel good. People with a good sense of humor are social magnets. We love to be around them. Some people are natural comedians, or so they seem. One time when I was lecturing on a cruise ship, I met a terrific comedian. Aside from enjoying his show, I had dinner with him on several occasions. He had an incredibly quick wit and I told him what a gift that was. “Oh, no,” he said, “I wasn’t born with it. A sense of humor is a muscle. It has to be developed.”
So what does it take to be funny? Start by building a repertoire of funny stories, jokes, cartoons, one-liners.
LOOK FOR HUMOR
When you find it, save it. Create a notebook or file full of things that make you laugh or, at least, chuckle. Add to it every day.
The brain seeks and finds what you’re looking for. Once you open your eyes and ears to humor, you will find it everywhere.
Keeping A Laugh Book…
trains your brain to look for and appreciate humor,
helps to develop a humorous perspective,
provides material for entertaining others.
Life is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
POTENTIAL SOURCES
Television — Internet — Videos — Movies — Books — T-shirts — Bumper stickers — Magazines and newspapers — Personal experience
SAMPLE CATEGORIES
Kids Say the Funniest Things…
From Sunday School students…
Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.
Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony.
The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.
Mix-ups and Misprints
From newspaper headlines…
Hospital Sued By 7 Foot Doctors
Miners Refuse To Work After Death
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
Songs and Bumper Stickers
Real country western song titles…
I hope you’re living as high on the hog as the pig you turned out to be.
Walk out slowly backward so I’ll think you’re walking in.
Bumper stickers…
I childproofed my house… but they still get in.
My reality check just bounced.
Epitaphs on Tombstones
Here lies Johnny Yeast. Pardon me for not rising.
Here lies Lester Moore. Four slugs from a .44. No Les No More.
Here lies an Atheist. All dressed up and no place to go.
At different ages and stages of life, different types of humor appeal to us. So the essential question to ask before trying to be funny…
WHO IS MY AUDIENCE?
Very young children like jokes and riddles that are quick, simple and easy to grasp. The sillier, the better. Think back to some of your favorites when you were a child… Why did the chicken cross the road? (To get to the other side.) Why did the man throw the clock out the window? (To see time fly.) The same funny story, movie or joke doesn’t cease to tickle children. They love it to be repeated over and over, and laugh louder each time.
From an early age through adolescence, fascination with bodies makes what’s known as bathroom or toilet humor a favorite, especially among boys.
Adolescents like to express rebelliousness with gross jokes. They also find other people’s mistakes, misfortunes and shortcomings funny. It helps them mask their insecurities.
Our sense of humor develops as we age. It often becomes more intellectual and subtle. We may still laugh at other’s misfortunes, but it is usually with a little empathy and a sense of relief — thank goodness that isn’t me.
To be appreciated by the most people, the core of humor must be general, related to experiences we can all identify with — life’s everyday problems, stresses, universal issues. Subjects like the relationship between the sexes….
Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.
Be aware of your audience. What one person thinks amusing, another may find offensive. Don’t be surprised if the joke your pals loved goes over like a lead balloon with the opposite sex.
A good joke can fall flat in the wrong hands — or mouth as the case may be. Good delivery makes even dull anecdotes funny. Practice telling a joke like a story.
Elements of a Joke
1. INCONGRUITY is central to humor. We follow a story anticipating one outcome and a sudden twist leads to something completely different and unexpected. When expectations are turned on their head and the unanticipated or illogical occurs, people laugh. We find the incompatibility and surprise funny.
An English playwright brought a friend to a party. She sat down in a wicker chair, the wicker gave way and she jackknifed through it. A shocked hush that fell over the partygoers. The playwright said, “Beatrice, how many times have I told you that isn’t funny.”
When we hear this story, our minds lead us in one direction and we anticipate a specific outcome. We expect concern and sympathy. The incongruous, witty response of the playwright makes us laugh.
2. RELEASE. When we get emotionally involved in a story or joke, we build tension. Humor opens a valve, pent up energy escapes, and we instantly feel relieved. The release relaxes the body and opens the mind. In the previous story, we can picture poor Beatrice falling through the chair and feel stressed for her. Laughter relieves tension. The buildup of tension followed by sudden release is the formula most jokes are built around.
3. RHYTHM. A good story teller has rhythm and so does a good joke. 95% of jokes have a three step rhythmic build up. Something happens three times or in three different ways or the same words are repeated three times. With each repetition, tension builds. Then comes the punch line, the unexpected twist, and with it the sudden release of tension.
4. TIMING. Jack Benny was a master of timing. Though he made fun of his musical talent, he was actually a very good violinist. In fact, he started out as a musician on the vaudeville circuit. At a benefit he gave during the war, his musical performance was not going over well. He started cracking jokes to break the tension.
The jokes went over so well that the course of his life changed that night. Jack Benny claimed timing — he preferred the word pacing — was vital to his success.
A surprising number of comedians have a musical background. Perhaps that’s what gives them such good timing. Stories are meant to reel the listener in, gradually arousing emotional involvement. The humor is in the telling as much as the punch line. If the story or punch line is rushed, they lose their punch.
No matter what age we may be, we can nurture a sense of humor and develop comedic talents. Pay attention to what makes you laugh — a certain comic, television show, reading funny material, playing with children? Whatever it is, incorporate more of it in your life. Cultivate a playful attitude. See the silliness and humor in daily life. Practice telling jokes and making others laugh.
Laughter is an instant vacation. Milton Berle
Laughter is contagious. Sprinkle smiles and laughter throughout your day and others will join in. Spend time with funny people. You’ll start to think like they do. On one cruise ship, we had a tablemate who was a master of puns. Hardly a sentence could be spoken without him making a humorous pun. One evening he left his eyeglasses on the table. The waiter called after him, “Excuse me, sir. You’ve forgotten your glasses.”
“Oh, my,” said Pat. “I’ve made a spectacle of myself.” By the end of the cruise, every person at our table was a punster.
Laugh at yourself. Self-deprecating humor shows you don’t take yourself too seriously and that puts others at ease. Rodney Dangerfield was a master of this type of humor. He turned to humor to escape the harsh reality of his life and became successful by turning it into his trademark, “I don’t get no respect:” Some of his classic, self- deprecating lines…
I told a psychiatrist everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous — everyone hasn’t met me yet.
I asked my Dad if I could go ice-skating. He said, “Wait until it gets warmer.”
Stretch your imagination and wit by re-working common idioms. Take the beginning of a cliché and add your own ending.
If at first you don’t succeed __________
A stitch in time ____________________
If it’s worth doing __________________
Can you be as clever as 1st graders….
Don’t bite the hand that — looks dirty.
A penny saved is — not much.
When the blind lead the blind — get out of the way.
A miss is as good as — a mister.
Laughter is an easy, fun way to improve health, elevate mood, improve performance, increase cope-ability and enhance relationships. It’s a muscle that gets stronger with use, a miracle drug with no bad side effects.
Excerpted from: Make the Best of the Rest of your Life
