Oftentimes, being with friends who make us laugh really hard makes us feel better.
You don’t really need to laugh out loud, being quietly and privately amused could also make your day complete.
Humor has tremendous benefits in our daily lives. A famous expression states that “laughter is the best medicine”, it is not just a cliché but has a real scientific evidence.
Research shows that laughter affects our physical, emotional, social, and mental activities. Some of these benefits include:
Physical Impact
Reduce muscle tension and pain.
Eliminates Stress
Ease conditions characterized by a spasm-pain-spasm cycle like rheumatism and neuralgia.
Immune system enhancement
Decreased the rate of spreading tumors
Increase antibody production, natural killer cell activity, and the effectiveness of cytotoxic T-cells
Emotional Impact
Helps diffuse anger
Promotes the development of better perspective
Stave off depression, anxiety and tension
Increase hope, optimism, energy, and vigor
Mental Impact
Increase creativity
Improve problem-solving ability
Enhance memory
Increases ability to cope with stress
Social Impact
Brings people together and makes for a more relaxed atmosphere
Increases self-esteem and confidence
Enhance friendliness and altruism thus develop closer relationships
Being humorous may be too easy for others but for some it may take a lifetime to even attempt to master.
People makes joke because of various reasons, either it is for popularity, self-satisfaction, or making people happy.
If you want to be funny, learning on some of things will help you make a joke in no time.
Learn things that make you laugh
If you want to make a joke, always bear in mind that everything in life is important. Notice every detail in life and appreciate the world around, even up to the smallest things that goes unnoticed.
Find the things that made you laugh and don’t hesitate to share them to others, whether to your friends or share your jokes to the kids.
Once you see stuffs or hear things that are funny, then find out how or why they are funny.
Ask questions and find answers to them because the more you search for reasons, the likelier you are to be able to turn similar jokes going forward.
Read to learn. Start with some inspiring and motivational. See the amusing side as you go through.
Discover other comedy basics
Learning how to make a joke involves some comedy essentials to round out your education.
Wordplay
Wordplay is a literary technique and a form of wit in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Some examples of wordplay are:
“We are the people our parents warned us about.”
“Does the noise in my head bother you?”
“Accepting reality is the first step to insanity.”
“We, the unwilling lead by the unknowing, are doing the impossible, for the ungrateful.”
Puns
Pun is also known as paronomasia, it is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meaning of words, or of similar-sounding words, for intended humorous or rhetorical effects.
To give you a better idea of puns, check out a few examples of them.
“Please be quiet. We need to hear a pin drop.”
“An elephant’s opinion carries a lot of weight.”
“Old limbo dancers never die, they just go under.”
“Let’s talk about rights and lefts. You’re right, so I left”
Learn from funny people and other joke materials
Even the funniest person needs a little inspiration from other people and so do you. You can expand your humor by listening to other people.
It could be from a professional comedians, parents, kids, and colleagues. Part of being humorous is to be in a funny environment as it helps you get funnier faster.
Hang out with funny people or go to a comedy bar and learn the things that make you laugh. Observe how they take vague, unknown scenarios and turn them into something instantly funny.
When watching these people, don’t just listen to the funny lines, but also watch how they portray these words.
Find out how they move and their facial expression as being funny is not all about the lines you say. On the other hand, reading funny materials such as books will greatly improve your sense of humor.
Remember, chemists become chemists by reading and practicing chemistry while sports writers become sports writers by reading and writing about sports.
Find the best time to make a joke
Timing is a vital component in making jokes. It is important to be attentive to each and every moment and react quickly and strike while the humorous moment exists.
For instance, someone says something that, by itself, isn’t funny, and then you can whip back with something that makes what they said really funny.
Always be confident in everything you do, remember it really needs to have guts in order to pull off a joke in the middle of the conversation. People making jokes gets funnier the more confident they feel.
On the other hand, also understand that you cannot crack on some jokes in all situations. To be funny also means when not to be funny, in other words, know your limits.
According to Steve Allen, that anything can be dealt with humorously, including religion, death, cancer oppression, but he stressed that this doesn’t make it socially appropriate to do so.
Take precautions when making a joke in situations like funerals, workplace, weddings, places of worship or religious events, because most often your joke will fall flat or considered as hurtful insults.
You could always notice that you are not funny anymore based on people’s feedback or when they start to glare at you with deep malice.
Consider that funny has also cultural overlays. For instance, something funny in the USA may be unacceptable in France, so always rely on your common sense.
Now that you know the basic ways to be funny, practice being funny in a low risk environment first, like your family and friends.
The people you trust will always give constructive criticism which is very helpful to build up your funnier self while preparing to a wider audience as you improve.