How to make someone laugh

+92 votes
asked Nov 16, 2018 in Culture & Society by JudeHorseman (350 points)
edited Dec 16, 2018
I have never been good at making anyone laugh. In fact, as far as I can remember, no one ever laughs at my joke or antics. Am I just not funny? It’s just weird I guess, I have tons of friends that we had great fun with, but I can’t recall the last time they laugh at my joke. So how to make someone laugh?

2 Answers

+26 votes
answered Apr 22, 2019 by JaniMelba648 (380 points)
edited May 2, 2019
Making someone laugh is not rocket science. You can tell a good joke, but that’s not my thing. According to comedians, they themselves have no idea why some joke works and some doesn’t. It’s just a throw them into a wall and see what sticks tactic. The best jokes are mostly improvised, since you if you don’t know what works, go with your guts. Context-appropriate off-hand comment is probably the best for you. I mean, you don’t have to actually be preparing a joke, any off-hand comments could often perk people up. If you can’t be witty, then be sarcastic.

The structure of a joke is the same as the story. An exposition, to a conflict and then a resolution or a punch line. So that could give you a clue on why off-hand comments are often best for the naturally non-humorous. Hell, don’t even put too many thoughts into it. The harder you try, the more you overly think about it, the more you adjust the wording to your naturally non-humorous insights, then it ends up as just a normal sentence. Timing is the essence for this kind of humor, so you want instant comments anyway. Practice if you must, slowly it might come naturally to you. In the meantime, just enjoy the company of your friends and don’t freight!
+5 votes
answered Dec 5, 2018 by LeilaniTam45 (300 points)
edited Aug 3, 2019
Umm, how to make someone laugh… There isn’t a surefire way to do so. Grab a joke book and read it up I guess?? Memorize the ones that make you laugh and tell them to your friends. If you must, tell them it’s really funny and will get them to laugh. That additional anticipation often makes the silliest joke the funniest thing they ever heard. Choose the type of the joke you want. Slapstick, a parody, I find mimicking someone as the easiest one to do. No, I’m not giving you any examples. I am only situationally funny. Pretty sure a lot of people are. Well, you can stoop low enough to use puns. If you do, then we aren’t friends anymore and never will be. Or you can just cheat and tickle them.
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