One of the best ways to make people laugh is to make a joke or tell a funny story. The results of the study stated that jokes and laughter can reduce stress and relieve tension. A good joke can also neutralize awkwardness. But to make people laugh requires planning. With these tips, practice, and don't forget to have fun, your best jokes can make people laugh happily!
Step
Part 1 of 3: Preparing Humor Material
Step 1. Decide on good humor material
Come up with topics that not only interest you, but also those who will listen to your jokes. It's important to make sure your humor is funny to listeners.
- Determine the types of humor or comedians that can make you and your friends laugh. Getting humorous ideas that can make you laugh will lead you to find more optimal humor material.
- Think of other materials for different circumstances and audiences, so you can convey your humor. For example, the humor-breaking humor you bring to a job interview ("How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice!") will not be the same as at a family get-together ("What did cake say to the knife? You want a piece of me?")
Step 2. Look for topics for different circumstances and audiences
You can define your humor in any place or group of people you meet. This way you will find people who understand your humor and laugh at it. Determining the material is also useful for reducing the tendency to offend someone. For example, humor brought to a gathering of medical professionals would not be appropriate for a collection of historians or politicians.
- Topics like recent events, celebrities, or even yourself (known as self-deprecating humor) can be great humor material. You can get funny material from many events. For example: public figures and their habits often make them the source of jokes. Comedian Chris D'Elia once joked about Justin Bieber "You have it all: except love, friends, good parents, and the Grammys."
- Newspapers, magazines, and even events you've been through can be great topics of humor. For example, you can make a joke about having “hot hands” with plants: “I bought a cactus. A week later the cactus died. I'm sad, because I thought, Damn it. I give less affection than the desert.”
- Watching famous comedians deliver humor is another way to get good material. This will show you how to convey humor effectively.
Step 3. Try to avoid controversial topics as they may offend someone
There are some topics that are taboo and may not be good material for many situations.
- Humor on topics such as race and religion often offend many people. While it is acceptable in some situations, such as for family members to create different humor, it is best to avoid controversial topics from other forums.
- If you're not sure whether your topic or joke might offend someone, it's best to be extra careful and avoid it.
Part 2 of 3: Writing Your Jokes
Step 1. Plan your humor structure
There are a variety of ways to write and convey humor including traditional set ups and punchlines, one-liners, or short stories
- One-liners can be the most effective format. Comedian Bj Novak once created simple and effective one-liners: “Battered women: sounds delicious.” Novak's joke plays on two elements you can incorporate into your material: surprising and unexpected word meanings. It's also a traditional set up and a punchline type of joke.
- Humor with short stories is another effective method. But, make sure it's always short! Examples of humor found in short stories are: “Once upon a time there was a young man who when he was young wanted to become a “great” writer. When asked what he meant by “great”, he replied “I wanted to make something that everyone could read, something that people would react to very emotionally, something that could make them scream, cry, wail, wail in sadness, despair and angry!" Now he works at Microsoft, writing the wrong message."
Step 2. Write down the set up and punchline
Every humor, regardless of the structure you use, has a set up and punchline, which sometimes has an element of surprise depending on assumptions, puns, or the use of ridicule.
- "Slightly better". As you prepare your set ups and punchlines, keep in mind that you will be telling jokes in as few sentences as possible. Avoid unnecessary details and phrases. BJ Novak's joke “Battered women: sounds delicious” and the joke “What did the cake say to the knife? You want a piece of me?” is an example of a humorous strategy called “a little bit better”. Additional details can make a joke sound flat.
- Your set up should be a sentence or two, or a few sentences for the story. This is to prepare the listener by building expectations and giving them the detail they need to understand the punchline. The joke about the cactus is a good example of this. The comedian prepared a joke with the line “I bought a cactus. A week later the cactus died.”
- The punchline is the “funny” part of your joke that will make people laugh. It builds up a set up and consists of only one word or one sentence, and usually presents the listener with surprise, ridicule, or pun. Again, the dead cactus is a great example of a short and cute punchline. After setting up the audience with details about the cactus, the comedian then said: I'm sad, because I thought, Damn it. I give less affection than the desert.
Step 3. Weigh the joke surprise factor
Elements such as familiarity, exaggeration, and ridicule will add value to your humor.
An example of an exaggeration and mockery is the story of a young man with great aspirations. Most listeners will think that he accomplished his desire to write “something that everyone can read, something that people will react to very emotionally, something that can make them scream, cry, wail, wail in sorrow, despair, and anger!” in novels or short stories. Instead, the surprise was “Now he works at Microsoft, writing the wrong message.”
Step 4. Add tags or toppers
Tags and toppers are additional punchlines created after the initial punchline.
You can use tags and toppers as a way to increase laughter without writing new jokes or preparing other material. For example, you can add a topper to your short story by saying, "In fact, he's the one who screams, cries, wails, and wails the loudest of sorrow."
Step 5. Practice your jokes
Before telling your jokes to friends or other listeners, practice telling your jokes.
You need to find jokes that are funny for your listeners to feel funny too! If you don't find a joke that works or feel bland, revise it until you do
Part 3 of 3: Telling Your Jokes
Step 1. Know who your audience is
Before conveying the humor you have written, first know who your audience is. This will ensure that listeners understand your joke and increase the likelihood of a laugh. Older people probably won't understand the jokes about Justin Bieber because he is a young pop star and most of his fans are young people.
If you know who your audience is, you can reduce the tendency to offend someone. For example, it is not advisable to make “battered women” jokes with female groups
Step 2. Add gestures
Think of facial expressions or gestures that can improve your set up and punchline. Drawing can also be an effective method of getting listeners to understand your jokes.
Step 3. Be confident, calm, and improvise when necessary
This look will have the same effect on your listeners and make them laugh more easily.
- If your audience isn't laughing you can make a joke out of it or move on to other material. You can always revise the joke for the next one.
- Remember that even the best comics fail at making jokes. John Stewart, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Newhart, and others weren't always funny.
