Comments on: How to Be Funny

on 9/24/2007 This is cool

on 9/9/2006 There are three amazing books on this subject. John Mack's', Steve Allen's and Stanley Lyndon's. All three are amazing and complement each other extremely well. I recommend you get all three to really improve your humor sense. Especially Stanley's book, as it is pretty simple and straight-forward giving you one way to proceed to make anything funny. Hope that helped.

on 8/24/2006 Relax, and practice it at home with siblings, they won't despise you for a weak joke, then, as you gain confidence do it with other people. Tease, play, laugh with people, don't just talk seriously. The most important thing that makes it work is not try to show yourself and get attention, but love people, care and help others (cheer somebody up)- and forget about yourself.

on 8/8/2006 Some say that "being funny is something that you are blessed with, and that if you are not funny, don't try to be or you will be made fun of." Well, let me remind everyone of you that whatever one man can do another man can do as well. Which means that if you are not funny (yet) but you desire to be, put all you effort in it because there is nothing a man can not accomplish. Being funny is something that you can learn, just like everything else.

on 8/8/2006 If you embarrass yourself, laugh it off with a punch line. For example; if you farted in public, say "Well, it's better out than in."
It's not that funny, but at least people will know that you aren't embarrassed by things that don't matter.

on 8/8/2006 If you mess up and get really embarrassed, whatever you do, don't start laughing! If you blush, just say that some random guy/girl is hot or make up a story that flows with the conversation.

on 8/8/2006 I think that if you're still in your teens/young adult that you should act stupid (not too stupid) and immature, because real maturity comes from being what you are. And don't try to be mature too early either, go ahead, be stupid, make jokes and have fun.

on 8/8/2006 Find recordings and videos (better since it shows body language) of stand-up comedians you think are funny, and play them, a lot. Don't copy their jokes, especially if the comedian is well known, someone will eventually call you out on it. But pay attention and you'll start to imitate their style. Especially timing.

on 8/8/2006 When telling jokes, make sure you're able to make fun of yourself, too. If you don't realize your mistakes, then your missing out on some really funny material.

If your jokes don't work out, and everyone is staring strangely at you, just look at them and say something random, or just look innocently at them and say "Well, it worked for my Mom."

on 6/30/2006 There are absolutely no rules to being funny. Look at Robin Williams, he's the funniest man alive, and there's no pattern in his madness. That's what makes him interesting.
The best thing to do is surround yourself with funny people, and your bound to unconsciously learn from them.
Just like if you surround yourself with negative, abusive, mean people, you'll likely become like them, often without even realizing it.
Always remember to break the rules, puns and lame jokes are funny, and according to Mr. Williams himself, comedy is 50% genetic, 50% who you spend your time with.

on 6/30/2006 One way to be funny is by not being shy at all. Wave and say "Hi" to strangers. Be crazy. You'll make good, funny, friends by doing this, too. Carry on a conversation with these people about something totally random. Something like "Hey, how come your comb has 43 teeth and mine only has 38.... not fair!"

on 6/30/2006 When you're trying to tell a joke or make a funny remark, make sure that you have a clear voice and pronounce everything clearly. If you stutter on a word, or say the wrong word, then the joke is lost and it's likely that nobody will get it. And most importantly, have fun telling the joke! If you make a mistake, just stop telling the joke and walk away or start another joke, and often that will be funny itself.

on 6/30/2006 One of the key elements to being funny is to know the personalities of the people you're trying to be funny toward. If this guy likes rap, go up to him out of no where one day and say "Let's have a rap off," then when you're done sucking in the rap off, say something like - "You can call me Dollar" 'cause I'm twice as good as 50 cent." Just make sure you know that the people you're telling the joke to will understand it. Don't tell a joke about algebra or something to a person who failed math.

on 3/2/2006 Eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Get plenty of fresh air and exercise. Have a good standard of personal hygiene. Breathe.

on 11/29/2005 Set the scene for laughter. If you want to lighten up your program, you might want to let the audience know this, even before you say one word. Project some lighthearted visuals as the audience is entering the room. Play some copyright-free uplifting music as they enter. Or, add some humor to your presentation title or program description. Your bio, for example, can have a list of accomplishments, playfully followed by "His mother is very proud of him."

Poke fun at yourself. Again, even before you open your mouth, you can show the audience that you don't take yourself too seriously by adding some playful things about you in your introduction. For example, have the introducer tell the audience that your are the author of seven books which have sold well over 30 copies. Then the person corrects their mistake and says, "Oops, that's 300,000 copies."

Get some laughs with a prop. It has been said that 80% of what people learn is visual. If this is true, then speakers need to enhance their talks with something to visually illustrate what they are saying. A prop is a great way to do this because it not only makes your message memorable but it can also get a laugh. Use balloons to illustrate how people can let go of their stress; an inflatable globe to illustrate how we often carry the world around on our shoulders; and a plastic hammer with which to hit yourself on the head when you goof up. All make a point and all get a laugh.

Tell your humorous stories. Open your humor eyes and ears and look and listen for the funny things that happen all around you. Families are an especially good resource for finding humorous stories. One such story involves the author's 93-year-old mother. Every time she goes to the doctor, she hires a van service to take her their and back. One late afternoon, it didn't show up to take her home. Since the doctor had to close the office for the day, he suggested that she wait for the van in the pizza parlor next door. After waiting a long time without the van arriving, she went up to the counter and asked, "Do you deliver?" When the man behind the counter replied, "Of course, we do. We're a pizza place." She said, "Great. Then I'd like a pepperoni pizza and I'd like to go with it."

Borrow some witty words. While waiting for your own humor-related stories to appear, you might want to borrow some funny short quotes from famous people to lighten up your talks. Quotation books, the TV, newspapers, and magazines such as Reader's Digest are great resources for locating great quotes. For instance, if you frequently speak to hospice groups, Woody Allen's comments about death and dying are appropriate (e.g., "There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?").

Collect audience anecdotes. Sometimes audiences say the funniest things. When they do, write it down. It could be a big laugh in your next presentation. For years, I've been asking audiences, "How do you spell relief?" My answer is "L-A-U-G-H". Then one day a woman in the back row called out, "D-I-V-O-R-C-E." It got a huge laugh for her that day and continues to get a laugh for me when I retell it.

Make it relevant. One final word about using humor in your presentations--make sure it is relevant. Amusing an audience for the sake of getting a laugh might be ideal for a stand-up comedian or an after-dinner humorist but it's probably not OK for most speakers. If your humor doesn't make a point or have a purpose, don't use it!

Remember the bottom line. For non-humorists, some of the ideas presented here may seem too frivolous for your subject matter. Nevertheless, I would still encourage you to seek some way of upping the entertainment value of your talks because it might also increase what you can charge. As Steve Allen once noted, "People will pay more to be entertained than educated."

One nice book I had found in the course of my search for being funny, I had come across this nice book: Stanley Lyndon's How to be Funny (howtobefunny.net). The content is very simple and to the point.