Being funny can be a gift that you are born with or a talent that you learn how to achieve. You may want to be funny for a variety of reasons including so people like you or to make people laugh. You may never become a stand-up comedian but that does not mean that you cannot learn to be funny and help make people laugh. Having a good sense of humor is an important part of life and is able to help you get through the tough times in your life.
Watch Other Comedians
The best way for you to be funny is to watch others who are funny. You can mimic others who you know are funny. They can give you inspiration and show you the perfect way to make every punch line funny. These comedians whether on TV, the movies or stand-up comedy are professionals who have spent many years perfecting their talent. You are not going to be as funny as they are but you can learn a lot from them. We often learn best by watching others perform.
You should also watch funny movies and sitcoms because they will give you a lot of material to use when you are trying to be funny. If you watch them a lot, you will also start having a positive attitude about life and you are more likely to be in a good mood. Who of us does not find our mood instantly lifted after watching an I Love Lucy rerun. You just can’t help but be happy. Going to comedy clubs or watching stand-up comedy on TV is another great way to help you learn to be funny. These guys can show you how to tell a joke and what facial expressions to use – both will help you learn to be funny.
Practice, Practice, Practice
All comedians have become famous only after years and years of practice and perfecting their skill. You cannot expect to be a real comedian right away without any practice because things just do not happen like that. You should practice your jokes over and over either to yourself or to your close friends. This will allow you to be comfortable with telling the joke before you say it out in public. Practice in front of a mirror so that you can see your facial expressions as you tell the joke because this will be an important part of telling the joke.
You should also practice making up your own jokes right on the spot. It is best to start this with close friends who can be honest with you and tell you if the joke was funny or not. This will help you understand how comedy works and let you know if you have a knack for this or not. You will also be able to build your confidence up. The more you practice, the more confident you will be in your comedic skills. Once you are more confident, you are more likely to make jokes out in public and learn to be funny.
Keep Up With Current Events
Many jokes that comedians share are based around current events or current things that are happening in today’s world. You must keep up with these trends and know what is going on in the world around you. Politicians are often a prime target for comedians, so keep up with Washington DC and know who is making the headlines and why they are making the headlines. These jokes about our congressmen are often funny and have a little bit of truth about them which people find them amusing. Politicians are such easy targets because they affect our lives in so many ways but they often seem to be so out of touch with the rest of the world. This makes most of us nervous and joking about it makes us feel a lot better.
Entertainers are also commonly used by comedians mainly because they are such easy targets. Many of them do so many things that can be easily twisted around to be humorous. Read the paper and watch the news and look for things you can twist around to be funny. This will be easier than you think and then you can plot out your jokes. When you are in a group of people, the topic of conversation often turns to current events. You will not be able to add your humor to the situation unless you understand what is going on. Take the time to know your current events because you will be glad you did.
Laugh at Yourself
You have to be able to laugh at yourself if you want others to laugh with you. Some jokes will be great and some jokes will flop but you need to keep smiling and laughing no matter what. Shake off the bad jokes, even the professional comedians tell a bad joke once in a while and they just need to learn to forget it and move on. Just by laughing a lot people will think that you are funny. You will want to appear like you are enjoying life and that you are optimistic. People will not laugh at a depressed, negative person. If you are going to be funny, you must at least play the part of being funny.
If you want to be funny, you should try to find the humor in everything, even yourself. You should be searching for things that are funny and look for the humor in everything. This does require you to be sensitive though because you do not want your humor to make other people feel bad, especially close friends of yours. Be careful not to jump in too quick with a joke and think about what you say before you say it. This will help prevent you from saying anything that you should not say or something that will hurt someone’s feelings. Sometimes there is a fine line between humor and just being mean and in order to be funny, you must learn the difference.
Keep Track of Success
If you are trying to learn to be funny, you should keep a journal that will help you keep track of those jokes that were funny and those that you should never tell again. This will give you time to reflect and see how good you are at joke telling. This will also let you keep a record of your favorite jokes so that you can use them at a later time. If you hear a joke on TV or at the comedy club that you really like, you should also write these down. This will give you a chance to have a record of them before you forget them and then you can practice the joke at a later time before you try to sell it to your friends and family. Being funny just takes some practice and willingness to stick at it. After you have developed a sense of humor, your jokes will flow smoother and you will be more certain of your ability. Just keep at it and before too long you will be just as funny as the guys on TV (or at least close to as funny).