Any actors, stand up comics, anybody at all know anything about this? Is there a book you can read, an improv course you take? Can you just start memorizing jokes?
Or are you just pretty much stuck where you are on the comedic ability measure?
I’m sure there are courses in standup. However, I would suggest that an aspiring comic or someone who just wants to be funnier should watch successful comedians to get a sense of timing and phrasing.
I hear reading the audience is REALLY important, and that can be taught. Read some psychology books, and you’ll start to see behavioral patterns in your audience you can push upon and get bigger laughs. Remember, comedy’s mostly timing.
But as far as humour is concerned, you can’t really teach wit. However, 99% of people have wit and are funny; but some don’t come off that way, bad timing, and try to push the joke a little hard. Also insensitivness plays a part.
Remember, the less said, the more spoken. Applies doubly true for being funny.
I’ll add to the noise here and say, probably, but why? Be who you are.
Anyway, people have different ideas of what’s funny. I, personally, engage a lot in hyperbole, unexpected allusion, and cheap puns. Sarcasm, classical wit, and most physical humor leaves me cold. Casual sardony amuses me but I don’t have much of a knack for it. Recited jokes can be funny but don’t make me think of the teller as a ‘funny person’. I actively avoid people who try to be funny by being outrageous and shameless.
If you’re determined to be funny or die trying, take a course in improvisational comedy. If you apply yourself, you ought to be able to learn to come up with something quickly enough to still be funny. Timing is everything - we all have the ‘wit of the stairwell’, where we think of exactly the right thing to say as we climb downstairs for a snack at two o’clock the next morning.
Unless you don’t have a stairwell. Then, the first step to being funnier would be to install one, so you can at least be funny at two o’ clock in the morning. Of course, nobody wants to hear jokes at that hour, so maybe the improv class is the best bet after all.
Here ya go
Works every time!
I’m no comedian, but I’m generally quick witted and good at coming up with snappy remarks.
It’s important to know what kind of funny you are. Certain humour will resonate with you, and you should be able to expand from that point. I’m not very good at receited jokes, so I don’t bother with them. OTOH, if you’re quite up-to-date on current events, then maybe you should try your hands at sarcasm.
My specialty: Cheap, cheap puns. :rolleyes: 
Because sometimes we just need to make a good first impression. It could be our new boss at work, or some business partner we’re trying to seal a deal with. Or even just a girl who’s eye you’ve caught at the local supermarket.
Good first impressions are oh so important. But I think thats the point of my post; 99% of people are funny, its just they try to hard to do just that; and end up not being funny. Being yourself is win win (unless of course your the other 1%… in which case, stick to being an accountant :wally )
IMHO … cough cough … 
A person CAN get funnier … especially if the people around him/her THINK that he/she is getting funnier. My brother - for example - has gotten funnier and funnier as time goes on - mostly from learning new words and new things to riff on.
Comedian-wise - I think most guys get funnier at stand-up as time goes on. They learn how to make people laugh more consistently and harder (or else they fail as a comedian). I’m hard pressed to pick a certain person - but how about Martin Lawrence - booed off the stage several times - then eventually became a headliner. (Although personally I still don’t think he’s that funny).
I think this is a hard question to quantify. Of course, there are books like this and this that may shed some light on the subject.
- Peter Wiggen
I’ll agree with a couple of different points in this thread. Becoming “funnier” almost never happens, but becoming more aware of what style of humor works for you will make you seem “funnier”.
Some people just can’t deliver a joke, but they can slay you with their bitter sarcasm. Some people can deliver well, but sound like an idiot every time they talk. A great sense of humor is usually a thing that one’s born with.
Certain broad comedy tips can, however, increase the effectiveness of a joke teller. For instance, be overly descriptive. If you said “That guy’s harrier than a monkey” it wouldn’t be as funny as saying “That guy’s got more hair than a silver-back gorilla in winter.”
Timing is also of the essence. Don’t be afraid to think about a joke minutes before you might be able to use it. Unless you time it wrong, nobody will ever know that it wasn’t spontaneous.
Humor is a skill like any other. Timing, how to turn a phrase, tone of voice, facial expressions, knowing what works and what doesn’t for different kinds of people… You aren;t born with any of that. Some people are born better, but everyone can improve.
And what dnooman says about preparation can’t be stressed enough. It’s a lot of hard work to look spontaneous. I’ve had some jokes that I’ve sat on for years until the right opportunities to use them came up.
Humour can be produced analytically - this isn’t necessarily the best way, but it can be done, for example:
- Take any situation (say a person being interviewed on the street by a news reporter)
- Write down an extensive list of attributes that are absolutely crucial to the interview going well (say: The interviewer speaks clearly and concisely, there is not too much background noise or interruption, the interviewee fully understands the questions and gives clear, relevant answers)
- Pick ONE attribute and reverse it completely, try to picture the kinds of things that might happen under the new circumstances - it isn’t all that hard - some of the possible outcomes will be funny.
I’m not a comic. I just like to read. I found Melvin Helitzer’s Comedy Writing Secrets pretty neat. It does a good job of explaining what makes something funny. I think a person could show improvement by focusing on what is funny and by avoiding what isn’t funny.
Sounds like you are interested in comedy and speech writing. Reading some books in that area should help you with jokes in the introduction and “outs, “ stuff you do when somebody’s phone goes off in the middle of your speech. The Helitzer book has a brief section on comedy writing for business and speeches.
Each morning when you wake up put a slice of salami in each one of your shoes. That way when you leave the house you’ll FEEL funny.
you need not take a course or read a how to book on this, this is not sometihng that is easily taught. your best bet is to read books of good comics, think about the observational style alot, and then you will notice improvement. it worked for me.
I know it sounds kind of dorky, but pre-thinking jokes, as others have mentioned, is a really good method. Whenever I’m bored, walking to school, etc. I’ll just sort of think of funny one-liners or puns, and think of the right situation to use them. Then I store 'em away and wait, like a cat ready to pounce, for the perfect time to use them!
Similarly, if you miss the chance to say something funny, don’t necessarily think of it as a lost opportunity. Just store it away for the next time that situation arises.
(And don’tcha just love it when you get that “Man, how long were you holding that one for!” 
)
Absolutely. I’m sure those of you who have kids noticed when your child first told a joke (that wasn’t remotely funny) and then the first time they actually GOT a joke, and how their sense of humor develops as they get more life experience and a bigger vocabulary.
There are some people who evidently don’t care if they’re funny or not. This is the segment of the population we need to work on.