Excellent Point! I don’t think a person can learn to be funny but they can learn to be funnier. A class clown working a second grade classroom with poo poo jokes can become a clever, witty, goddamn funny adult. I speak from experience. People who are funny think funny all the time. You can’t turn it off. I have been in deep emotional agony, crying and baring my soul and cracked some truly funny jokes while doing so. I’m known for my ability to amuse others but I just crack myself up. All the time.
Jim
As someone with next to no sense of humour - I can appreciate others’ jokes but can’t tell one to save my life - I’d love to hear a positive answer.
I know that you can learn to laugh better. I once had a snorting snicker of a laugh, and it embarrassed me. I studied the laughs of friends who had hearty, selfless belly laughs, and I copied them. Let me tell you, folks really appreciate a big laugh for their jokes.
I have an inherent witty streak, but it seems that the harder I’m trying, the less funny I am. I have learned to poke fun at myself; humor at your own expense in more effective. As Steve Allen said, though, when you study and dissect humor, it disappears. You can studiously explain the double-reverse fuckover hustleback, but it’s only funny if you don’t.
I think it is possible because I think I’ve done it. During the standup boom of the late 80s -early 90s I watched a lot of standup on tv, pretty much anything they’d throw on cable, most of it crap. I was looking for entertainment, but after awhile, especially when I started noticing different people doing the same thing, or the same person doing the same thing in different ways depending on the situation, I started systematically analyzing what I was watching. I learned a lot about timing and when to drop (and when not to drop) a stock response and how to twist one of them for any given situation, and any number of things I can’t begin to articulate. If I wasn’t gripped by stage fright and/or I had studied better material, I might have learned something I could use in a professional scenario, but I’m just suited for the after dinner conversation crowd. Granted, even if I had done all the right things in that respect, you can’t learn the ineffable things that make a Chris Rock or a Woody Allen. But that’s not what we’re talking about, we’re just talking about being funny. Chris Rock, according to his 60 Minutes interview, studies tapes of comics like Allen, so obviously he thinks he’s getting something out of it.
I’m sure that I’m funnier than I used to be. I’m much wittier, I’m more cutting, and in particular I can leave my family awestruck. And when my youngest brother says something unfunny, which is often, I think I can give good explanations of why that didn’t work and what would have been funny. So - does that mean I used to be kinda funny, but was never totally unfunny? Maybe. I’m not really convinced. I do know, from memories and home movies, that I’ve been trying to be funny for about as long as I could talk. I’m willing to accept ‘some people got it and some people don’t’ to some extent, and I’m not sure which category I’m really in, but it’s probably not so cut and dried. Regardless, you can maximize whatever ability you have through trial and error, listening, and by thinking about it.
I do think you can learn to be funny and witty, if you try. Then again, I’m a proponent of the idea that you can teach yourself to do most anything.
Just as there is no simple reason why somebody is funny, there’s no single reason why anybody fails to be funny, so I can’t generalize and say it can’t be learned. Some bad habits can be trained away; some good skills may never be ingrained enough.
I think verbal comedy takes careful perception of the reactions of others, an intimate knowledge of what you can do with your voice to deliver your quip, a good memory for words, the ability to use your facial expressions appropriately, and the patience to apply the latter three until you perceive the reaction you want. If you want also to write your own material, or ad lib funny stuff, you’d also want the ability to appreciate what humor can be derived from a comparison of two seemingly unrelated situations or items, or from a particular character type.
Much of the above can be learned by most people, I believe, if they apply themselves. However, one can’t assume that since comedy is “just talking” that it’s fast and easy to learn, just as dancing is “just moving your feet” and playing the piano is “just wiggling your fingers.”
I don’t see any good reason why it couldn’t be learned; some people might be terrible at learning it, but generally speaking, learning stuff is what humans do best.
If it were somehow mystically impossible to learn to be funny, then it should also be impossible to learn to become expert in a whole range of things, such as cooking, for example.
Yes you can learn to be funny and people do it all the time. There are a few titles here that will offer encouragement. I have written some comedy over the years and know plenty of people in the business and some successful comedians aren’t that funny offstage. I think any parent can tell you how they have seen their kids develop a sense of humour, assuming that you value humour and provide positive feedback. The thing that helps most in learning to be funny is just what works with kids - if the material is good and used well you get a laugh and some positive buzz.
If you’re open to trying to learn from a book, I enjoyed How to Be Funnier: Happier, Healthier and More Successful, Too by Roger Bates
Amazon link here http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0964232448/qid=1133472732/sr=1-9/ref=sr_1_9/104-6931898-5396752?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
He looks at different types of humor with the understanding that some will be more “you” than others.
I agree with the advice to take improve to learn to relax the mind while remaining focused, so that unrelated things start to relate.
So I think you can learn to be funny- if you’re smart, as you mention in the OP. Otherwise you still won’t be able to think of the surprising thing nobody else thought of.
improve = improv :smack:
At my family’s funerals, it’s 19 of us that are cracking each other up and that 1 (usually a work acquaintence) is sitting there thinking “What kind of monsters are these people?”
There are tricks you can use to make people think you’re funny. I’m moderately funny, for instance, but my best stuff doesn’t really connect with most people because it’s too surreal. But they think I’m really funny anyway because I know how to deliver. (Even though I can’t tell a joke to save my life, I’m good at doing the proper inflection of a one liner that gets a laugh even when it stinks.)
The first thing – self-deprecating humor always goes over well, as long as your audience doesn’t think you actually believe it about yourself. (Then it’s pitiful.) Another thing – this works really well in retail situations, not with folks you know – a big smile and eye contact will often get a laugh, even if what you say isn’t any great shakes. I can’t count the number of times I got a secret free refill because I gave the cashier a little human contact instead of treating her like a cog as most of her customers do. Happened last night, for instance. (Particularly effective at night, when it’s not very crowded.)
Finally, the vicious but good-humored attack always works because it’s unexpected, at least if people generally think you’re a nice guy. This takes some delicacy, though, as it’s really easy to go overboard. But if you can surprise someone, they’ll laugh. And if you’re not a prick, acting like a prick is a surprise. For instance:
What, like your brother or something?
(See how easy?)
–Cliffy
If it doesn’t connect, why would you call it your best stuff? 
Seriously, I understand, I have many things that I say because I think they’re funny, if my audience doesn’t, well, then that one was for me.
(not that I have an audience these days, just a figure of speech.)
Firstly, I believe that the surreal ‘funny mindset’ aspect of humour cannot be learnt. It probably has more to do with creativity than intelligence. Secondly, being witty requires a very quick mind. However, if you lack one (or both) of those there are many ‘joke formulae’ that can be learnt – though it is more likely that you pick them up off other people then actually study them. To give an example, a common British witticism involves misconstruing somebody else’s comment as a personal attack:
“Tom, you’re blocking the TV.”
“Are you saying I’m fat?”
Anyone can learn tricks like this, though it takes a little time to gain the ability to instantly see when you can plug them into conversation. I have seen people become funny in this way. So, yes - you can learn to be funny.
Lastly, your delivery has to be good. Everybody has a unique way of telling jokes that best suits them, it’s just a matter of finding it. Someone who uses expression and gestures to great effect and someone who comes out with deadpan one liners can be equally funny. However, whatever your style, you have to be relaxed. Some people are so nervous when they’re trying to be funny that you can tell it’ll be sucky the second they open their mouths.
Personally, I like to think I have a funny mindset – I’m usually wandering around with a smile on my face, simply because I’m permanently thinking of things to amuse myself. However, I lack the speed of thought required to be genuinely witty, so I if somebody makes a provocative comment I usually just agree with what I’m being ‘accused’ of.
[I’m taking awhile having a shower]
“Tom – you’ve been in there ages! Stop jacking off already.”
“Don’t distract me, I’m almost there…”
I have a quiet voice, and I lose all sense of timing and intonation when I raise it. As such, I’m not very funny in a group situation. However, if I do think of something funny but feel I’d butcher it if I said it out loud, I’ll tell it to somebody who I know can deliver it properly. More often than not, if they think it’s funny, they’ll relay it to everyone else – far better than I could have.
But yeah, don’t try to hard… I don’t see myself as a funny guy, and don’t try to be. Even so, I have been told that I’m ‘really funny’ (although one of my friends found the very sight of me hilarious, so it might not have anything to do with what I say!). Some people are just going to have a sense of humour closer to your own. If all else fails, I can always make my sister laugh, and vice versa.
Firstly, I believe that the surreal ‘funny mindset’ aspect of humour cannot be learnt. It probably has more to do with creativity than intelligence. Secondly, being witty requires a very quick mind. However, if you lack one (or both) of those there are many ‘joke formulae’ that can be learnt – though it is more likely that you pick them up off other people then actually study them. To give an example, a common British witticism involves misconstruing somebody else’s comment as a personal attack:
“Tom, you’re blocking the TV.”
“Are you saying I’m fat?”
Anyone can learn tricks like this, though it takes a little time to gain the ability to instantly see when you can plug them into conversation. I have seen people become funny in this way. So, yes - you can learn to be funny.
Lastly, your delivery has to be good. Everybody has a unique way of telling jokes that best suits them, it’s just a matter of finding it. Someone who uses expression and gestures to great effect and someone who comes out with deadpan one liners can be equally funny. However, whatever your style, you have to be relaxed. Some people are so nervous when they’re trying to be funny that you can tell it’ll be sucky the second they open their mouths.
Personally, I like to think I have a funny mindset – I’m usually wandering around with a smile on my face, simply because I’m permanently thinking of things to amuse myself. However, I lack the speed of thought required to be genuinely witty, so I if somebody makes a provocative comment I usually just agree with what I’m being ‘accused’ of.
[I’m taking too long in the shower]
“Tom – you’ve been in there ages! Stop jacking off already.”
“Don’t distract me, I was almost there…”
I have a quiet voice, and I lose all sense of timing and intonation when I raise it. As such, I’m not very funny in a group situation. However, if I do think of something funny but feel I’d butcher it if I said it out loud, I’ll tell it to somebody who I know can deliver it properly. More often than not, if they think it’s funny, they’ll relay it to everyone else – far better than I could have.
But yeah, don’t try to hard… I don’t see myself as a funny guy, and don’t try to be. Even so, I have been told that I’m ‘really funny’ (although one of my friends found the very sight of me hilarious, so it might not have anything to do with what I say!). Some people are just going to have a sense of humour closer to your own. If all else fails, I can always make my sister laugh, and vice versa.