How To Be Funny

Ask almost anyone what he or she finds attractive in a mate or a friend, and you will be told sense of humor. The ability to laugh together helps relationships survive most rough spots. If you are not naturally humorous, consider following these tips so you can be funny.

1. Learn to laugh. You cannot be funny until you at least know how to laugh. Laugh with comic movies, standup and radio shows. Laughter has health benefits as well and burns calories so make it a primary part of your day.
2. Relax. Funny people are rarely tense. Before going to social events, take a break to relax from the earlier stresses of the day.
3. Avoid taking life too seriously. Funny people find humor wherever they go. To do that, appreciate traffic since it allows you to observe other people, appreciate laundry day and any other usually mundane activity because it offers humorous insight. Instead of yelling with road rage or venting about having to do chores, don’t stress. Have fun.
4. Make yourself the target. The first rule of being funny is to be able to laugh at yourself. The punch line of your jokes and stories should be you, not someone else.
5. Pay attention to the unexpected. The odd, unexpected things that happen to us provide humor. Pay attention to the world surrounding you and you will have interesting and funny anecdotes to share.
6. Experiment with language. The English language is full of words with flexible meanings. Play with words to find humor.
7. Practice with classic monologues. If you are working on your delivery skills and punch line capabilities, get some professional help. Libraries are full of classic monologues from literature that are full of humor and jokes. Practice timing by reading these texts aloud until you get a sense of effective delivery flow.
8. Don’t take criticism personally. Not everyone finds the same things funny. Realize that humor is individual, so some people will never find you funny, no matter what you do. Don’t get upset by criticism. Find the humor in it and use it later.
9. Enjoy watching mentors. Being funny often takes work. Consider learning from the best. Rent classic stand-up DVDs by Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy and others. Don’t steal material, but watch. Having a mentor helps you in two ways – it exposes you to effective delivery and makes you laugh. Remember the first step above--learn to laugh!

Being funny is not something most people can turn on and off. Instead, follow these instructions to change your routine and you will be on your way to being funny. Above all, have fun and laugh whenever you can.