Ever wondered how some people are so hilarious and often find yourself curious about how to be funny as well? The truth: you are not crazy to think so, many of the charming and hilarious people you see around were not born that way.
As we grow up, we take on traits we see in those around us. If you are brought up around funny people, you learn to be hilarious.
But if that didn't happen, it's not too late.
And unlike what you think, being funny has nothing to do with memorizing jokes you can share with those you meet. Also, you never have to act like a complete idiot to make people laugh.
To be funny is to be happy.
If you are a happy person, being fun and hilarious comes almost effortlessly. You will find it easy to make other people see the funnier side of life and laugh.
The Truth About Being Funny
The problem with most people trying to be hilarious for the first time is that they think everyone will laugh at their humor. That can't be.
Even the people who make jokes for a living offend many of their listeners.
The point is, you cannot make everyone think you are funny. So, don't expect everyone to understand your sense of humor.
Also, note that it takes time before you can become hilarious by most people's definition.
Another thing people don't understand is that being funny means changing your personality entirely. That is why you have to give the process a little more time.
It all starts with you. For instance, you cannot afford to think of the world as boring or negative and still manage to be a comedian.
Even when unfortunate things happen, learn to see the brighter side, but without being insensitive. Being happy and being fun go hand in hand.
1. Watch Comedies
If you want to be like the best, learn from the best. Your favorite comedians can teach you plenty about being funny.
Stand-up comedy is usually pretty good for anyone learning how to be funny. Comedy films are also great at helping you see all the ways life can be fun and humorous.
As you watch this stuff, understand that it's not just about the things they say, but how they behave.
Some people are incredibly hilarious although they hardly say anything, and that could be your special brand of humor.
2. Have Confidence As You Tell Jokes
Even if you are the funniest person ever, a lack of confidence can make you boring and awkward to be around. If you intend to tell a joke, don't hesitate.
Some jokes will not get you the belly laughs you assumed they would, but the fear of that should not ruin your confidence.
Funnier people are also more confident. Even if they tell a joke that doesn't have the desired effect, they keep going forward without dwelling on it.
You need to have the same attitude to be funnier.
3. Stay Updated On All Affairs
To be hilarious, you have to know a lot about the issue you are joking about. To make jokes about politics, you have to know plenty about current affairs.
That allows you to see things from all angles and find a way to see the facts in a humorous way.
So, being hilarious requires you to be smart as well. Making jokes about things you hardly know about will often make you look ignorant or insensitive, neither of which will give your listeners the impression that you are funny.
4. Avoid Some Kinds Of Jokes
Although some topics or subjects are easy comedy targets, it's better if you stay off them entirely. For instance, don't result in ridiculing people, mimicry, or insensitive jokes.
5. Learn To Laugh Cheerfully
You have probably noticed that people who are generally quite hilarious also tend to laugh a lot. A warm smile or a cheerful laugh can go a long way in making people open up to you and your sense of humor.
Being hilarious means being likable, and that means you have to laugh at other people's jokes and acknowledge their sense of humor.
6. Start By Practicing One Joke
You should not try to become an amazing comedian overnight. You have to start small.
In particular, you can master a single joke and tell it many times. Chances are that you will make very many people happy with it if you pick the right joke.
By the time you tell it to a couple of people, you will have greater confidence to make up your own humorous stuff and become a witty person by most people's standards.
7. Work On Improving Your Intonation
As you tell jokes, you need to learn when to pause and when to go on. The way you tell your joke is just as important as the joke itself.
There is a joke you will tell with a straight face and nobody laughs. But when you tell it like you think it's comical, you might find everyone laughing even before you are done telling it.
In case you didn't realize, hilarious people have a great voice intonation.
8. Know Things You Can Joke About
Generally, there are things we know so much about and can easily joke about. For instance, some people always know how to find something sexually suggestive in plain innocent statements.
Other angles to explore include sarcasm, where you say something hilarious with a straight face.
You can also use a self-deprecating sense of humor, but not all the time. People who know you will take this form of humor properly, but strangers might actually think you are telling the truth and think you are terrible or suffering from low self-esteem.
9. Be Positive To Make Better Jokes
It's impossible to be humorous, and bring joy to others, if you have no positivity within you. Optimism with life brings about the positivity from which a good sense of humor can sprout.
To be amusing, learn to look at the bright side of life.
10. Say The Unexpected
Some people are funny in very easy ways, without doing or saying anything particularly hilarious. All they do is say something that's the complete opposite of what you would expect them to say.
For instance, when someone asks if you like a meal they served (obviously very proud of themselves), you can say no. That would shock them, and then when you go ahead and say you actually "loved" it, they would find you incredibly hilarious.
11. Be Yourself As You Make Jokes
Don't try to be someone else in your attempt to be humorous. Even though you can change your personality to be funnier, you don't have to imitate someone else.
Many people make this mistake, and they end up looking like pretenders.
If you are usually a little quiet, you don't have to become the chattiest person ever to be amusing. People of all personalities can be hilarious.
You just need to add a fun and whimsical side to who you already are.
12. Choose Your Company Wisely
As they say, you can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. Even when trying to be witty, that's also very true.
By spending your time with fun friends, you will have a brighter attitude towards life. Eventually, you will be much funnier as well.
Also, since you have the intention of learning how to be humorous, you will pick up a few things about having such a personality by being around people who have a great sense of humor.
13. Be A Little Mysterious
Once people think you are a funny person, they might expect every statement that comes from your mouth to be a joke.
But you should not bow to the pressure and try to be amusing every time you say something. That might make you end up looking like a clown, and though hilarious, such people are usually not very likable.
So, be funny on your own terms, don't let people dictate to you when to be hilarious.
14. Read Jokes
There are many jokes in existence that can give you a lot of material in your journey to be funnier. You can even rephrase some of them for your own unique scenarios.
However, this does not mean you have to memorize jokes.
You just need to learn from them and try to see things in the same humorous way.
15. Try To Be A Little More Mischievous
I'm sure you have noticed how mischievous hilarious people can be. If you were to look closely, you would realize that this personality trait is what makes many of them funny.
Yes, mischief is a form of humor.
To have a similar personality, try to see the funny side of things and take a little more initiative by trying to create hilarious scenarios.
Being funny is one of the greatest superpowers there is because humor brings joy and happiness to people's lives. So, learning how to be funny is a worthwhile endeavor; don't be afraid to give it a shot.