Any good books on practice humor and how to be funny

[oneboy21]

As the title says
How do you guys reach a point where you are a funny person in a group.
Experienced guys please leave your opinion.

 

[RedZone]

You could try reading a stand up comedy book.

 

[sexysuave]

One book that I have on humor is "the secrets of comedy writting" and it is a pretty good book, a good read. I definitely recommend it.

 

[oneboy21]

Can you name one for me please

 

[FairShake]

C'mon man.

Reading a book to figure out how to be funny? Sit back for a second and think that one out. Doesn't make any damn sense.

Either you are or you aren't. Most people are funny sometimes. That's all you need pretty much. To be funny sometimes and laugh at other peoples' jokes. Actually, if you laugh at other peoples' jokes they are MORE LIKELY to laugh at your's. So start there.

 

[Vice]

Read "Comedy Writing Secrets" and download a standup comedy torrent, and watch it while reading the book. You'll start noticing that there's a structure to being funny. The downside is that you won't laugh as much because you'll just be sayin g "Oh, that's a pretty clever use of callback humor".

 

[sexysuave]

haha oh is that the title "comedy writting secrets", I think we're talking about the same book, bright yellow cover right?

I read it back in 2003 - 2004, and do agree that it can help.

As others have said, some people are just gonna be more funny, but there ARE things you can do to improve your self. Understanding how and why things are funny, combined with a wild imagination, can certainly give you a little boost in your level of funny.

Also, start improving in other areas of life. Improve your body, social circle, all these things will help you become a better person and give you an ability to be more funny in certain situations. Hanging out with a bunch of outgoing funny people is probably gonna do a lot more for you then a book ever will, kinda like reading about picking up girls and going out there and actually doing it with people that know what they're doing. So make sure you're actually doing plenty of socializing.

But once again, NOTHING wrong with reading a book about it. I know a few guys who have read that book at at least they seemed to understand humor a little bit more afterwards and are able to form some of their own as well. You can also use these skills to work on your own personal stories and work on presenting them in a funnier way. Write down your stories, and then use all the skills from the book to rewrite them but make them sound funnier. Sometimes just emphasizing on different words and rearanging the way you say things and your delivery can make a HUGE difference in how a story comes out. I think the book will not hurt, it may only help you.

 

[FairShake]

I'm sorry, but reading a book means you're thinking about being funny. And thinking about being funny is pretty much the end of being funny. At least being funny in conversation.

If you are having a conversation and something says something and you start to look for something funny to say...stop. It's over man. Unless it comes to you immediately it's already old and stale. Thinking and practicing are two sides of this same coin.

 

[FairShake]

And I absolutely mean it when I say people will like you MORE if you laugh at their jokes than if you make them laugh.

 

[Rogue]

One thing I highly recommend is enrolling in some improv comedy classes. Improv is a team sport and you will learn the art of "Yes, and…", sometimes otherwise known as agree & amplify. Instead of stretching your mind to find something funny, you learn to simply build upon what's already there.

I took two classes earlier this year, which was about a total of $450 for 16 weeks of classes, and it rubbed off on me. I crack a lot more witty jokes in conversations. Improv doesn't give you a sense of humor, but you learn how to generate it.

 

[The_411]

Being funny = being organic

What I mean by that is that you need to figure out your style of humor.

Fear is the enemy of humor. People are afraid to be funny becuase they are afraid of pissing people off or saying something inappaorpriate. Well these tend to be the most hilarious type of humor.

Know your audience some humor appeals to certain people and not to others.

Be willing to laugh at yourself, at others and with others.. we all make asse of oursevles so be willing to accept when you do and make a joke out of it.

Sure I take pieces from other comedians here and there but I make sure to do it in a voice that denotes that this is someone else's material.

 

[garruk]

being funny is like 80% timing and its impossible to be funny to everyone. i personally think its something innate but i could be wrong.

id suggest watching some standup comedy.

 

[oneboy21]

well i would like to use this concept of comedy while meeting women and cracking them up. or while on a date.

 

[Jariel]

I'm sorry, but reading a book means you're thinking about being funny. And thinking about being funny is pretty much the end of being funny. At least being funny in conversation.

If you are having a conversation and something says something and you start to look for something funny to say...stop. It's over man. Unless it comes to you immediately it's already old and stale. Thinking and practicing are two sides of this same coin.

I totally agree! This is a common trap of budding DJs. They try too hard to act a certain way, and with qualities such as sex appeal and indeed humour, this is counter productive. You should NEVER approach any kind of social interaction with an academic mindset.

I did actually study comedy writing as part of my degree. As an academic I learned a lot and gained the skills to analyse comedy routines, but I learned nothing that improved my sense of humour.

I found the greatest breakthroughs when it came to my sense of humour came from watching and listening to a lot of great comedy. I didn't study it, I didn't memorise lines from it, I just went through a phase of watching a lot of stand up and comedy for entertainment. I also listen to Ricky Gervais' podcast and radio shows over and over again (because I love it) and I find that it just rubs off on me. I don't steal their material, but I find myself telling jokes and anecdotes of a similar style and context.

I'm usually the life and soul of most groups because of my sense of humour, although my style is very dry and I'm very laidback. I would never dance, do silly voices or pull faces because that's not natural for me and not something I find funny. So basically just watch the comedy you enjoy and don't look too deep into it.