Developing wit

[GrowingPains]

Recently I read someone's progress journal where they were studying and practicing some trait of someone's personality in order to become that way themselves.

I don't remember who's journal or what character traits they were after but I am curious how this can be applied to wit. Im funny, but I wanna be funnier. Like Tony Stark or Vince Staples funny. Quick wit. Does anyone recall any good articles/posts about techniques to learning charisma?

 

[lamath]

Recently I read someone's progress journal where they were studying and practicing some trait of someone's personality in order to become that way themselves.

I don't remember who's journal or what character traits they were after but I am curious how this can be applied to wit. Im funny, but I wanna be funnier. Like Tony Stark or Vince Staples funny. Quick wit. Does anyone recall any good articles/posts about techniques to learning charisma?

TV sitcom can be a good way, i watch some rdsmax video on youtube it is more pua stuff but he is good.

 

[evan12]

read book "How to make women laugh" it was very effective for me .

 

[Serenity]

Keep in mind that a quick wit is way harder in real life than it is in any type of scripted play, mainly because they had the benefit of time to carefully and deliberately craft it that way. I'm not saying it's impossible, but just harder than it may seem.

I often make witty comments, but the best ones are not deliberate. Being witty is an exercise in lacking fear of judgement and saying the first dumb thing that comes to mind without second thought, at least that's how it is for me. A witty response must be made immediately to be effective, by the time it takes to think about and analyze what you're about to say, it's too late and the joke may have been corrupted by restrictive thinking.

If you're looking for material to analyze humor, you've already lost the point. Like when you explain a joke it's not funny anymore. Good humor is just your imagination doing what the imagination does, shows you a caricature of reality. Your mind literally serves you the jokes, it's just that many people ruin it by analyzing and filtering it too much before it ever becomes spoken words. The hard part is to let it flow in the moment.

 

[Bible_Belt]

Watch a lot of stand up comedy, and watch, or participate in improv comedy groups.

Also, when you observe a famous comedian, go find the routines they did before they were famous, the material that got them there.

 

[fanatic22]

I found that I became funnier when I was consistently listening to comedians similar to myself. Also, I think podcasts hosted by comedians are more witty/situational than stand-up comedy because it's all improv. You'll find some styles of joke are easy to repeat. For example, the "wildly incorrect guess" joke.

Friend: "I don't like my dragon tattoo."
Friend 2: "Are you getting it covered or laser removed?"
Me: "He's covering it up with a bigger dragon tattoo."

Friend: (Asking my jacked ex-marine friend): "What's your go-to drink?"
Me: "He's always back and forth between cosmos and appletinis."

Look for something that works for you and it'll probably come pretty naturally.

 

[Chi Town]

Do what works for you.

Being witty has to be natural, if you have to learn then it's not natural.

Being witty might not be your thing, you might be better in other areas.

 

[BeExcellent]

Wit is rooted in fearlessness. While well calibrated sophisticated wit is always appropriate (although at times surfing the razor's edge of appropriate), you can bomb by saying something offensive or failing to accurately read the social tolerance of your audience.

Mel Brooks plays with social boundaries of the audience constantly. Watch "The Producers" or "Blazing Saddles" as examples. When you watch "The Producers" keep in mind it runs on Broadway live in NYC and the moneyed audience is often Jewish....

People like to laugh at the absurd and things that they themselves think but would never say in polite company.

Don't be afraid to bomb. If you do, drive on. Great wit is nuanced and socially dialed in...always.

 

[Billtx49]

Wit is the result of confident relaxation, poise, and an inventive situational awareness mind…

 

[flowtheory]

Confidence, brains, being relaxed, ability to read the person(s), and simply not caring how you're perceived; you have to OWN it.

Don't be witty for the sake of trying to get a laugh, otherwise you wont be much connected to what's happening and you'll most likely overthink it all. Read more books, watch well written comedy shows (sitcoms are quite poor IMHO), be more playful with people. The best way to try it, is simply LISTEN in real conversations. When people truly listen their natural abilities will be sparked. Don't take other people, or yourself too seriously. Most people like to be razed a bit

 

[kbbroiler1971]

Not tooting my own horn but I'm quick witted and from my experience obviously, you can't be shy however you can be introverted and be quick-witted, i'm introverted. Also, the words just come out in a flow and nothing is rehearsed obviously. Now for me, movies, TV shows I end up quoting. For e.g at work recently, someone said what were the odds of something like that happening which was a work-related issue. Then I said I'm pretty sure it wasn't 3720 to 1 which was the odds of a Falcon navigating the asteroid field in Empire. Of course, meaning the Millennium Falcon navigating the asteroid field in the Empire Strikes Back. Yeah, that's how quick-witted I could be.

 

[NiceBarn]

read book "How to make women laugh" it was very effective for me .

Do You know the author’s name?

 

[TheProspect]

To piggy back on what many others have already said, it boils down to fearlessness and practice.

I am very witty in person. Like others mentioned, I don't have time to think and plan a response. I am being witty on the spot and it feels as if the words come out of my mouth the moment I think them. Comedic wit is almost like thinking out loud.

This is naturally part of my personality and I think it would be harder to learn such a skill if one is overly self-conscious of offending people or coming off poorly. I have offended many people, and made myself look like a complete idiot more times than I can count, but I think by putting myself out there constantly over time I have honed and calibrated my wit to become "nuanced and socially dialled in" as BE said.

Sharp witted humour is a great way to build rapport with women in my experience, and if you're not afraid of pushing the boundaries of that humour it can also showcase your confidence, provided your humour is based on playful banter and not inappropriate insults or tasteless comments. Social intelligence is key here.

 

[GrowingPains]

Thanks for the perspectives fellas.

I agree. Wit is the result of confidence, candor and timeliness. It is something that needs to be calibrated, but that can only come with experience as is with many things.

 

[Tilex]

When you mentioned Tony Stark, are you talking about Ironman?
If so, his lines are written by someone else.

I recommend watching Real Time with Bill Maher or The Greg Gutfeld show.
Just watch it for the witty & banter humor alone by Bill or Greg, and not for the politics it's based on. The format of both of these shows are practically identical to each other.

 

[Billtx49]

I recommend watching Real Time with Bill Maher or The Greg Gutfeld show.

Yes, Greg Gutfeld is a prime example of spontaneous wit in motion, but I think he overdoes the funny to a large degree for the Fox media audience …
That level of continual humor in a one on one with a woman would make you look like a clown.

 

[GrowingPains]

I should've said Robert Downey Jr as in the person. That's what I meant.