How to Be Funny

How funny are you?

While some people are natural humorists, being funny is a set of skills that can be learned according to comedian, author and my friend David Nihill.

Afraid you can’t learn the skills? Fear not. Nihill spent over a year interviewing and studying comedians for his book, Do You Talk Funny? 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker

Bottom Line: You’ll be more successful if you can make people laugh.

He has been so kind to put together a post for us with some quick tips on how to be funnier. If you want to know how to get funnier in your personal and business life, here are a few tips to guide you along the way:

#1: Keep a “Funny” File

Exceptionally funny people don’t depend upon their memory to keep track of everything they discover that they find funny. In the olden days, great comedians carried notebooks to jot down funny thoughts or observations and scrapbooks for news clippings that struck them as funny. Today, you can do that easily with your smartphone. If you have a funny thought, record it as an audio note. If you read a funny article, save the link in your bookmarks. The world is a funny place and your existence within it is probably funnier. Accepting that fact is a blessing that gives you everything you need to see humor and craft stories on a daily basis. All you have to do is document them and then tell someone.

#2: Tell Stories not Jokes

A joke is a fake story that sets up for a punch line. If the punch line falls flat, you end up looking like a fool. Rather than tell jokes, exceptionally funny people tell relevant stories that have humorous elements. If people don’t find a story funny, no big deal, because the story has a point beyond just being funny. If people laugh, even the better.

You can see this here in the most viewed TED talk at the time of writing:

#3: Use The Rule of 3

At its most basic, the rule of three establishes a pattern then ends with something unexpected. This break away from the pattern created by the first two items builds tension and creates surprise, usually resulting in laughter. Think of it as 1 normal, 2 normal, 3 funny.

#4: Minimize your Words

Brevity is levity. Comedians are forced to get to the funny part as quickly as possible. Identity the key part to your story and get there fast. Cut all unnecessary elements.

#5: Delay Funny

Put the funny part at the end of the sentence. For example, if the fact it’s a cat is the surprise or twist in your story, don’t say, “There was a cat in the box.” Say, “In that box was a cat.” That way you’re not still talking when the audience is meant to be laughing. This also makes your timing look awesome.

#6: Intentionally Misidentify Things

“My sister Kat went to Stanford.” Your cat went to Stanford? Wow…your family must have a high standard of education. This technique is only limited by your own creativity.

Want even more? Get all 'funny' tips here.