Wit, Sarcast & Humor: Mastering a Learnable Skill

Gangster Of Love

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Humor and wit are definitely two learnable skills. Everyone who ever became successful at anything wasn't born being good at it, they had to learn it. Be prepared to put in a good decade to get very good at this, yet you will start seeing improvement right away.

Being witty and humorous requires you to have knowledge on a lot of different topics and know how to use them at the right time and situation. Irony, sarcasm, goofiness, all come down to timing and being good with words. Most of the time somebody comes up with something witty that sounds good, if might sound like it was spontaneous, but usually the person has done it before to the point where it sounds so natural.

I spent a couple of years in high school stuck in that stage where I was "almost funny" yet I got reactions and looks that said "shut up jackass." Be prepared for people to initially give you weird looks, call you "weird" or worse, give you the "I don't get it" look, etc. That is usually a prerequisite to finally getting it. You will only learn to calibrate it right by going too far or not far enough often.

The following things have helped me:

1) Listening to Talk Radio. 20 years ago, when I started, it was mostly what most would consider boring radio, AM, local talk, current events, etc. To be an on air host, you must be good with words, and have the ability to say the right thing at the right time, without much thought. On air personalities are so good at responding to different type of callers and diffusing situations.

The advantage of talk radio now is that it is now a lot more popular. FM talk radio is a lot more popular now than it ever has. There are a bunch of talk show hosts that have shows on any subject, including some funny, entertaining ones all over the country. I recently got Sirius radio and they have some talk stations. Including Maxim radio, which deals with humor, and guy stuff/humor, just like the magazine. A couple of the ones I recommend are
Howard Stern, Stephanie Miller (female stand up comedian who is funny, you don't need to agree with her political views, just see how she puts it together), Covino & Rich (Maxim radio on Sirius), etc.

2) Learn comedy from people who know how to put it together. My education in this area was Howard Stern, back in the early 90's, while I was starting college. Believe me, it took me almost a decade to learn what and how things seemed funny when people hear them. This includes professional comedians. Try listening and learning from different styles. I enjoy Stern, Mitch Hedberg, Andrew Dice Clay, Chris Rock, Gilbert Gotfried, Bill Maher, George Carlin, etc.

3) Friends, and others who we consider funny. Believe me, there was a time when not everyone thought they were funny. The learned and borrowed most of their best stuff from someone else. Think back as far as you can go and remember the funny stories and things you heard throughout your life. Whenever you laugh, smile about something from your past, make sure you make a note of it, or even journal it. Even some of the motivational speakers I've listened to are very entertaining due to their humor and wit. I recomend anybody to give a listen to speaker Jim Rohn. He is now in his 70's, yet still entertains audiences of every age.

4) Become educated in the primary language you intend to use the comedy. Become articulate, and learn how to use your voice, your tonality, diction, speed, and how changing things around changes the whole context of the meaning of anything you say, which in itself is what a lot comedy is all about. My main as a kid was Vin Scully, the legendary LA Dodger announcer who just has the ability to paint a picture with words and stories. If you have a favorite sport, learn from the professionals who broadcast it. Not only will it enhance your knowledge of the sport, it will also do wonders to help you communicate better.

5) Television shows, magazines and Internet also can show you great examples of how comedy is implemented on any subject. Watch TV shows that are very popular and have humor implemented within. Even if you are not a fan, it will teach you. These shows have good writers that get paid to come up with material that causes people sit through them. Magazines like Maxim, Hot Stuff, FHM, comedy, and internet articles and blogs have a lot of the the type of humor worth checking out.


6) Master your look, facial expressions, body language and delivery. The key to a lot of humor is being in character. How many times have you seen or heard a joke told by someone who wasn't funny and thus killed the joke? A lot of times professional comedians say stuff that is only funny coming from them, in characters. There is stuff that Chris Rock says that is very funny, yet Andrew Dice Clay or Seinfeld would not get a way with. There are times when something that is not really funny gets you laughing because it is being told by a specific person. The key is being in character. Jim Carey has made millions out of this art.


7) Always be ready and have a response and a better answer to everything. You will only learn this by being burned a few times in a back and forth exchange of words/ideas, and have it cued the next time you encounter a similar situation. How many times have you been at a loss for words, yet minutes later you have the perfect response? Make a note of it, and guess what? The next time you will automatically have the right funny, witty answer. Women respond powerfully to men who are best at handling themselves in those kinds of situations.

The above skills can all be learned, yet while it will take a while to master at a level that seems very natural, nobody was born with it. That means you can go out there and start improving on this area of your communication. Demonstrating your skills in humor, wit and sarcasm can be a very attractive, and more important, learnable quality to the ladies, who always love a man who is in control of situations.
 

fertileTurtle

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5) Television shows, magazines and Internet also can show you great examples of how comedy is implemented on any subject.
SCRUBS
 

War Against Betaism

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I love the Talk Radio advice, I'll definitely start listening to the radio more often. And good point about point 6. Chris Tucker, while comes up with some really funny sh1t, his humor also was contributed mainly from body language and voice tone.
 

Jon55

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Foggy

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This is an awesome post, incredibly motivational!
 
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