[Music]
hey everyone and welcome to top tank
today we're going to learn the art of
humor seven tips to become funnier now
let's begin number one connect the dots
this trick is a hallmark of any funny
story connecting the dots means setting
up your punchline by referencing
important details earlier in the
narrative okay let's say you're telling
your friends a story from work you
explain how every morning at 8 o'clock
you get your boss the same coffee or an
Americano with two sugars in the two
years you've been working for him you've
never once forgotten to leave his coffee
sitting on his desk but this morning you
completely blanked you see you made a
huge sale the other day one of the
biggest your company has ever seen but
you were so excited you made a really
careless mistake and if no one catches
it that mistake could cost your company
a lot of money so when you heard that
your boss needed to see you you were
terrified you were a hundred percent
certain that you were about to get fired
so you started prepping your defense you
rehearsed a big speech you printed out
stats for every sale that you've ever
made you were ready to fight for your
life so you walked into your boss's
office looked him dead in the eye and
said I swear I can do better just give
me another chance but your boss looked
back at you confused and said another
chance it's a little late for coffee
don't you think no in this story we
connected the dots using the first and
last lines the coffee is important for
the punch line so we gave it context
earlier in the narrative that way people
will understand why this story makes
sense imagine what it would have sounded
like without those first couple of lines
it wouldn't be engaging or funny it
would just be confusing people who are
new to being funny don't realize how big
of a role that stories play in comedy
they waste their time looking for some
show-stopping punchline that wins over
their audience all on its own but many
of the most successful comedians don't
need
the best punchlines on their own their
jokes aren't always that funny if you
don't believe me try retelling a joke
from your favorite comedian to your
friends chances are it won't get the
same reaction
that's because comedians bury their
humor within a good story they create
context and connect the dots and that
way their audience is always in on the
joke you can do the exact same thing
whether you're talking to two people or
200 a funny story is a funny story just
make sure you give your audience the
tools to understand why number two read
the room you're standing in your parents
living room
it's your nephew's sixth birthday party
so you're surrounded by family members
aunts uncles grandparents cousins you
name it but you can't stop thinking
about a dirty joke that your friend told
you last week you two laughed until your
stomach's hurt so now you're trying to
work that joke into the conversation hey
you're sure it's going to get a big
laugh but when you finally tell it
everyone just stares at you so what
happened why did your joke work the
first time but fall flat the second it's
got nothing to do with the actual joke
it's all about the environment and
whether your joke fits in the standard
for what qualifies as funny changes
depending on where you are at work you
make casual jokes about how long the
work day feels and that usually gets a
laugh but over dinner with your friends
that kind of joke really doesn't gain
much traction
instead you probably joke about things
that would be totally inappropriate
anywhere else so why didn't people laugh
at your nephews party because your joke
didn't fit that specific environment
next time ask yourself what jokes
usually get a laugh in this context pay
attention to the boundaries figure out
what's appropriate and what's not and
that way you know when to let a joke fly
and when to keep your mouth shut
number three pace yourself countless
great jokes and stories have been ruined
by people who don't know how to pace
them
you could have the most amazing material
but if you're rushing well it's all
going to miss the mark the simple fact
is you need to give your jokes time to
settle in you need to create
expectations and set your listeners up
for the big reveal
or else no one's going to care pacing
yourself means giving your story some
room to breathe instead of speeding
toward the end just take your time
linger on the important details drop in
some funny side comments and don't be
afraid to pause for dramatic effect
pacing takes practice and a lot of
confidence but as you become a better
storyteller you'll learn how to get a
laugh out of anyone number four embrace
the unexpected most people don't realize
how important the element of surprise is
in comedy in fact humor often comes from
turning our expectations upside down you
go into a joke thinking one thing but
then there's a twist the joke goes a
completely different direction
something subverts your expectations in
a clever way and you laugh because
you're pleasantly surprised but that
isn't the only way to embrace the
unexpected many people sit around
waiting for the perfect moment to jump
in with a clever line if they go too
early
they're worried it'll sound random and
confusing that people just won't get the
joke because it's too off-topic
but nine times out of ten that perfect
moment never comes hey but that's a good
thing
funny comments shouldn't be 100% on
topic they shouldn't make total sense if
there's nothing new or unexpected about
it then it's probably not funny it's
just a rehash of something that's
already been said so don't be afraid to
go out on a limb
number 5 laugh at yourself professor
robert Provine an expert on the
psychology of humor
said that the most important stimulus of
laughter isn't a well-crafted joke it's
the people around you laughter is a
deeply social phenomenon in other words
your laughter is usually related to the
way other people react
several studies have found that
participants laughed more when they see
or hear other people laughing just think
about those laugh tracks you hear in the
background of most sitcoms what's the
point of hearing other people laugh
during the show well it turns out those
laugh tracks play a vital role not only
do they tell you when to laugh but they
also increase the chance that you find
something funny one research study put
this to the test they compared how much
people enjoy the TV show with and
without the usual laugh track hey sure
enough the background laughter made a
huge difference people got more of the
jokes and laughed longer all because
they weren't laughing alone but why does
social laughter change our behavior well
one explanation is that we use laughter
as a sign of safety and relief let's say
you're watching a show where someone
slams their head into a wall normally
you'd wonder if they were hurt but when
you hear the laugh track it tells you
hey don't worry it's an evolutionary
sign that everything's okay
and it works the same way for every
other kind of comedy hearing other
people laugh at something pushes you in
a positive direction so use this
psychological trick to your advantage if
you laugh at your own jokes people are
more likely to laugh along with you
number six learn from the best and the
worst like any skill you can hone your
sense of humor by learning from funny
people practicing is important but there
are some things you can't understand on
your own you could spend years making
the same kind of jokes without realizing
what you're doing wrong so learn from
the best
go see professional comedians in action
figure out what they're doing that
you're not pay attention to the way they
hold people's attention catch them by
surprise
and bond with their audience after
you've learned from the best go learn
from the worst see some amateur
comedians watch them bomb onstage and
try to figure out what went wrong now
you don't have to be a comedian to put
these tricks to good use anyone can use
them to entertain their friends or to
make waves at work comedy is a pretty
universal
talent something funny on stage is
usually just as funny off stage so even
if you never want to get behind a
microphone there's a lot you could learn
from the people who do number seven
fitting your style imagine you like
making complicated in clever jokes you
point out all kinds of obscure and
ironic things that most people don't
understand but when people look at you
or hear you speak something just doesn't
add up your mouth says smarts but the
rest of you reads goofy in other words
there's a mismatch of styles which may
be the reason that people don't find
your very funny comedy relies on the
whole package when you tell a joke it
should make sense coming out of your
mouth for example if you have a deadpan
sense of humor
you shouldn't deliver your jokes with a
big smile on your face you're just going
to throw people off unless misleading
people is part of your stick your humor
should match your attitude and
personality hey thank you for watching
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[Music]