How to Be Hilarious

Overanalyzing the art of comedy

Isabel Sterne 🟡

Jul 17, 2024

Hi Cringers,

I’ve been known to write a zinger or two on LinkedIn to entertain myself and others.

Don’t believe me? Take it from The Consultant’s Consultant, Troy Assoignon, who asks:

Screenshot of comment from Troy Assoignon asking: "How do you consistently write zingers and be funny?"

I’ve even had a few clients tell me that the reason they chose to follow me and work with me was because of my jokes.

So laugh all you want, but humor can actually be a strategic move.

As actor and comedian Victor Borge said, “Laughter is the closest distance between two people.”

When you make people laugh, they get a surge of feel-good chemicals (endorphins, dopamine, and oxytocin), which can lead to social bonding.

According to a Mr. Dunbar, author of the study, Laughter and its role in the evolution of human social bonding:

“When hominins needed to increase the size of their groups beyond the limit that could be bonded by grooming, they co-opted laughter (a modified version of the play vocalization found widely among the catarrhine primates) as a form of chorusing to fill the gap.”

In other words, if you can make people laugh, you can attract a community, or more people to your grooming circle, whatever you’re into.

Without further ado, here are a few pointers for a LOL or two:

1. Be honest.

“Humor is what happens when we're told the truth quicker and more directly than we're used to.”

― George Saunders, The Braindead Megaphone

We’re so used to walking around sugarcoating things that directly speaking the truth can be comical.

Say the unsaid thing:

LinkedIn post from Isabel Sterne that says, "LinkedIn is business theater."

2. Be topical.

My favorite topical tweets are the ones that put a tweet in context so it illuminates a deeper truth or societal trend.

― Jaboukie Young-White

Topical comedy draws on a shared cultural reference:

LinkedIn post from Isabel Sterne that says, " Let me get this straight. People are using AI to apply to jobs where resumes are screened by AI? What are we doing, people?" Below is an image of a robot on a computer with the text "Why??"

AI is one of my favorite topical subjects because it’s creating so many absurd situations, which brings me to my next tip:

3. Be absurd.

Part of being a comedian is that it's your job to look at life and regurgitate it in a funny way, to point out its absurdities.

― Greg Behrendt

LinkedIn post from Isabel Sterne that says, "I want to talk about writing with conviction, but I don't have a strong opinion about it."

Our world is absurd. Life is absurd. We’re absurd. It’s funny to point this out, call out the contradictions, and poke fun at yourself, which brings me to:

4. Don’t take yourself too seriously.

The best way to make your audience laugh is to start laughing yourself.

― Oliver Goldsmith

Need material? Look at yourself. Evaluate where you’re at. Then give yourself a good burn. Works every time:

LinkedIn post from Isabel Sterne that says, "Here's how I grew from 300 to 6,000 followers in a year: social media addiction."

5. Riff

Comedians are really writers who don't have pens and pencils about them, but they riff.

― Carl Reiner

LinkedIn post from Isabel Sterne that says, "How to become unrecognizable: - 3 whole rotisserie chickens per day - 0 liters of water - 2 teaspoons of dirt - 45 minutes of spinning around in circles - 4 high speed car chases/week - 3,000,000g protein/meal - 0 hours of sleep All you have to do is execute."

The post above was a riff on the intense lifestyle advice circulating on LinkedIn. Look at trending advice, formats, or memes and give it an absurd twist.

Other tips to keep in mind:

Consume funny content. - You are what you eat. Watch comedy, listen to comedy, read comedy, and talk to your funny friends. Surround yourself with comedy. Hopefully, it will start to rub off on you.
Know where to draw the line. - Places like LinkedIn have some lines you probably won’t want to cross. Have fun, but not too much fun.
Play nice. - Don’t be a jerk. You don’t need to tear others down to get a laugh.
Trust your gut. - Often our initial reactions to things are the funniest. Learn to follow your instincts.
Be brave. - It can be scary to put yourself out there and risk looking like a fool. Us clowns have to be brave.

Have I dissected this frog enough? Definitely.

Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.

―E. B. White

Until next time,

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How to Be Hilarious

Overanalyzing the art of comedy

1. Be honest.

2. Be topical.

3. Be absurd.

4. Don’t take yourself too seriously.

5. Riff

Other tips to keep in mind:

Did you enjoy this Cringe Letter? Be a pal and share it with a pal:

Want more?

🟡 Subscribe to my Stampfans for $6/month to get monthly old-fashioned snail mail from Yours Truly (sends to US, UK, and Canda).

🟡 Work with me! I offer Clarity Calls to help you figure out your next steps in marketing your business, LinkedIn Profile Design, and Full Rebrands.

🟡 Hire me to write for you. I offer LinkedIn Ghostwriting and content writing by request.

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