How to Be Hilarious

Overanalyzing the art of comedy

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:

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:

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:

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

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:

5. Riff

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

― Carl Reiner

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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