Learning how to make people laugh is such an important skill to develop.
When you have a good sense of humor, you can lighten up the mood in any situation.
Today, I want to share with you the exact same advice that I teach to our clients in our social skills coaching program.
What You'll Learn In This Post
1. Amuse Yourself First
If you’re wondering how to make people laugh, you need to embrace your quirks.
Own whatever it is that you’re into because that’s what makes you who you are.
By amusing yourself first, you let others see the real you.
As a result, you’ll come across as more authentic and relatable.
Just make sure you deliver your stories in a way that makes sense to others as well.
People will give you a confused look if they don’t fully comprehend your jokes.
You’ll end up with awkward silences during your interactions which can feel pretty uncomfortable.
2. Stop Being So Serious
Growing up in a traditional Asian family, having a sense of humor didn’t come naturally to me.
In fact, the majority of conversations that I had with my parents revolved around academic and career success.
That’s why I was so serious all the time.
I always felt like I had to be working hard at something and I found it very difficult to relax.
Check out this video if you want to know how to be outgoing and fun to be around.
If you can relate to that and you want to figure out how to make people laugh, you need to loosen up.
Stop trying to appear perfect and adopt a more laid back attitude.
The key here is to not make a big deal out of things and stop worrying about what people think.
By having this perspective, you’ll figure out how to be self-conscious.
Keep in mind that there are billions of people in the world.
You don’t need to try to get along with everybody.
Some will like you, some won’t and that’s okay.
3. Watch More Comedy Shows
What better way to figure out how to improve your sense of humor than from those who do it professionally.
That’s why I highly recommend you watch more comedy shows and stand-up routines.
When something amuses you, take a moment to analyze it.
Pay close attention to the material, timing, and delivery of the joke.
To get some quick wins, you can just repeat other people’s jokes for now.
If you do this right, you’ll get positive responses from people right away which will give you some encouragement.
You’ll see what works which will help you come up with your own material in the future.
4. Develop Your Wit
As a social skills coach, I’ve worked with a lot of engineers, programmers, and developers.
From what I’ve noticed, most of them are shy introverts, technically skilled, and socially inexperienced.
On top of that, they tend to see things in a very logical way.
Check out this video if you want to know how to be witty and quick.
If that sounds like you and you’re wondering how to make people laugh, you need to develop your wit.
You can do this by coming up with different ways of seeing normal things.
To help you get started, what you’ll want to do is to observe the things around you.
And then ask yourself what else it reminds you of.
Try to make correlations with subjects that are seemingly unrelated.
Be playful, think creatively, and use your imagination more often.
When you do this exercise over and over again, you’ll train your brain to be more quick-witted.
As a result, you’ll be able to respond in amusing and unexpected ways more consistently.
5. Put Together Your Material
If you’re not a naturally funny person then you need to prepare ahead of time.
Doing so will help you think of good comebacks much faster when you interact with others.
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To help you with this, start by identifying all the types of situations that you find yourself in on a regular basis.
And then, try to come up with some clever things that you can potentially say.
When in doubt, always tell jokes based on your personal experiences.
For me, some of the most embarrassing times in my life are now part of my most entertaining material.
When you’re able to make fun of yourself, it shows others that you’re comfortable in your own skin.
Again, the key here is to stop taking yourself so seriously.
Try to be more light-hearted and just enjoy yourself when you interact with people.
By doing so, you’ll come across as someone more outgoing and fun to be around
6. Be Present In Your Interactions
Remember, good timing is a big component of figuring out how to make people laugh.
You’ll have a hard time being quick-witted when you’re not in the moment.
That being said, the next time you catch yourself overthinking, take a moment to pause.
Slow down your breathing, relax your body and bring yourself back to your current situation.
And then, make a conscious effort to give the person you’re with your full and undivided attention.
By being present, you’ll clear your mind and you’ll feel less anxious.
As a result, you’ll be able to come up with the right things to say during moments that really count.
7. Practice Telling Your Jokes
Keep in mind that nothing good ever comes from playing it safe.
If you’re wondering how to make people laugh, you have to take more risks.
After you’ve watched some comedy shows and prepared some stories to share, it’s time to put things into action.
Whenever the opportunity presents itself, slowly integrate your jokes during your interactions.
My advice is to implement this in more low-risk settings.
Ideally, you’ll practice with people that you already have some sort of rapport with.
That way, they’ll be a lot more forgiving when you do make a mistake.
By continuously taking risks, you’ll overcome your fears and develop your courage.
Over time, you’ll prove to yourself that you can actually improve your sense of humor.
Eventually, making jokes will feel more effortless for you.
As a result, you won’t have to try so hard to get a good reaction from others.
8. Work On Your Delivery
If you want to know how to make people laugh, you need to have a structure when you share something.
Otherwise, your jokes will come off like a random thought.
That being said, make sure your stories have a beginning, middle, and end.
When you tell your jokes, set it up well and create some contrast if it applies.
In order for your stories to be more captivating, use descriptive words to engage the senses.
And then, release the tension that you’ve built up when you tell the punch line.
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Also, try to be enthusiastic and vary your tonality.
Use your body language when you tell your jokes as well.
I know doing these things might feel odd at first.
This is especially true if you’re not used to communicating in this manner.
If you’re willing to, I highly recommend you try recording yourself.
That way, you’ll be able to observe your delivery and hear how you sound.
This will give you some feedback and will help you make the necessary adjustments before you interact with others.
9. Know Your Audience
If you’re wondering how to make people laugh, you have to be empathetic.
Take a moment to read the crowd and put yourself in other people’s situations.
For example, just think of the jokes you’ll crack with your friends over drinks.
That’s going to be a lot different than what you share with your relatives over dinner, right?
If you’re not catering your stories to whoever you’re talking to, then you might piss some people off.
The last thing that you want is to offend others and ruin your relationships.
When in doubt, take the time to observe the group that you’re a part of and the situation you’re in.
Pay close attention to what everybody else is talking about.
The more you know your audience, the easier it’ll be for you to calibrate your sense of humor.
10. Don’t Make Fun Of Others
If you want to succeed socially and build meaningful relationships, follow the golden rule.
Make sure you treat people the same way you also want to be treated.
In this case, just because something gets a laugh doesn’t mean you should make fun of others.
To build rapport with anybody, you should always have positive intentions.
Use your sense of humor to make others feel good when they’re around you.
Avoid putting someone else down just to make yourself look better.
Improving your sense of humor should never be at the expense of others.
Before you say something, ask yourself if you would enjoy it if you were on the receiving end of the joke.
If the answer is no, then it’s best to keep your mouth shut and just remain quiet.
Remember, what goes around comes around.
You’ll get back exactly what you put out there.
If you want to figure out how to make people laugh, always leave people better than before you met them.
11. Apologize Whenever Necessary
Remember, nobody is good at anything when they’re just starting out.
This is especially true when you’re still learning how to make people laugh.
Even though you mean well, sometimes you’ll say something annoying by accident.
Keep in mind that this is totally normal and to be expected.
In the event that you do offend someone, offer a sincere apology right away.
Tell them you didn’t mean it and that you’ll be more sensitive next time.
Once you’ve learned your lesson, avoid replaying past mistakes in your head repeatedly.
Doing so will lower your social confidence and will make you act timid the next time you’re around people.
12. Don’t Be Discouraged
If you’re wondering how to make people laugh, just know that it won’t happen overnight.
Developing any skill takes time that’s why you have to be patient with yourself.
Have some self-compassion and remind yourself that you’re doing the best you could with what you know.
By doing so, you’ll prevent yourself from feeling discouraged.
Check out this podcast interview with John Sonmez, Founder of Bulldog Mindset, where he talks about how to develop mental toughness.
Trust me, I’m nothing special so if I’m able to figure out how to make people laugh, so can you.
Just focus on the process instead of being so attached to the outcome.
Once you learn how to improve your sense of humor, you’ll become a source of positive emotions.
You’ll raise your status in any group and people will look forward to spending time with you.
That’s why learning how to make people laugh is definitely a skill worth developing.
Conclusion
If you’re wondering how to make people laugh, I just shared with you my best tips.
Feel free to go through them again and implement them as much as you can.
And now, let’s turn it to you.
Which one of these tips are you going to implement first?
Are you going to watch more comedy shows or work on developing your wit?
Send me a message on Instagram and let me know.