If the ability to joke is not your natural quality, do not despair. You can master the humorous craft on your own, turning learning into an exciting adventure. We will tell you how to become a funny, cheerful and positive person without much time and effort.
think over the image
From appearance a person depends on how others will treat him. If the eyebrows are furrowed, the movements are constrained or simulated, then, despite the smile, it will become clear that the person does not know how to become funny, but really wants to seem like that.
In the image of a joker, everything is important - gait, clothing, manner of greeting, timbre of voice, facial expressions.
Our success depends on how we speak, gesticulate and look at the interlocutor. Making people laugh is an art in which every detail is important.
Refresh your vocabulary
They pay more attention to jokes with special, unusual words. For example, the word "zenoyam", which should be read backwards, sounds funnier than "mayonnaise". You can say the usual phrase: "I'm going to sleep," but it's funnier: "I'm going to listen to the noise of submarines."
American comedian Gilbert Gottfried joked on one of the comedy shows: “If a girl has a hairy back, you don’t need to be upset. You can close your eyes and imagine that she is wearing an alpaca sweater.” In this joke, the word "alpaca" played a climactic role, showing the absurdity of the situation.
Comedy stories add specific sounds. For example, showman Eddie Driscoll, speaking on intimate topics, creates a sound that imitates the opening of a zipper on his fly.
Joking with purpose
How to become funny and be the soul of the company? The answer is simple - to comprehend your jokes, to fill them with purpose. The audience needs a victim, a specific object of humor. It can be an absent person, an internal enemy, a famous ruler, or some generally recognized vice. The most popular objects for humorous attacks:
- Geographic: city, country, people
- Related: lovers, mother-in-law or mother-in-law, neighbors
- Celebrities: loud personalities or current news about them
- Sports: football team, coach
To risk
There is no formula that unequivocally answers the question "How to become funny." Some may reach the humorous pinnacle in a week, while others may take a month or more. The main thing is not to lose the opportunity to practice. And nothing happens without risk. If appears slightest chance joke, you have to take risks.
The worst thing that can happen is that the joke turns out to be unsuccessful, but after all, everyone will forget it over time. Even the most famous comedians admit that they never know which of the jokes will work. Deep down, they are afraid to hear dead silence in response to their miniatures. But they know that there is no risk in this matter.
Use the surprise trick
Everything that is said unexpectedly and to the point remains the brightest and funniest moment. No one expects a joke and there will be no bias towards its meaning.
Here's how to learn to joke spontaneously:
- Recall a joke during a serious conversation
- Give a jocular answer to a stern question
- Say something both funny and shocking with a neutral facial expression
Supplement and develop someone else's joke
In KVN, the “Warm-up” contest is built in this way, where teams come up with a funny ending or the beginning of a pre-prepared phrase.
The answer to the question "How to learn to joke" is stored in the jokes of friends or acquaintances. Let them think for us what is interesting to say, and we will come up with our own based on their phrase.
For example:
He gives her the last shirt.
“What do you think she should do with an old sweaty size 52 shirt?”
Be brief
Many anecdotes are laughed at only out of politeness towards the narrator. Not because the jokes are not funny, but because they are long, too figurative, not always clear. Sometimes 2 words are enough to blow up the audience, and lyrical inserts tire the listener. pungent witty phrases- ideal for those who want to learn how to learn to joke so that jokes are understandable to everyone.
Use self-irony, exaggeration, sarcasm
self-mockery Comedians' secret weapon. She makes it clear that the author of humor is not arrogant, does not fantasize himself above others.
Psychologists have long noticed that people who know how to laugh at themselves dispose others, inspire confidence, and make communication comfortable. Self-irony is better than introspection, pompous modesty, or boring self-talk. She is in the company of braggarts, makes the comedian taller, wittier and nobler than the rest.
The famous American speaker Terry Bradshaw starts his speech with jokes about his own hairstyle or character. This is how he connects with the audience. Arnold Schwarzenegger, knowing the secret of how to learn to joke, more than once began his speech with “jokes” over his accents.
The main thing is not to overdo it. 2-3 jokes in this style are enough to get the desired effect.
exaggeration d makes the joke bright and funny. “Hungry enough to eat two servings” is a common phrase. But if you confess that you would have eaten a hippo ham, a smile appears on your face.
Sarcasm - a good comic tool, but you better be careful with it.
When is sarcasm appropriate?: Comedian Jay Leno commented on the decision of the authorities of Los Angeles to open the Center for Abandoned Children, in which young mothers can leave their child with impunity for 72 hours. Using sarcasm, the speaker said: “That's why I love my country! I have more than 2 days to give away an unwanted child, but there is no way to get rid of a car that I did not like.
It is important to remember that sarcasm is inappropriate when all is well. A sharp sarcastic joke favorable situation looks like sour grapes on a sweet cake.
How to learn to joke? Regularly use self-irony and exaggeration. Sarcasm can be reserved for special occasions.
Train
Without experience, it is difficult even to cook dumplings. And if we talk about how to become funny, then with a few attempts to joke, you definitely won’t get off.
Trying to appear in a new role, we need training in the company and in front of a mirror, attempts to joke in different forms must succeed and fail. Only by trial and error can a good result be achieved.
Practical tasks for training:
- Compose a sarcastic commentary on current news.
- Come up with a story to make it look funny.
- Come up with a joke “with a trinity”: somehow a wolf, a boar and a fox gathered ...
- Make up a few jokes about yourself, built on well-known traits. make laugh loved one, coming up with an interesting joke about him.
How to be funny: cheat sheet
- Use both spontaneous humor and phrases prepared in advance.
- Laugh at yourself in awkward situations.
- joke about what is known a wide range of people.
- Don't laugh at your own jokes.
- Use different intonations and timbre of the voice (high, low, hoarse).
- Do not rely on obscene language: a scandalous statement sounds better than a swear word.
- Do not humiliate others by trying to be funny.
- Be original, don't take the jokes of famous comedians.
- Laugh at the jokes of others.
- Do not try, by all means, to make the audience laugh. More importantly, be yourself.
We told you how to be funny and original. It remains only to follow our advice. Don't be afraid to come up with your own jokes, take risks, practice and they will definitely say about you: “This person is incredibly funny! You need to learn from him."
In order to properly develop your sense of humor, you must first understand what this humor is and “what it is eaten with”.
Human most spends his time in a certain circle of people. It can be either relatives, or friends, or colleagues. The purpose of communication with different categories is different. Each of these layers has different interests and terminology. It would not be appropriate to joke with a philologist on purely medical topics, moreover, using the characteristic black humor of doctors. You simply will not be understood and may even be mistaken for a rude and callous person.
To begin with, analyze what interests your constant companions and try to develop your wit in this area.
And to make it interesting for all people, think about what jokes would be universal for both the miner and the teacher.
And also be interested not only in generally accepted, but also expand knowledge about certain specific, understandable only for particular group people, jokes. Then you can easily find a reason to joke with any person.
Play with words.
The simplest and easiest method to bring a smile to the face of the interlocutor is a play on words.
It is enough just to practice rearranging the letters in words so that they sound funny.You can add a share of modernity to already established sayings,
for example, "no matter how many wolves you feed, everything hangs on the Internet."
Also, the discrepancy between thoughts and words adds to the comicality.
More than one housewife had to say: “I just have to wash borscht and cook things.”
Don't be afraid to experiment with words and their meanings. Play with them like a child plays with blocks, fold, rearrange, change.
Be ironic.
Irony will help you become "sharp on the tongue".
It is best if you learn to use it first on yourself, otherwise its inept use may offend another person.
Irony appears where there is a collapse between human expectations and real situation of things.
Appreciate the ability to use irony. It will often help not only to become a more witty person, but also to survive difficult moments in life.
Joke at yourself.
If you don't know the person well, and you need to keep the conversation going, then make fun of yourself.
Do not be afraid to seem ridiculous, it is not at all scary to show some kind of your little failure to people and laugh at it yourself.
It will be much worse if you hide this failure in yourself and unwind it to universal proportions.
Make fun of yourself, others will laugh at such a joke with pleasure and, as a rule, will not take it seriously. So the collapse of your reputation will not.
Look for the common in the opposite and talk about it.
When you want to talk merrily, long, witty, and most importantly, about nothing, then try to find common features in vodka and man.
Carol never gave an answer to the question in the book, what is common in a crow and a table, but he gave food for many humorists and curious minds.Develop an alternative view of things in yourself, look at the familiar from a different angle, betray interesting characteristics to things.
The main thing is to be on time.
The timeliness of a joke is already 50 percent of its success.
If you miss even a few seconds, then the situation will already lose its relevance, and your wit will seem out of place.
React instantly while the situation is only at its zenith. Don't get frustrated if a good moment is missed and a good "sharp" answer pops up in your head. Remember it, this will happen again, and many more different humorous situations await you.
Also, the concept of “to joke on time” should be understood about the appropriateness of humor. You can become funny in any situation, but this does not mean that the other person is also having fun. No need to try to cheer up a person at a funeral with some "sharp" phrases. Religious jokes are also very subtle and different people are perceived differently. This also applies to politics.
Collect jokes, witticisms and anecdotes.
To facilitate the process of generating new humorous phrases and comments, try to memorize funny quotes from books, films, from other people.
And also learn to get them out of your memory in time.
Watch humorous programs, read jokes, watch people around you.
Wit is the ability to aptly use words and extinguish any negativity with them. Wit can be called the “muscle” of a sense of humor, which means that if you don’t pump it up, no one will talk about you as a good joker or comedian. I want you to know how to develop wit, so I picked up useful tips and exercises for you to train this “muscle”.
To develop mental sharpness, you will have to put in a lot of effort, but I am sure that you will succeed. My helpful tips will be a good helper:
- Expand your horizons. Read as many books as you can by writers who have incorporated humor and irony into their writings. For learning, I recommend humorous literature by the following authors: Ilf and Petrov, Zoshchenko, Chekhov, Bernard Shaw, Bulgakov. You can listen to audiobooks or read, but the most important thing is to notice jokes and witty phrases. Of course, it does not hurt to watch humorous films, series and programs.
- Practice. Wit cannot be developed without practice. Try to joke sharply and subtly whenever possible. Remember that a joke works well if it has a surprise effect.
- Laugh at yourself. Yes, I agree that this is not the most pleasant, because we all have our complexes. But it is this technique that is used by famous comedians who make the audience laugh to tears. Yes, they are witty, thanks to the fact that they use self-irony.
- Forget about stereotypes. A witty person finds very quickly what to say, and you will have to learn to abandon the clichés and stereotypes embedded in society. To develop wit, you need to use imagination and speech, look for associations, turn familiar situations around and see them as funny.
- Live life with humor. Man with sharp mind cannot be gloomy and boring. If you have a good wit, then you will always be the center of attention in any company, you will have many friends, and people will come to you for advice. Look at the familiar in a new way and find the funny, then they will also say about you that you have an innate talent to be witty in any situation.
Remember that there is a time for every joke, so it is not enough to learn how to write jokes, make jokes and humor, it is important to learn how to do it at the right time. As an exercise, I recommend that you play association and apply basic wit skills from scratch.
Wit is the muscle of humor
- memorize jokes and funny phrases;
- use metaphors and phraseological units;
- do not show negative emotions in public;
- look for the relationship between people, animals, plants and various situations;
- learn how to draw cartoons;
- laugh at a joke, even when it's not very funny to you.
Of course, jokes should not flow from you in a stream, because you are not a clown! Remember the saying: "Rarely, but aptly." This is exactly what you should do when inserting some sharp phrase into a conversation. I conduct special trainings on the development of a sense of humor and wit, and I can say with confidence that any skill can be developed. You can read more about studying at the Comedy School of humor in the section.
How to develop wit: basic techniques
If you want to become a truly witty person, learn to look at the world a little differently. You will have to break patterns, stereotypes, play associations and even, possibly, attend my trainings and webinars. The goal is to learn to observe people, play with any situation, quickly find the right word, translate everything said or happening into a joke.
Generate ideas and develop wit from scratch
I also picked up for you the TOP 5 cool humorous tricks that develop wit:
- Changelings.
- direct meaning.
- We confuse words and letters.
- New meanings of phraseological units.
- Hyperbole.
So that you can use these techniques to develop wit, I will give a few examples of each of them.
SHIFTERS
Proverbs and sayings - best tool to develop wit, because you can swap phrases or come up with their own ending.
Repetition is the mother of learning. Stuttering is an exception.
And the sheep are safe, and the wolves are full ... And the shepherd will have eternal memory.
What a sober man has in mind, a drunk man has in practice.
One head is good, but two is a genetic deviation.
DIRECT MEANING
In Russian, we often use words and expressions with double meaning. Your task is that you discard the circumstances and take the phrase literally.
The wife says to her husband: "Support me." The husband replies: “What are you falling for?”
Take an aspirin and you'll be as fresh as a cucumber in the morning.
- What is green and in a pimple?
WE CONFUSE WORDS AND LETTERS
Change letters in words or words in sentences - good exercise to develop wit and a sense of humour. You can bring this skill to automatism so that jokes will be in your everyday speech.
Example 1. Snow Maiden - Firearm.
Example 2. Shop - Gamazin.
Example 3. Girlfriend - Podlyuga.
Example 4. Labor feeds a person, but laziness spoils - Laziness feeds a person, and labor spoils.
Example 5. Coffee with milk - Mofe with Colac.
Believe me, there are a lot of witty phrases in your head
NEW MEANINGS OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS
Kazan orphan – Russian orphan
Glue Fins - Glue Uggs
Knut and gingerbread - Hammer and bagel
Stone in the bosom - Bucks in the bosom
The cow licked with her tongue - The neighbor licked with her tongue.
HYPERBOLIZATION
This technique involves a strong exaggeration or understatement of what is happening. A witty person quickly finds what to answer, exaggerating or downplaying the truth.
I was so frightened by this noise that even my neighbors turned gray.
She weighs so much that her husband had to switch to proper nutrition.
That day he got so drunk that headache even had neighbors.
I hope you understand what are the basic techniques for developing wit. Now, as an exercise, try to remake famous phraseological units, Proverbs and sayings. You can find them in books or on the site fraze.ru. If you find it difficult to exercise on your own, sign up for a webinar with me and we will develop wit and a sense of humor together.
I took several courses on developing a sense of humor and wit with American teachers and realized that people do not laugh spontaneously. It's all about the special laughter triggers that are activated when the joke is written and told correctly. All basic tricks, which I described above, are used by famous comedians, and you are laughing. So why not learn to wit yourself?
How to develop wit: exercises
Any muscle gets bigger and stronger thanks to regular workouts. I suggest you practice a little to develop your own wit. Only 7 exercises will help you become a wittier person.
Exercise 1. We find analogies.
This exercise is based on the Linguistic Pyramids, which help to train the skills of generalization, separation and analogy. What are Linguistic Pyramids? This is what you build yourself, based on what you see around.
So let's look around. The first thing I saw was the plate. By itself, a plate is just a plate, but if you think about it a little, it refers to dishes. Here we already have the base of the pyramid and the first branch from it. Now find some other subspecies for the plate. In the photo you can see examples of the branching of the linguistic pyramid.
The photo shows an example of the development of wit with the help of a linguistic pyramid
Now do this exercise to develop wit. To do this, invite a friend and decide who will be the leader and who will be the follower. After that, the follower must point to some object, and the leader will show what can be done with it. Remember that you need to generalize the subject to more high level or to a lower one. Complete the task within 5 minutes with one object, you can only use gestures, which are better to agree on in advance.
Exercise 2. Learn as much as possible about the subject.
This exercise is great for developing wit and creativity of speech, as you will have to use your imagination and Creative skills. Look around and find some object again. After that, set a timer for 5 minutes and tell everything you know about this subject, even if it seems to you that you are talking nonsense.
What can be said?
- Name;
- appointment;
- about the application;
- about the new application;
- about popularity;
- history.
In general, it can be anything, the main thing is that you have something to say within 5 minutes.
Exercise 3. An interesting story.
And now you have to turn into a storyteller fascinating stories. To do this, you will have to assemble a company of 4-5 people. Try experimenting on your family members first, and then move on to your friends. Say you want to develop wit so you need to practice.
Your viewers must set a topic for conversation, and your task is to say something on this topic for 5 minutes. Even if you do not understand the topic, then it will be even easier to use humor. If you don't have viewers yet, I'll give you a topic:
- How to choose a steam generator.
- Why do women put on makeup in the morning.
- How to change a baby's diaper.
- Secrets of the correct beating of chicken eggs.
I think that your stories should be interesting, and you will be able to write your first joke.
Exercise 4. Comparing something to something.
If you learn how to create unusual analogies, you can develop your wit much faster. For a successful exercise, you need helpers. Ask one person to name the animal, the second - inanimate object, and try to find something in common between the animal and this object.
This analogy search method is based on the riddle famous writer L. Carroll, to which no one has found an answer so far. You can use it for this witty exercise: How is a raven like a table?
Try to make this exercise a little more difficult, but speed up the development of wit. Find something in common not only between animals and objects, but also between emotions and objects, situations and animals.
Exercise 5. Creativity in speech.
Now match adjectives to nouns. Let me remind you that the adjective answers the questions: “What, what, what, what?”. That is, you select words that describe the characteristics of objects.
For example, let's take the noun "bed" and pick up 5 adjectives that we usually do not use for this word in our speech.
- sour bed;
- crooked bed;
- quick bed;
- effervescent bed;
- lightning bed.
So we endowed the bed with new characteristics. To develop wit, you need to do this exercise at least 10 times a day, and after a week you will notice that you begin to think creatively and speak with jokes.
Exercise 6. We fantasize.
A witty person quickly finds a way out of any situation and does not focus on problems. You must learn this too! Ask a friend/wife/employee/husband to tell you about a problem. Your task is to help find a solution to this problem, but in a rather unusual way.
Develop wit with fictional characters or objects
Your speech must be creative, so come up with some kind of helper who can solve this problem. Of course, it must be a non-existent character! After that, come up with the actions of this character. Try to fantasize as much as possible! Forget reality and use your imagination. It is best to record the course of actions of this character. Now read this story, BUT... On unknown language. Yes, confuse the letters, distort the words as much as you can. It will turn out quite funny and incomprehensible, but this is how you use new mechanisms in your brain and learn to think witty and creatively.
Exercise 7. Journey into unreality.
To develop wit, you will need another exercise, which is also best done with a partner. It's a bit like a game, so you can practice on your kids or other family members. So, blindfold your partner and take him to the room. Explain what real world is made up of atoms and molecules, but you are going to unreal world, so everything here consists of socks. Yes, from socks, or hats, or rats, or seals, or balloons, in general, from whatever you want.
To complete this exercise, explain to your partner in detail how an object is made of socks or something else. That is, you bring a blindfolded person to the TV and say: “This is a TV and it consists of socks. The screen is made according to modern technologies, so the engineers used nylon socks, but the body is made of knitted grandmother's socks.
All these exercises help to develop wit, but it takes a lot of effort to complete them. If you doubt your abilities, then I suggest you go special education at Comedy School. Agree, because it is important not only to learn to be witty, but also to be able not to catch a person’s feelings. You don't want to cause anger and tears instead of laughter.
How to develop wit: books
Want to generate ideas on the go, make jokes and remember more? Then you should read books for the development of wit and brain training.
- "How people think." D. Chernyshev.
- "Brain Development". R. Sipe.
- "Brain Rules" D. Medina.
- "Awareness". M. Williams and D. Panman.
- "Flexible Mind". C. Dweck.
- "Remember everything." A. Dumchev.
- "Invincible Mind". A. Likerman.
The main mistake of thinking of many people is that they believe that such abilities as wit, sense of humor, imagination, creativity of speech are given from birth. These books will help you understand how the brain works and discover your talents.
Wit test
Keep a joke notebook to develop wit
Wit test:
What is X equal to?
Write the answer in the comments, but do not forget that after reading this article, you have passed the lesson on the development of wit, and not mathematical abilities.
Wit is the ability to find good expressions and add a little humor to them. Every person needs to develop this quality, because today more and more people suffer from depression, feel oppressed and notorious. A witty person will find a way out of any situation, and will always find something to say to the offender and how to turn his own flaw into a joke. Sign up for my next webinar, where we will discuss how to develop wit and.
Instruction
Distinguish between humor and wit. These two qualities are often perceived as a whole, although this is not entirely true. A sense of humor is the ability to find something funny in any situation and point it out to your interlocutor. Wit lies in the ability to create this “something funny” and clothe it in speech form. Of course, sometimes there are people who have both of these qualities at once, but most often you have to be content with at least one of them. Some believe that a sense of humor and wit is a gift, not a skill that can be obtained at will.
Learn to disengage from yourself. Few people have the ability to laugh at themselves. Often this is due to some kind of complexes, fear of making oneself a laughingstock, etc. Once you understand that there is nothing wrong with that, that people, on the contrary, will be more happy to accept a cheerful person than a bore, it will be much easier for you to laugh at yourself.
Exercise constantly. Try to invent as often as possible funny situations and interesting lines when you have nothing to do. This seemingly useless exercise will allow you to quickly respond to what is happening and find expressions in a timely manner.
Engage in self-development. Expanding your horizons will never be superfluous, especially if you intend to impress colleagues and friends with your witty attacks. The more you know, the more material you will have to build intricate designs to make your listeners laugh and enjoy.
Smile more, because without it, even the funniest and most original joke will lose all its charm. Try to search in everything only positive sides and make fun of possible unpleasant moments. The more often you do this, the better you will get at it over time.
Now it is especially important to be cheerful person- and life will become more fun and easier, and you will encourage others with your positive attitude. But after all, you need to know the measure in everything, if a person constantly sprinkles jokes, constantly jokes and teases someone, this behavior can quickly tire anyone. Such a person can be called a jester, and this is not a very rewarding calling.
Instruction
Do not be shy to joke, joke more often. If you have good mood- be sure to share it. Friends will appreciate and also have fun. A funny friends, in turn, will charge you with fun and cheer you up if it suddenly drops. But remember, you need to make your friends laugh with you, but not at you. You can, of course, pretend to be a fool, create absurdities and carry all sorts of nonsense, but in this case you will have to forget about a good position in. Being funny is not being funny. Although you can sometimes fool around a little.
Laugh in the face of the difficulties that life presents us with. Keep in mind that if you experience difficulties while sitting on a chair and propping your sad head with your hands, it will not get better. You need to be able to relax, find interesting activity in which you can dive headlong. Then you will spend less of your nerves, and it will be easier for you to look at the world with a smile.
Do not be afraid to be an altruist, help people, even those whom you see for the first time. After all, you probably noticed that if you help with his problem, your soul becomes easier and calmer.
Help your friends too, they will appreciate it. Just do not overdo it, otherwise they will get used to your help. But ordinary acquaintances, especially those with whom you had a strained relationship, should not lend a hand.
Imagine that one of your not-so-good buddies comes to you and unexpectedly for you a small financial assistance. He says that he respects you, that you are his friend and begs you to give him a loan. You can give him that you will not give him money. Most likely, this person is just trying to extract money from you, and not borrow. "Helping" such people once, wait for them to visit again and again. I am saying this based on personal experience.
You see, being a cheerful person is not as difficult as it seems. Stick to these simple tips and your life will change into better side.
The ability to joke in time and ironically reflect an inappropriate remark helps in any company. A person with a sense of humor is interesting in communication and easily gets out of difficult situations. The art of being witty in oneself can be developed.
An important condition ironic statements is the speed of reaction. Many people tend to find a decent response with a significant delay when the interlocutor has changed the direction of the conversation. Psychologists advise to engage in active sports, which helps to increase the speed of reactions.
Attention to detail
Pay attention to minor details and facts, not just the substance of the conversation. They sometimes contain inaccuracies and reservations that can be emphasized. Develop the ability to cling to incorrect phrases. Witty answers and puns can come from playing on the meaning of words.
Pay attention to the general logic of your interlocutor. Combine two contradictory statements into one belief, which will be ridiculous due to the lack of a causal relationship. For example, a friend complained about his health, and before that he told you about the movie. Conclude that the reason for the friend's poor health is due to the tendency to watch horror at night.
Game communication
The basic principle of humor is that interaction with a partner takes place in the form of a game. Initially set up for frivolous attitude and try to outplay the interlocutor. Consciously exaggerate the event or, on the contrary, downplay it. Change the meaning of what was said by repeating the phrase, changing the main emphasis. When asked if a friend was married, one can answer that, in fact, he was not unmarried at all.
Use facial expressions and theatrical gestures to make the statement more comical. Explore the parodies famous people. In them, humorists note traits characteristic of a person and, through their repeated exaggeration, create vivid and funny images.
reality distortion
Give the facts the opposite meaning. With irony, the speaker may give the opposite assessment of reality. For example, on a rainy windy day, you can say that you love such wonderful weather.
Observe the spontaneity with which children comment on adult conversations. Use a naive perception and an exaggeratedly serious tone. Try to take the hidden subtext literally. Comment on rhetorical phrases that do not require an answer. For example, do not disregard the thought aloud about the lack of happiness in your personal life, intended more for yourself, but bring
The desire to show one's originality and sophistication of thoughts is not always welcome in society. Sometimes such people are called smart people who are not worthy of respect. We offer to figure out when wit is appropriate and how to become a witty person.
What is wit?
Many dictionaries say that wit is a kind of sophistication of thoughts, ingenuity, the ability to find successful and very bright, colorful or funny expressions, successful decisions and actions. A person with such a trait, in addition to the ability to be witty, must have one more quality - to be able to critically evaluate their own witticisms immediately after creation. If a person is not able to stop his unsuccessful joke in time, then he is unlikely to fall into the category of those who are commonly called witty.
Principles of wit
It is customary to distinguish between such methods of wit:
- Hint- an indirect indication of what they want to say. A hint is sharp if a person offends something from the realm of indecent or even forbidden. When a person masterfully masters the art of hinting, then communication with him will be deep and refined.
- Irony– is often compared to ridicule. To varying degrees, it can be used to compare what is with what could be.
- Reverse comparison- very funny if figurative meaning words are used in a different context.
- Implicit Comparison- objects and phenomena are sometimes compared, but by implicit signs. The comic is that in different things common features are noted.
- Absurd- you can joke even with the help of an absurdly expressed thought. Here a short disclaimer can radically change the whole meaning.
- Paradox- one of the intricate tricks of wit. It can appear from the most banal phrases about health, money and relationships.
Wit - good or bad?
If a person is witty - is it bad or good? Is it possible to say that wit is -? The answer is unequivocal - being witty is commendable, but being smart is bad. Wit must be used when it is needed. This skill is not only good quality but also an indicator of originality, originality of thinking. Such a person certainly knows how to navigate in different situations and at the same time understands surrounding reality. Wit is often understood as the ability to think perfectly and, literally, to grasp the most important thing on the fly.
Wit and sense of humor
For ordinary person sense of humor and wit are one and the same concept. However, it is no coincidence that they are designated by different terms. Wit is understood as inventiveness and finding bright and very funny expressions, and a sense of humor is called the ability not only to see, but also to understand the funny. As paradoxical as it sounds, but witty man may not have a sense of humour, and one with a sense of humor may be completely unfunny. Wit is often associated with the ability to create witty jokes, and - with the ability to understand humor.
How to develop wit?
For everyone who is wondering how to develop wit in speech, we offer valuable advice:
- Read as many books as possible. Let it be sure to be the literature of a variety of satirists in a variety of styles. Thanks to such books, replenish lexicon interesting allegories.
- Constantly train. Cut jokes and work out lightning-fast reactions.
- Write down good phrases. You can get a special notebook and write down all the most interesting jokes and sharp remarks in it.
- Study the humor of foreign satirists. For example, wit is perfectly manifested among the British.
- Positive emotions. Make it a rule that wit is positive and such that it can cause smiles. Cruel jokes overwhelm and bring negative emotions. You can use the wit skill as a way to get out of a difficult situation.
Wit Exercises
Simple and very interesting exercises will help you learn how to become witty:
- Linguistic pyramids- will help to understand the peculiarities of one's own thinking, to develop generalization skills. The essence of the exercise is that you need to take a certain object and tell which class it belongs to, draw analogies.
- How does a raven look like a table?- the exercise will allow you to learn how to create analogies for different classes. There are three people involved. One of them should call living creature, and the other is an inanimate object, and the third is to tell how they are similar to each other.
- What I see, I sing about- develops ease and associativity in speech. This exercise should be done in pairs. One needs to show on any subject, and the second should tell about it for five minutes.
- Mindflow- develops the ability to start a conversation from absolutely any place and on any topic. Here you will need a mirror and one person. You need to stand in front of a mirror and talk about everything that comes to mind. In ten minutes it will be clear how easy it is.
Books for developing wit
To learn how to witty express your own thoughts, it is important to read special literature. These books are great helpers:
- I. Ilf, E. Petrov. "The twelve Chairs. Golden calf".
- Jerome K. Jerome “Three men in a boat, not counting the dog. Tales. Stories".
- A. Griboedov "Woe from Wit".
- P. Woodhouse "Jeeves, you are a genius!".
- V. Dragunsky "Deniska's stories".
- G. Oster "Bad advice".
Witty films
To everyone who's sure wit's like aesthetic principle should have a place in every society, like this selection of films:
- 99 francs (2007, France).
- Groundhog Day (1993, USA).
- Lost in Translation (2003, USA).
- Freaky Friday (2003, USA).
- Best man for rent (2015, USA).
- Horrible Bosses (2011, USA).
- We are the Millers (2015, USA).
- Promised Heaven (1991, USSR).
