Find Your Funny Bone ( Without Wallop Your Elbow )
Episode # 1 of the course Humor boosters : Lighten and tighten your writing by Gay Merrill
Wouldn ’ t you love to make your communication sparkle , go on audiences wake during demonstration , and lend fun to your living ? Humor can help you with that . People who compose curious cloth attract fans , hire their audience , and tolerate out from the frickin ’ bunch .
My name is Gay Merrill . I ’ m a content author , instructional decorator , and Canadian . And yes , I ’ m a witfanaticspecialist . Back in 2012 , I set out a humor quest that included track in wit writing , improv , bear up comedy , and even laughter yoga where , at one point , I live literally on the floor laughing . I too work a meetup radical teach comedy skill . ( My community is still laughing about it . )
Over the ten lesson in this line , I ’ ll portion humor insights , then dive into seven humor-boosting techniques and how to employ them . And because crisp writing aid humor shine through more brightly , I ’ ve include a mini editing lesson . ( Bonus . )
In this first lesson , you ’ ll learn what do masses laugh , why it ’ s helpful to realize what makesyoujoke , and how to get your comic bone ( also know as your sense of humor ) .
Fun fact :The name funny bone arrive from the sense datum you have when you come upon your elbow . ( Ouch ! ) The long bone between your elbow and shoulder cost known as the humerus . When you attain your humerus , it make the ulnar nerve to produce that peculiar sensation . So the funny bone isn ’ t a bone , it ’ s the ulnar nerve .
Hold you ever stopped to intend about what you get comic ?
In a comedy-writing course at Second City Training Centre in Toronto , our teacher need us , “ What makes you laugh ? ” One classmate said a dog wearing sunglasses . ( Hmm . I hadn ’ t recall about the question . A guy wearing sunglasses ? )
Wit experts have varying explanations for why people laugh . ( Have you noticed there ’ sec ever an expert , still for humor ? ) These key component exist common among humor theory :
Surprise :You lead your hearing in one direction and then shock them with an unexpected twist . Surprise equal the basis of a comedian ’ sec joke . The joke set out with a setup which result down one path and then die off the path with a punch .
Incongruity :You compound items that put on ’ t belong together , for example , a dog wearing sunglasses . Absurd humor uses this element .
Superiority :You invest the interview in a higher status . Self-deprecating humor ( poke fun at yourself ) , which is the safe pattern of mood , involves superiority . Physical comedy ( aka slapstick ) and embarrassment can cost early forms of superiority .
Realization :You share an experience or situation your audience can relate to .
In his scriptThe Complete Idiot ’ s Guide to Comedy Writing, comedian James Mendrinos writes : “ We all laugh at unlike affair . As a comedy author , the key is to hear what you laugh at so you can bring it to an hearing to joke at . After all , if you put on ’ t think it ’ s funny , how can you wait someone else to ? ” He go on to say that everyone laughs at something , but that something change from person to person .
Humor is subjective . You might find a Labrador Retriever sporting aviators side-splitting while your friend doesn ’ t find it curious . Not everyone has the same sense of humor… and sadly some mass simply put on ’ t get it . That ’ sec okay , you can ’ t please everyone . So start with what makes you laugh .
To learn about your sense of wit , commence observe what do you laugh in your daily living . Jot down your observations and why you feel them funny .
You can look for mood anywhere : on the screen , on the page , or on daily travel ( even if you telecommute ) . Take note of article , TV shows , books , movies , communication , anything that causes you to laugh . Look for the humor . What is it about each communication that ’ s comic ?
1 . Try your own humor quest for a short period of time to figure out what makes you laugh . Keep a list of specific instances when you ’ re…
• Watching stuff : sitcoms , movies , and Youtube videos like White Bear on Ice .
• Reading stuff : books , blog place , and notes from your loved ones .
• Listen to stuff : speeches , podcasts , and webinars on Zoom .
Take bill of mutual elements you find funny about the cloth .
2 . As you dig into next lesson in this line , come back to this exercise to see if you can identify the humor-boosting techniques .
Stay tuned for the future lesson to find out what it intend to “ Observe it like Brian ” .
The Complete Idiot ’ s Guide to Comedy Writingby James Mendrinos
- Pin it
Learn Something New Every Day
Get smarter with 10-day track deliver in easy-to-digest emails every dawn . Join over 400,000 lifelong apprentice today !
Learn more
Course Category
• Prowess
• Business
• Health & Fitness
• History
• Speech
• Doctrine
• Photography
• Productivity
• Psychology
• Skill
• Tech & Coding
• Writing
Meet All Courses
