How To Make Others Laugh is a much overlooked skill, and it would seem that very few people genuinely appreciate or even understand why it is so useful a life skill. People who are good at How To Make Others Laugh are generally more extroverted, charming, confident and able to get along with people which in turn directly equates to better people skills. In the competitive and cutthroat world of corporate power housing, the ability to schmooze with superiors without attracting the wrath and envy of your peers is a skill all of its own.

If you are curious as to How To Make Others Laugh, then hopefully the following pointers will help you in your studies.

Keep abreast of current affairs, and draw inspiration from a variety of topics.

If you watch any stand up comedian, irrespective of who they are or what their background is, the thing that binds them all is that they will focus on mundane, normal things and then make insightful and perceptive comments about them. Whether it is the cost of prescription medication, the failings of the current governmental regime, or the pains of being stuck in traffic, they are able to draw from personal experience and talk about something which everyone can relate to.

Know your audience

Knowing your audience is critical to your success, as it means that you will be able to tailor your material to your current listeners. For example, making jokes about the Iraq war are not liable to go down very well with the families of soldiers fallen in combat, no matter how witty they maybe. Likewise, jokes about the KKK in a predominately black audience is liable to cause offence.

Lead from the front, and self-deprecate.

A good comedian is able to, and willing, to poke fun at themselves and allow others to point out their shortcomings. If not, then the comedian will quickly cross the fine line between humorous about other people, and being gossipy as well as unduly harsh in their criticism. Appearing as a priggish stick in the mud who is condemning others for all their faults will mean that the audience will be rooting to take you down a peg.

Practice makes perfect

The simple truth of the matter is that How To Make Others Laugh is no easy task, as it takes impeccable timing, razor sharp wit and above all else, a thick skin. Not everyone will laugh at your jokes, and sometimes people will either be offended, or just not get it. Failing that, they might not find your material amusing. As you practise, you will be able to hone your people reading skills, and gauge the relative enthusiasm of your audience.

Watch what you say!

Touchy subjects such as sexual relations, crime, politics and religion can be excellent sources of comedy as humour exposes the failings and complexes people have about these topics. However, these topics can just as easily backfire and so you need to be fully prepared for the potential consequences of your actions.

Despite initial doubts and scepticism, there has been a plethora of scientific studies commissioned in an attempt to ascertain the health benefits, (if any), happen to exist when a person laughs. The range and potency of the health benefits directly and causally attributable to laughter has been nothing short of remarkable and so the old maxim of laughter being the best medicine is not indicative of apathetic doctors, or downtrodden comedians.

Some of the Health Benefits of Laughter are as follows:

Protection of the heart

Whenever we are stressed, our body automatically responds to this by increasing the production of certain chemicals (known as hormones) within the body. As our stresses levels reach a peak, this causes the platelets of the body to then fuse together which directly interferes with the elimination of arterial plaque that forms around the heart.  One of the chemicals that is produced when we are stressed is endothelium which it itself has been proven to inhibit the removal of blood clots as well as arterial plaque.

Improves mood

As noted earlier, stress is toxic to the body because it directly stimulates the production of harmful hormones in the body. Laughter on the other hand has been proven to release some chemicals of its own, and in particular, endorphins. Endorphins are the painkilling agents of the body which are located in the brain, and to give you a better comparison, opiate medication (morphine for example) tries to mimic endorphins both in composition and effect.

Reduces stress

Another one of the Health Benefits of Laughter is that whenever we are currently laughing it is physically impossible for us to feel any other emotion, especially negative ones such as anger or depression.  Because we cannot allow negative emotions to creep in this means that we also help to ward off those feelings which raise our stress levels.

Optimizes the effectiveness of the auto-immune system

The immune system is the natural defence system of the body used to repair damage sustained to cells, as well as the detection and elimination of infectious agents.  Whenever we have a laughing fit this means that the number of antibodies (the agents commonly used in the destruction of infection) is increased thereby ensuring that we will not get ill, or if we do come down with an infection we will require more swiftly.

Stops us from feeling overwhelmed

Whenever we are depressed or angry about something, our problems can seem unbeatable and so they consume us. However, by ensuring that we keep in good spirits, and rely on humour as a defence mechanism, we can see problems in their true perspective.

Wrong Teller

Charlie needed money, so he went to the bank,
Right before leaving, he made sure he drank.
Desperate and hungry, he needed the cash,
The plan was simple, including the dash.

Walked inside, went straight to the teller,
Unfortunately, he was not the best speller.
Using crayons, he wrote – “give me the muni”
When she read it, she knew he was a loony.

She calmly returned, his childish note,
F in red ink, she precisely wrote.
At this point, he was getting real mad,
He demanded money, or he shall be bad.

“I’m sorry Sir, I just deal with loans!”
He was shaking, right to his bones.
She asked him to wait in the next line,
He walked away, with a polite decline.

by Martin Dejnicki
www.veryfunnypoems.com