There are a lot of ways to come up with funny conversation topics. Laughter is the best medicine and always a good method to diffuse tension. Here are some tried and true tactics to keep your friend laughing or bring some levity to the conversation.
1Look back at yourself. Think about an anecdote that's happened to you recently that might be perceived as funny. Something that is sure to get a laugh from the person you are talking to.
- You might find something unfortunate that happened to you that you can laugh about now in the present and share it with others. We all have our bad moments that we look back on and laugh about. Make sure you're genuinely past that incident that you now find funny. It not only shares a piece of you with them, but also gives them something to laugh about in the process.
2Buy a book of jokes, or a book that discusses ways of making people laugh. Jokes come in a variety of topics for everyday use.
- There are also many funny joke sites on the internet that you can browse for free, and grab your material from.
- Try out some scenarios. The way to start a conversation with a joke is very simple. You can start with many different ways, but a popular one is “I heard this joke the other day, and I cracked up when I heard it. Want to hear it?” You give the person the chance to say no. If your friend doesn't want to hear it, resume with the conversation. But who doesn't want to hear the joke? Most people want to.
- When you say a joke, say it with a straight face. It's most effective when you deliver it deadpan, because that's when your performance is most convincing. They might buy your joke, too!
- Figure out your friend's type of humor and sensibility and match their mood. Maybe your friend likes sarcastic humor. Find something to be collaboratively sarcastic about, such as how much you love discussing boring topics such as household chores, when you don't (obviously). If your friend is witty and cerebral, do some wordplay and puns. If your friend is impressed, that'll make him or her laugh. People laugh when they're impressed sometimes.
3Observe your surroundings and get creative. Find something about the situation you're in that is odd or strange, because that's what people usually laugh about--anything that's outside of the norm.
- Point out the strange pattern of behavior from the person behind the register or the funny logo sticker.
- Be the other lens to something funny that your friend might have missed on your walk together or when you're sitting at a restaurant.
- You have to find the pink elephant in the room.
4Tease your friend gently about something that can make them laugh, such as their quirky mannerisms. This form of jesting creates a sense of closeness because you see a trend in them. It also sends warm vibes usually.
- Maybe they always forget their keys or happen to always wear dark colors, which they don't realize. People like it when others pay attention to them for things like this (in a nice way).
5See things on the brighter side if it's not awkward for the situation. It's easy to get weighed down, but you need some levity to float. Try to put a positive spin to things.
6Find the irony or awkwardness of a situation. This will get you laughing and make it contagious.
- Find a point established in the conversation and apply it to to a new situation. For example, your friend says seeing you makes her happy. Offer to print a copy of your face on a shirt. Then suggest if she ever feels sad in class, she can just lay it on her desk and stare at it for a while. As long as you continue to develop the idea into an abnormal situation you should be good.
- Look for logical fallacies or odd solutions to a minor problem. From the example above, you could suggest that you print your face upside-down so that the friend can clearly see it while wearing the shirt. Then you can laugh about having a tee with an upside-down face.
- Conversation is an art, and making it funny is even more of an art. Practice conversing with as many different kinds of people as possible.
- Most of the jokes in books are overused, make no sense, or are otherwise lame. It's best to make your own jokes and practice noticing humor and delivering it artfully.
- Be careful of and sensitive to your audience when making jokes; some people may react negatively to any tinges of racism, sexism, or other uses of prejudice or stereotypes in humor.
In other languages:
Español: proponer divertidos temas de conversación, Italiano: Introdurre Argomenti di Conversazione Divertenti, Português: Pensar em Assuntos Divertidos para Conversar, Русский: придумывать смешные темы для разговора
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