How to be witty. How to learn to make jokes, or A sharp tongue is worse than a pistol

Learn from witty people. The easiest way to improve your wit is to learn from other people who have a great sense of humor. There are many ideas where you can learn this, from films to your close, cheerful friends. Here's how to learn wit from others:

• Spend more time with people you find especially witty, whether they're your relatives, close friends, or just acquaintances you'd like to get to know better. Write down what they say when they make people laugh. Watch their facial expressions, their delivery, their choice of the right moment.
• Read literature written by witty people such as Shakespeare, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, or even comedians such as Garfield or Dilbert. You can learn a lot from witty people (or animals) of any generation.
• Look television shows or films that show witty people. Woody Allen's films always have witty characters.

I’m sure we all sometimes felt a great desire to respond with a biting phrase to a barb addressed to you, but nothing came to mind. Was there such a thing? I'm sure so. And if not, then you are one of those people about whom they say he will not put his word into his pocket. Do you want to become the same? Do you want to quickly select a biting and witty response to any barb or reproach directed at you? Well, then this article is just for you!

The ability to find a sharp word will help you win an argument and put your presumptuous interlocutor in his place. It’s stupid to object directly, to rush at the enemy, you need to be cool-blooded, listen to all the objections addressed to you, and then suppress them with witty and well-aimed answers! Only speed, the ability to think and understand the hidden motives of your opponent will help you emerge victorious from a verbal duel!

The answering techniques given here will only benefit you when you start using them in real life! To do this, do not hesitate to arrange playful fights with friends and colleagues. Remember that in any martial arts you gain experience and valuable skills.

There are a great many techniques that will help you successfully put your presumptuous interlocutor in his place. Well, let's list the most popular of them:

White from black

By turning a negative into a positive, you will completely disarm the enemy. It turns out that he does not blame you, but praises you:

You talk on the phone too much!
- Of course. This is necessary in life: you need to be able to communicate and be sociable!

Boomerang

Reproach the one who attacks you. He probably doesn't expect this turn of events:

You are not protecting my interests at all!
- Perhaps I do not protect your interests, but I protect the interests of the case!

Another possible answer:

I barely have time to defend mine!

Reduction to the Absurd

A reproach can be exaggerated to such an extent that one can only laugh at it. Try it, it's a win-win! Moreover, the more absurd the answer, the better:

Don't you think you've gotten fat?
- The rear axle of the bus broke under me today!

You're drinking a lot today!
- Would it be better if I ate a lot?

You're a cheapskate!
- Would you like me to be forced to beg?

More answer options:

If I had someone to spend money on, I wouldn’t save!
- I'm not greedy, I'm calculating!

But
The answer pattern is as follows: in response to a reproach directed at you, you give another compelling argument after the word but. Let us explain with examples, and everything will become clear:

You dance just awful!
- But I sing well!

Another answer:

It's strange, but others like it. Maybe you have no taste?

You used up the whole can of paint!
- Of course, but look how I painted it!

This is just stupid!
- But how ornate!

What would you like?

This magic formula will more than once help to confuse an overly aggressive interlocutor:

Why are you quiet?
- Would you like me to be angry?

Yes, you are a simple housewife!
- Would you like me to be a prostitute?

Well, go ahead and eat!
- Would you like me to drink a lot?

Finding fault with words

This technique will help you out more than once if nothing else comes to mind.
Feel free to choose any word from the attacker’s phrase and try to achieve an accurate definition for it. As a rule, this causes the opponent to fade away:

This is taking too long!
- What do you think is too long? Isn't the process worth it?

You are deceiving people!
- What do you mean I’m deceiving? Maybe I deceive when they themselves demand it!

Full agreement

Any attack is pointless if you agree with everything in advance. Just don't overdo it!

Are you drinking too much?
- Of course, I drink a lot! Aren't you?

There's dirt all over your pants!
- Amazing powers of observation! And my shirt is not the newest either!

You only think about yourself!
- Who else? I have no one closer to me!

How are you? . .?

Expand the reproach into reverse side. If you are caught with a disadvantage, it means that your opponent does not have such a disadvantage. Find out how he managed to achieve this:

Speak to the point!
- How did you learn to always speak only to the point?

Your pronunciation is terrible!
- How do you manage to speak so well?

You're always late!
- How do you manage to always arrive on time?

Absurd comparison

By comparing the bad with the worst, we put the situation in a favorable light. It is enough to add a little humor, and you will easily be able to deal with the impartial remark:

You have unreliable partners!
- Ha! And my friends are even worse!

You're just having a nervous breakdown!
- It only seems so. In fact, everything is much worse!

Turnover Better than. . .

You can always parry a blow with a sharp statement starting with the words better than. . . :

Your fly is unzipped!
- Better an unzipped fly than an unzipped wallet!

What you have on your head is not a hairstyle, but a garbage dump!
- It’s better to have a garbage dump on your head than in your head!

Surely in your life you yourself have resorted to similar forms of self-defense more than once. This is quite natural! The most important thing is to learn to play with intonation so that your statements are not perceived as a desire to offend or insult.

The ability to quickly respond to unpleasant statements will be useful to anyone in life. Review all the above techniques and examples again. It is also useful for memorizing them to come up with your own examples for each technique.

In a word, train, and you will definitely succeed!

The course “How to Become Witty” far exceeded expectations. When purchasing the course, I had no doubts, since this is not the first course by Konstantin Sheremetyev that I have purchased.

I would definitely recommend it to my friends, but not as the first course from Konstantin, it is quite unusual and difficult to understand. I would suggest starting with books and easier courses. This will at least help you get more out of the course.

I purchased the course not long ago, and I plan to take it more than once and study the materials in more detail. But I got the effect literally from the very beginning. Having understood how wit works, I was able to cheer myself up and immediately brought into my arsenal several techniques that allow me to get rid of bad thoughts and see the pleasant sides of life.

I myself love to joke since childhood, but it often happens that my jokes cheer me up more than those around me. And now I know why this happens and what can be done about it. Wit brings a lot of benefits to communicating with people.

The therapeutic effect is phenomenal, both in terms of getting rid of unpleasant thoughts and depressive states, and in terms of relaxation and increased tone. A good mood became my companion. For the first time in many years I avoided the “New Year’s depression.”

Pleasant bonuses were: improved sleep, faster thinking, and the release of many muscle tensions. And I especially want to mention the effect when the “imposed” desires simply began to fall away, and I began to understand what exactly I want!

I began to receive bodily pleasure from food and movement much more acutely, sexual pleasure became indescribable.

Many thanks to Konstantin Petrovich for this course!

- Svetozar,

An excellent course, as are all of Konstantin’s courses. I always want to gain new knowledge so I can immediately apply it.

While listening and using it, I had a lot of wonderful moments, I laughed out loud, something I had never experienced before. The tasks were interesting, it’s a pity that they weren’t enough.

The level of the storytellers was so high that I really couldn’t find the same level in my life. It was great to escape the mire of survival and enjoy life with ease. It turns out that it’s so cool to transform your sad stories with the help of the Happy Bunny as a reason to laugh. This was perhaps the most valuable thing: I learned it and applied it, and got into a great mood.

I am sure that the course will help anyone feel the joy of life.

- Irina Pyreskina, reader of the course “How to become witty”

Thank you so much for this great course! There were no doubts when ordering, since this is not Konstantin’s first course, and I am familiar with the quality of his courses firsthand.
The course itself is a treasure trove of valuable information, especially the “Funny Rabbit” algorithm, which allows you to generate jokes at the speed of a machine gun.
If someone does not fully understand the information presented in the course, it means that they have not fully engaged their intellect.
Konstantin's courses usually contain concentrated, high-quality information, so when listening, you need to turn on your brain to the fullest in order to fully assimilate it.
I recommend this course to everyone who has an intellect, as it will be useful in many areas of life.
Once again I thank the author for the invaluable information.

- Victor, reader of the course “How to become witty”

I took several courses on humor. But after each there was some kind of understatement. Or the courses were focused on only one specific topic.

This course by Konstantin Sheremetyev also cannot be called completely exhaustive; wit still has many directions, but for a start it gives everything necessary knowledge, diversifiedly aimed at various aspects of the use of humor - and this is its undeniable advantage.

Then you can improve, strengthen, deepen and expand your existing talents and knowledge.
I can confidently recommend it to everyone starting and continuing the delicate business of jokes and humor. More colors, friends!

- Vitaly Pikilin, reader of the course “How to become witty”

Thank you so much for the course. And it amused me, and made me think, and feel. The most important was the last day, which put everything in its place and brought humor to the most important psychological problems. I figured out some things intuitively, the people closest to me told me: “Life is easy,” not suspecting what storms were raging and icebergs colliding in my soul. The lifestyle that Konstantin proposed is my style, and most importantly, I managed to understand some of my psychological problems. I won’t say that it’s easy and pleasant, but it’s important and useful to see them in reality and get a tool for solving them.

When I ordered this course, I had no doubts; I received more than I expected. The only thing that was inconvenient for me was the pace of classes: two days were not enough for me to understand and feel the topic and complete homework. If I tried to meet the given time, I flew by superficially, missed half of it, and misunderstood. Now I’m repeating what I’ve learned and I’m surprised how I managed to really let some things pass by. It's good that there is an opportunity to repeat it!

- Nina Konyukhova, reader of the course “How to become witty”

While studying earlier courses by Konstantin Sheremetyev, I drew attention to his attitude towards wit as an integral part of intelligence. And even then this aspect seemed interesting. After completing the course, I received the most valuable theoretical knowledge for self-improvement and, most importantly, step by step instructions in order to actually become a more cheerful person. Literally from the first lessons, it became clear that I take unimportant events in life too seriously, and this makes it very difficult to experience positive feelings and think freely. Completing the tasks was a lot of fun and, surprisingly, lifted my spirits for a long time. I think that characteristic feature This course is that you receive confirmation of the acquired knowledge, as they say, “without leaving the cash register.” If you form the habit of making jokes correctly and at the right time, which is what this unique course actually teaches, then life will become much more joyful and interesting. Thank you, Konstantin, for your desire to give people real tools to improve their quality of life!

- Elena Dubnova, reader of the course “How to become witty”

I have always been interested in the topic of wit. I really like witty people when what they say is “straight to the point, to the point”!

The most valuable thing for me was that, without noticing it, I began to laugh very little, just laugh, from the heart, like children laugh. During the course, I only completed the first assignment on working week, and I did all the other tasks on the weekend, after I got at least a little sleep. It would seem that it would be so difficult: watch humorous scenes and then answer questions. View something that is joyful, fun, and uplifting. BUT - I didn't get the jokes, and I didn't have much fun. As it turned out, perceiving humor, much less creating it, requires a lot of energy, which I didn’t have.

Humor is another tool with which to measure my energy scale. This is incredible!

This course helped me understand that humor is important! This is joy, laughter, a great mood! It all came back to me little by little, and I started telling jokes - I, who had never done this - and I liked it! I also understood my reaction to situations in the past, when the issue at hand was important to me, but the interlocutor laughed it off. And I didn’t understand why it was painful and unpleasant for me. Now these situations only make me smile!))

I highly recommend everyone to take this course!) Thank you!))

- Natalia Milyutina, reader of the course “How to become witty”

I signed up for this webinar to spend two weeks in a pleasant positive company, get a boost of vivacity, energy, good mood. I'm not disappointed! I looked forward to each lesson and completed the tasks with pleasure. In addition to this, which in itself is already a lot, I received specific new knowledge regarding the theoretical part. It is always pleasant and useful to receive a clear structure in some form of knowledge, in in this case wit.

I considered and still consider myself a person capable of making jokes, but now I began to monitor my jokes and understand that I can significantly, significantly improve them and make them more enjoyable for myself and others.
"Happy Bunny" - respect! The exercise about perceiving the range of humor had the greatest impact on me. Here, as I already noted, I faced my ego and successfully, it seems to me, pushed it aside - let him know his place! This is not the first course that I took in the Intellectics project, and over the past two weeks I have repeatedly found associations with other trainings, referred to them, found the right places, refreshed my memory, and this is in addition to those that were mentioned in the course.

I have new facets of looking at the world, in addition to a new view of humor, and the most important and new facet for me is a look at what is happening not from the point of view of tragedy, but, on the contrary, an attempt at optimistic perception. Simply put, I began to automatically notice a sign of a reaction to what was happening. I understood what a playful mood is, why it is needed, how it helps! It seems that he expressed the main thing he wanted. I can write more, but brevity is sister, and for some it’s daughter-in-law, so thank you again, it was wonderful, see you again!

- Evgeniy Boboshin, reader of the course “How to become witty”

The How to Be Witty course was one of the most interesting because it was fun to take. I plunged into such a wave of pleasant emotions that I really felt that life is a simple and cheerful thing. Any situation that seems unpleasant can be looked at from a completely different angle. Know a lot interesting videos, and the atmosphere of jokes and humor continued in homework.

When ordering Konstantin’s courses, there is never any doubt, all the courses are very educational, but with such a topic related to the fun side of life, there was no hesitation at all whether to buy the course or not. The most surprising thing for me was that, it turns out, there are algorithms for jokes, with their help anyone can joke. Of course, when taking courses, questions arise, but course participants ask similar questions, and in the process of studying, unclear points become clearer. I would recommend taking the course to anyone who takes life too seriously and who wants to learn how to joke themselves.

- Elena Azarova, reader of the course “How to become witty”

Being funny may be hard, but being witty is even harder. To be witty, you must be sharp, smart, and have a resourceful ability to fight back. Your wit and sense of humor should make people laugh out loud or smile at themselves. Whether you're already witty and hoping to sharpen your skills or want to learn how to develop a witty sense of humor, just follow these simple tips and you will succeed.

How to be witty

1. Learn from witty people. The easiest way to improve your wit is to learn from other people who have a great sense of humor. There are many ideas where you can learn this, from films to your close, cheerful friends. Here's how to learn wit from others:

Spend more time with people you find especially witty, whether they're your relatives, close friends, or just acquaintances you'd like to get to know better. Write down what they say when they make people laugh. Watch their facial expressions, their delivery, their choice of the right moment.

Read literature written by witty people such as Shakespeare, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, or even comedians such as Garfield or Dilbert. You can learn a lot from witty people (or animals) of any generation.

Watch television shows or movies that feature witty people. Woody Allen's films always have witty characters.

2. Be confident. Before you start impressing people with your intelligence, you need to show a confident feeling that you feel comfortable telling jokes. If you have confidence in yourself, people will have more faith in your abilities, including your ability to charm people with your intelligence. Namely like this:

When telling a joke, gestures should be positive. While you don't have to put on a show in front of an audience, simply standing tall, speaking clearly, and making eye contact when finishing a joke will help your outcome.

Be confident in who you are. If you love yourself for who you are and what you do, people will appreciate you and your sense of humor.

Show confidence in your jokes. Tell your jokes clearly and show that what you are telling seems funny to you. If you show confidence in your sense of humor, people will be more inclined to agree with it. This doesn't mean you have to laugh at your own jokes, but you should just show them that you care what people think because you know it's funny.

3. Be an original thinker. Part of being witty is being able to think outside the box, and look at the world differently than others do. Being a thoughtful and intelligent person will improve your chances of seeing the world differently. Here are tips on how to be original:

Read as much as you can. The more you know about the world, the more likely you are to have an objective and unique perspective on the things around you.

Don't be afraid to be corny. If you are free and open, your sense of humor will make people laugh. For example, if your girlfriend asks you to go shopping for pears, you can answer, “I’ll do it in my mind.”

Come up with new words. For example, if you and your friends gossip all the time about a girl named Emily, and you are already tired of it, you can say “I’ll show you Emily-Bamily!” Although people may roll their eyes, they will appreciate this silly concert of yours.

Find new uses for traditional phrases. For example, if you are leaving a public restroom and a person of the opposite sex approaches you and asks, “Is this the girls' restroom?” And you can answer, “How much of a girl’s toilet do you need?”

For example, the question "How would you spend one million dollars?" implies all possible creative thinking responses. Answering "Happily enough" is a humorous form of answer.

4. Understand your audience. Understanding your audience is the key to success. While you need to work on developing your humor, you should always be aware of the type of people who surround you and the specific things they find funny or offensive. Here's how:

Never forget to listen. By listening to the people around you, you can understand what they find funny, what they find pure insult because it is a sensitive topic, or how to comment on something a little later in a humorous way.

Be sensitive. If you are surrounded by people who are very sensitive to religion, for example, then try to avoid jokes on this topic. Not only may they not appreciate your wit, but they may also not want to communicate with you anymore.

Tailor your jokes to your audience. Tell dirty jokes to the hipper, younger crowd, and save the innocent jokes for the grandparents unless they can laugh at anything.

Feel when people are not in the mood for humor. While wit should be appreciated in any circumstance, if you are around someone who is very upset or sick, telling a joke can lift their spirits, or the person may become even more upset. Be careful.

5. Know how to present it correctly. Even the best joke can fall flat if you deliver it incorrectly. The delivery is something you can practice in front of a mirror, or even a tape recorder, before performing your joke in front of an audience. But even if your jokes are spontaneous, there are a few tips that can help improve your delivery.

Speak clearly. Deliver jokes clearly and confidently. If you mumble, people may ask you to repeat yourself and the humor will be lost.

Remember - timing is everything. Part of being witty is being sharp and quick, so don't hesitate too long or people won't understand how your comment relates to the conversation.

Try a deadpan delivery. If you're really confident, tell the joke in a flat tone and wait for people to start laughing. You shouldn't speak as if you think you said something incredibly funny. Part of being witty is being an "I don't care if you find it funny" person.

Don't shout over everyone. There should be no nonsense, many good jokes lose their meaning if a person tells them while someone else is talking. Wait for the right moment and engage in general conversation.

6. Don't overdo it. By going through all the steps you have taken, you can become a witty person and increase your chances of being funny. However, you shouldn't overdo it in making people laugh, or they'll feel sorry for you instead of finding you funny. Here's how to avoid overdoing it:

Relax. Even if you are demonstrating a new edge, be relaxed. Stay calm when telling your jokes, and don't raise your voice unnaturally or look around to check the audience's reaction.

Don't tell many jokes in one sitting. Being funny several times a day is more effective than trying to tell a joke every five minutes and expecting nine out of ten jokes to be funny.

Be calm if your jokes fail. If no one laughs at the jokes, just shake yourself up and say, “I'll cut them out next time,” or “Oops—wrong audience.” If it's too obvious that you're upset or go silent for the entire evening, people will see that you're too concerned that they weren't laughing.

Take a break. If you've already told a few jokes, relax for the rest of the evening and pay attention to the funny people around you. If you're too focused on being funny, you might miss out on something important that could help you in the future.

Adviсe

Being witty is one thing, but if you're being sarcastic all the time, it would be wise to tone down that level of sarcasm, otherwise people won't take you seriously.

Remember that you can make a mistake and still be witty in the eyes of other people. Even the most best comedians They can't make people laugh all the time with their jokes.

Repetition is the death of humor. Don't beat a dead horse with your endless "That's what she said!"

Do you think that a sense of humor and the ability to joke is given to a person from birth and cannot be developed? This opinion is not entirely correct - as evidence, several tips, exercises and instructions can be cited to develop wit.

I note that many of the tips are not immediately implemented, but require quite a long time to apply.

How to develop resourcefulness and wit. Be positive

Look at life with positive side- To some extent, this worldview can be learned from children. You should be able to laugh at yourself and try to completely get rid of complexes. A cheerful person will subconsciously radiate a positive mood, which will certainly be passed on to others.

How to develop resourcefulness and wit. Enrich your vocabulary

• Enrich your own vocabulary - many jokes are based on wordplay, so it’s worth developing your own speech, reading as much as possible more books, pronounce various tongue twisters.
• Be sure to follow the news latest events, scientific discoveries- all this will broaden your horizons, allowing you to apply the information received in a playful and humorous form.

How to develop resourcefulness and wit. Think associatively

• Develop associative thinking - you can train anywhere and in any environment - choose an object or phenomenon and try to come up with as many words as possible related to this thing or event.
• Daily training in just a couple of weeks will allow you to make comparisons and clever puns almost instantly, without much thought.

How to develop resourcefulness and wit. Work on your serve

Learn to present a joke correctly - half the success depends not so much on the content of the remark, but on the person’s facial expression, intonation, and style of presentation.

• Even the most funny joke narrated in a dull and boring voice will not make the audience laugh.
• At the same time, if you laugh and cackle during the story or gasp, the listeners simply may not understand what you are talking about.

• Work on your diction - speech should be clear, without hesitation or stuttering.
• Read aloud more, pay attention to the timbre of the voice and the manner of telling the jokes of famous comedians.
• Learn to speak loudly, clearly and measuredly, without threatening intonation.
• Those with a soft and melodious voice endear themselves to the people around them simply because of the pleasant notes of their voice.

How to develop resourcefulness and wit. Be relevant

Try to show humor appropriately - the success of a joke depends on the place and time.

• It is extremely important to be able to assess the situation in a matter of seconds and find a few necessary words. The same phrase, but said a minute later, may seem completely unfunny. This skill is mastered in the process of communication, if you have shortcomings with this, then look at the material: improving sociability.
• Do not repeat the same joke twice - if the audience did not sincerely laugh the first time, then it will smile after telling it again, at best, out of pity for the comedian.

How to develop resourcefulness and wit. Be brave

Don’t be afraid to be funny - moderate your own pride, try on your own or with the help of loved ones to find something funny in your character and behavior.

• Perhaps it will be some kind of ridiculous habit or manner - the main thing is that it looks fun and unusual.
• These may be atypical eating habits (for example, the ability to eat a few slices of lemon and not wince), or habits (walking without an umbrella even in the heaviest rainfall).

Don't be afraid to improvise - let certain part jokes will be unsuccessful, but you will learn from your own experience to understand the correctness and appropriateness of humor. Try to avoid jokes about people's religious, national or racial characteristics, especially if they concern those present.