I think I'm really funny, but no one else does. What do I do about this?

ThrowawayPUA · 2014-05-23T04:37:58+00:00

If they aren't laughing, you're not funny.
If you're not funny, don't try to be funny.

I had a friend who thought of himself as a comedian, whenever he called me, he'd start with a joke. Usually they were long, tedious groaners, not laughs. Then I'd have to tell a joke. I can't tell a joke for shit. And he'd point out how I can't tell a joke, and why. But in social situations, I'd always get more laughs than he did. It infuriated him. He was trying too hard. He told me, "You can't tell a joke right and you aren't funny at all. You just say funny things and people laugh." Well that's better than being funny. I can't quite say how I do this, I haven't figured it out. It's part of my personality that I can't quantify separately. Maybe it's my sense of absurdity and irony.

joethomma · 2014-05-23T04:38:49+00:00

Reading your post, I was waiting for the words "dry" or "deadpan" to come up. From your description I'd guess you often find yourself in situations where people don't even realize you're kidding around. This kind of dry, bizarre humor can exceedingly entertaining, but people probably need to attune themselves to your personality and sense of humor. For example, one of the funniest dudes I've ever met is a coworker of mine, and his humor sounds very close to what you described. I'll often think something he said is gut-busting, but the person he made the comment to will be confused, uncomfortable, or put off (which honestly actually adds to the humor for me). When I first met him, he seemed more pretentious than anything. Now -- since I've become attuned to his personality and sense of humor -- I think he's fucking hilarious.

As for advice, I'd say telegraph your jokes more. Even if it's a joke you want people to work a bit for, crack a big smile, cock an eyebrow, or nudge the person you're speaking to. Basically you want to bring them in on the joke. You don't want them to feel like you're looking down on them. Make sure they feel included, not ridiculed. Coming off as pretentious is a total game-killer. (Looking cocky is fine, but you don't want to make her feel intellectually inferior.) Make especially sure it's clear that you want to laugh WITH her, not AT her.

2014-05-23T18:44:16+00:00

Dude, fuck it, if you think you're funny, that is awesome, keep thinking that, because to you it's true, soon other people will begin to feed off your energy, keep doing you brother

BurgandyBurgerBugle · 2014-05-24T23:32:26+00:00

You have to learn to adapt, brother. If you think you're funny but no one else does, then you aren't funny. That's like me saying, "I know I'm strong, because I'm really confident in my muscles, but I can't actually lift anything heavier than 50 pounds." If you can't lift, you aren't strong.

If you can't make them laugh, you aren't funny. Being funny isn't about making yourself laugh, it's about reading a person and understanding their sense of humor.

appmanga · 2014-05-23T09:26:17+00:00

If other people don't think you're funny, you're not funny.

AlertRanger11 · 2014-05-23T04:46:14+00:00

Ok your first mistake is doing only "dry, thought out" humor. When you are with a group of people and they have never laughed at your jokes, never heard you tell a joke, have not been around you for a while, or are just plain stupid you need to tell a simple joke that is easy for them to understand and laugh at. After people get used to listening to you and expect to hear jokes from you they will start to look for your more dry and thought out humor. One of my favorite jokes to make the transition from stupid to more complex jokes is this "bla bla bla bla dog bla bla something something" (find a time when this will fit in the conversation) "So a dog walks into a bank, pause for half a second to make sure people are paying attention (you only need 1 listener) goes up to the clerk and says Hello ma'am I'd like to make a deposit, *Say it like this ~De-Paw-Zit~ (wait to see if anyone laughs) The clerk starts laughing and the dog looks at her and says My finances aren't a fucking joke Jessica." This starts to make people look at your joke to see if they are missing something subtle later. This will help you create a reputation that you are funny and people will expect to here funny things from you. Anyways don't try to hard, If you are naturally funny others will think so, If not... well um try to ask for help on reddit or something.... Or find a better way to hold a conversation.

puaCurveBall · 2014-05-23T06:55:02+00:00

Part of all this self-actualization stuff is about getting a REALISTIC view of who you are.

Meaning, if you are getting evidence that you aren't funny, then you need to listen to that evidence. You can still enjoy your humor by yourself, just don't choose to share it with others.

bl1y · 2014-05-23T14:10:33+00:00

like you have to put two and two together to get the joke

The more complicated the joke, the more important it is to establish the premise of the joke, and the more difficult it is to pull it off. You think it's funny because you're seeing 2+2. They're not finding it funny because they see 2+Banana and have no idea where the joke is going. They're not getting whatever pun or allusion or whatever is making Banana=2.

As the joke teller, it's your fault if the joke fails. You need to go for much more straight forward humor. In a conversation, especially with a girl you just met, you've only got a few seconds of solid attention before their mind starts to wander. You're not on stage with a captive audience.

TedT16 · 2014-05-24T01:45:10+00:00

I feel for you. The way I joke with my close group of friends does not work with the average girl you meet at the bar or on the street (we're all engineers). I frequently steal material from comedians or phrases I've heard other people say. Especially when I was less confident and more shy than I am now. Its not original but it gets laughs.

whoscallin · 2014-05-28T03:50:37+00:00

Part of it is probably delivery. Say what comes to mind how you hear it in your head

ysinue112 · 2022-10-19T19:01:39+00:00

Maybe you should do stand-up instead of telling jokes to your friends. There's a type of humor for social situations and then there's a type of humor for the stage.

Title	I think I'm really funny, but no one else does. What do I do about this?
Author	EternalOptimist829
Upvotes	3
Comments	21
Date	May 23, 2014 3:31 AM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/seduction
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/seduction/comments/269q90/i_think_im_really_funny_but_no_one_else_does_what/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/seduction/i-think-im-really-funny-but-no-one-else-does-what.1371179 https://theredarchive.com/post/1371179

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