Is it possible to improve sense of humor?

Well it depends on the way you are telling it, your expressions, emphasis on certain words etc. It may not be effective if told in a dull manner / keeping blank face.

Don’t worry about it. I’m terrible at telling jokes, but just love hearing them. It’s like everything you can name in life. Some folks have a talent for it, others don’t. Sure, as with the violin, you can practice and improve, but why bother? It’s more fun to appreciate the talent at work. Thank goodness there’s a lot of it around.

I can’t tell jokes either, so I don’t even try, unless I’m with people who have to love me anyway. I’m pretty good with one-liners, and bantering back and forth though.

My son’s wife is finally developing a sense of humor. For the first couple of years she just took everything so literally. It took so long for her to understand that a lot of what we were saying was funny. But she’s getting there.
The other day I was on the phone to her. We wanted to come see them and the the kids. I asked when would be a good time. In the back ground I heard my son say, “3’r so.”
I said, “THREE YEARS?????”
She laughed. 3 years ago she wouldn’t have understood that it was a joke.

Anything is possible. ‘What man can contemplate , man can achieve. ’
There’s a screaming goat on u-tube. No matter my mood, if I see it, I laugh hysterically. It never gets old…
Humor is subjective. Not instinctive.

Hm. I think I’ll ask that question @MrGrimm888.

Back in my ad agency days I was really good at telling jokes because I was around people with great senses of humor. I was able to practice my style and timing on a regular basis. I no longer have the knack because I’m no longer around people I much like telling jokes to.

But enough about me.

I suggest you keep telling jokes as often as you can and thereby discover YOUR unique timing and style. Also watch stand-ups on TV as much as you can. Oh yes, and be sure to have good material.

Comedy can be very difficult to do. Even professional comedians can fail to connect with an audience and “die” on stage. Like so many skills, comedy looks easy when it’s done well, but it’s painful to hear and watch when it doesn’t. A few thoughts:

- Your efforts are admirable, but please don’t try too hard. If you don’t have a knack for telling jokes or making witty comments, this doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. Forced humor is off-putting, seems desperate, and makes people uncomfortable.

- A sense of humor is a two-way street. You don’t need to be the funny one. If you appreciate other people’s humor, your own sense of humor will delight.

- There are so many ways to be charming and well-liked. Being funny is just one of those paths. You can be the caring friend, the person who tells good stories, the good listener, the kind individual, etc., etc. There are so many approaches that don’t require joke-telling.

Absolutely it’s possible. I know that several now-famous standup comedians joke that they used to be awful at telling jokes when they started… I wish I could remember exactly who talked about it like this (maybe Louis CK)... that they would just get up on stage and try a bunch of things, many didn’t work, a few did. They kept the few that did, built off of those, and tried new things. On and on.

If you know someone (in life, or in the media) you think is especially funny, study what they do… Also notice what aspects of your own style seem to work. Experiment with different deliveries. I also think “witty” jokes can be difficult if not everyone gets the reference, or if someone is more familiar with a topic than another person, or sometimes wit gets a more a “ah that’s clever” reaction than an actual chortle.

I rarely “tell jokes” so I don’t think of myself as funny, and my sarcasm tends to be so deadpan people don’t always realize I’m kidding… Despite that, people around me tell my I’m humorous (which always surprises me), I think because I use wordplay and I have a bad habit of punning—little interjections of humor into an otherwise ordinary conversation. >> this is just to say, humor can have many forms!

For what it’s worth, here are two videos from a YouTube channel on charisma. Both focus on an iconic comedy figure and look at some of the techniques: Robin Williams and Kevin Hart. Maybe you like their styles and can pull out some techniques. At the very least, the videos demonstrate a way to break down humor into tangible, repeatable qualities.

To clarify here: if you “suspect” that you have trouble telling jokes, then you “certainly do” have trouble telling jokes. There’s no “maybe” about that.

As others have noted, and you certainly realize, whether you have explicitly stated it or not, humor can be difficult for many reasons:
– familiarity with the language on the part of the teller and the receiver of the joke;
– full awareness of potential double entendres, whether intended or not (possibility for huge misunderstandings, in other words);
– cultural cues and relevance, and
– awareness and general acceptance of “what is funny” to begin with.

It can be a minefield.

I tell jokes all the time. Jokes, puns, ironic references, broad and narrowly pointed comments, satire, parody, bon mots and other intended humorous references. That includes all kinds of “jokes”, too: from scientific and engineering topics, literary humor and right on down to smutty bathroom jokes and total vulgarity. (It depends on the audience and the milieu.) And many of them fall flat; full faceplant. But not so many any more. It’s a skill like any other, that should be based on at least some innate capability, but then has to be practiced and developed.

Humor is hugely subjective and will also depend on your audience. It also depends on what you consider humor that another may think is less than funny or even stupid. You may be funny and just have not found the right audience.

I’m a naturally witty and funny type, not always perfect at joke telling, but I excel at improv. Yes, you can improve your humor and delivery. I think, those that are more extroverted by nature and less socially shy might have an advantage but even a shyer person can, certainly practice and hone their humor. Yes, watch stand up comedians and spend time around naturally at ease jokester types.

My most recent encounter in a store when buying a new bathing suit last week, there was a Gentleman in line in front of me by a sunglasses display.

Me: (Spying spiffy, wacky red and black shades that matched the guys shirt )

“You know, I’d really like to see you try these on. ( Taking glasses off display.)

He: ( Played into it PERFECTLY )
” Okay, let’s check these babies out! ”

He: ” I dunno, I think they might have worked better about 30 years ago.”

Me: That’s okay, I’m buying the old chick bathing suit but you should have seen me in about 1977 on the beach.”

He: ” I think I did!” lol

Me: Oh, was that you with the camera?” haha

He: Yeah, you remember!?” ” I think I flashed you too.” lol

Me: Oh man, that’s right, you had a purple beach towel over your head! “I’ve been flashed so many times in my life I’ve almost lost count.”

He: Yeah, too bad the internet ruined it for flashers.

We then went on to talk about flashers as a dying breed. haha

The best way to practice being humorous is to just go forth and let it fly.

NOTHING makes me happier than finding someone that can play back with me, take the ball I throw and run with it. Be the ball thrower and the ball catcher, both! :-D

There are some people you just can’t do that with! They’re no fun. >_<

My husband is out of town. He just called. A couple minutes into it I realized he was on speaker and he had a passenger. His name is Cody.
I said, “Well, now that I know you can hear me, Cody, I’m gonna have to be nice to him! It annoys be to be nice to him.”
Cody laughed.
A bit later Rick told me about a project he expects to land next week, said it was $60,000. I said, “That’s good…..and this is the part where I start bitching about bills Cody, but I will refrain.”
They both laughed.

I think a good sense of humor and good joke telling ability are different. You can learn to be a good joke teller with practice. But you can’t learn to have a good sense of humor. You either have or you don’t.

My daughter called. She’s going to St. Louis for back surgery at the end of this month. I called Rick. He answered. I asked if he was still in the car, he was. Was Cody still with him? He was.
I said, “Sweetheart, if it’s OK with you darling…..”
Rick cut me off saying “Don’t bullshit me!”
I said, “Ok, well, I just thought I’d let you know we’re going to St. Louis at the end of the month! I’d like you to go, but if not I’ll go without you.”

see…she started her session already..))

To answer the literal question asked: You can absolutely have a sense of humor without being able to tell a joke. If you can’t tell a joke, quit trying, and just enjoy the stuff that makes you laugh.

Some worry about how their humor comes across.
Others worry that they may be the butt of the joke.
Then again, there are those who really don’t get it, but act as though they do.
A few are thinking about burritos.
Don’t worry so. Relax. Don’t react to their expressions- just go ahead. Some of the best laughs come when people let loose and enjoy the aftermath as much as the next joke or wisecrack.
Not the burrito people so much. Hinkey people, those. They react better having just eaten the much-desired burritos. ( make Them pay the bill, however- you can laugh then also!)

Study the masters: Groucho, Bob Hope, George Burns, Woody Allen, Robin Williams. Try not to tell jokes, but say funny things. Pop culture is a goldmine, and being familiar with it is crucial.
When all else fails, pull my finger…

Could you give an example of a joke that you told that did not go over well?

There are many different ways to express and share humour, not just joke telling. My boyfriend, whom I love to pieces, he can’t tell a joke to save himself, but he is amazingly witting and funny in other ways. I think I’m similar, in that I have a hard time with the set up and exact words to use to get the punchline to work. I can tell funny anecdotes and often use word-play to make friends laugh. I can also find ways of making certain situations funny by expressing a way of looking at it, or making fun of something or comparing it to something funny to make people laugh. My kid, on the other hand, is far better at telling jokes and comes up with puns and new words to make fun of something or to make a situation funny. I think it has to do with his fearlessness. He isn’t afraid of looking stupid and he doesn’t have much of a filter for what might be ‘appropriate’. His jokes often bomb and his word play is often only funny to himself, but he keeps at it and comes up with real bits of gold that have us all roaring on the floor with laughter.

Advice would be watch shows on tv that feature comics in improvisational situations. You can see their different styles and perhaps relate one of those styles that suit the way you think of funny things.