Taking inspiration from Blake Lively (yes, I said that right) and experienced comedian and Seinfeld alum, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, here are some observations.

Why it pays to be funny?

Funny people tend to be perceived as more attractive, memorable and interesting, thereby making friends and new connections more easily.

Do you think you’re funny?

Good for you. Self-Awareness and Self-Confidence are important traits for successful socialising.

You’ll soon realise that a major determinant of whether someone thinks you’re funny is about how you manage their expectations.

For example, if you’re not known to be humorous and you drop an unexpected witty one-liner, it’ll be surprising to people.

The impact of that wit combined with the timing can be quite delightful.

I bring up expectations because Hollywood actress, Blake Likely has been getting some flak on her sense of humour. As she is not known for her comedy, audiences don’t expect her to be funny. So when she attempts a joke, the stakes are higher.

If she does well, fantastic; if she flops, critics abound.

In her case, she has to be contextually-aware before she attempts a joke, else it will most likely fall flat.

To provide some contrast, I use comedian, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and fellow actress Scarlett Johansson to showcase different kinds of humour.

Thank you for watching and let me know what you think.

Would you like every message spoken and written by you to be effective but still reflect your personality? If you would like to learn to be a more effective communicator at work, let’s chat more. You can read about what I do here.

You can read more posts on relating to people here.