What is humor? If you ask people this question, you'll get all sorts of answers.
The famous playwright George Bernard Shaw once said: "Humor is to use the most relaxed language, to say the deepest truth, on the surface feel very ridiculous, if you continue to dig deeper, you will laugh from the bottom of your heart." 」 ”
Humor does make people laugh, but not everything that makes people laugh is humor. It is the embodiment of a person's wisdom and talent, not superficial funny, showing a person's connotation and cultivation, with a refreshing magical charm.
So, what exactly is humor?
There is no clear explanation for humor in academia. It is clear that humor is a form of language that has been artistically processed, an artistic language, a skill for dealing with the world, and importantly, humor can be obtained entirely through training.
First, why do humans laugh
One of the characteristics of humor is that it can bring laughter to people.
So, why does humor make people laugh, and what elements of humor make people laugh? In the humorous laughter, what kind of feelings do people have, what are the pleasant experiences, that is, what is the mechanism of humor?
In fact, humor makes people laugh because of these four mechanisms: surprise, superiority, catharsis and familiarity.
1. Sense of surprise
Surprise is the root cause of most jokes. Laugh because when your brain is running a program as usual, something suddenly appears that is incompatible with the program. Or maybe your brain suddenly recognizes something that's ridiculously wrong, and therefore the surprise, the surprise and laughter.
The philosopher Immanuel Kant said: "In all laughter, there must be something absurd and paradoxical." The meaning of this sentence is that the logic in jokes is often contrary to the logic we usually know, and there are confusions and contradictions, and jokes are born from this.
Many people should have seen the TV series "Country Love Story", which has such a plot:
In a hospital, Zhao Si stood in the corridor and looked east and west. When the nurse saw it, she asked him, "Comrade, what are you looking for?" Zhao Si said, "May I ask, which department is your toilet in?" ”
You see, Zhao Si's classification system is different from other people's, the toilet has been turned into a department by him, and the listener's brain suddenly became stunned, so he laughed.
You can think of those face-punching terriers you hear. For example: "I hate two kinds of people the most, one is a person with regional discrimination, and the other is a Beijinger." "There is an obvious logical contradiction in this, because the speaker implies that he has no regional discrimination, turns his face and says that he hates Beijingers, and it is this sudden logical contradiction that causes a sense of surprise, and this sense of surprise is one of the sources that makes us laugh."
2. Sense of superiority
The philosopher Thomas Hobbes once said: "Laughter is the sudden sense of glory that arises when it discovers the weakness of things and thinks of a certain sense of superiority of oneself." ”
That sounds like a lot of sounding, right? Translated, when people see others embarrassed or humiliated, they will have a sense of superiority in contrast.
In 2015, Lei Jun, chairman of Xiaomi, spoke english at the Xiaomi 4i India press conference, in which he said "Are You OK ? "Edited by netizens into a ghost animal divine song, this small video immediately went viral on the Internet, the number of hits soon exceeded ten million, and the netizens who saw this video all laughed heartily.
The funny thing about this video is that Lei Jun was discovered by the world for his English pronunciation with a thick accent, and the audience who watched the video was either satisfied with their own spoken language or glad that they did not have to expose their weaknesses in public like him, and a sense of superiority arose. But then Lei Jun cleverly used this slot to self-deprecating, which led to better results.
Of course, in life, we often complain about a group, which makes the superiority model more complex variants, such as:
Several leaders at the NATO summit gathered around to say that Trump's bad words were filmed by the camera, which told us that the original head of state usually discussed not all the world's major events, but like us, like to gossip.
- American talk show actor Trevor Noah (alias Treva)
In this paragraph, Trump is said badly, NATO leaders are spat at too much gossip, so it is "Trump" and "NATO leaders" who suffer losses, and "we" as listeners take advantage.
3. Catharsis
So what is catharsis?
Here I would like to quote another philosopher. Spencer said, "Laughter is the release of repressed nerves." In other words, after the tension is released, laughter can also be generated. Therefore, catharsis refers to the humorous effect of sudden release after suppressing tension.
Much of this type of humor comes from touching sensitive topics to create tension, putting discourse on the verge of breaking social taboos.
Taboo or sensitive topics can especially make the audience feel cathartic, which is why most of the cathartic paragraphs are meat paragraphs or political paragraphs. Of course, there is also a kind of yellow paragraph that combines political paragraphs, which has the dual effect of catharsis and relaxation.
Is it necessary to touch taboo topics to have cathartic paragraphs? not necessarily. An important feature of cathartic strips is to first create a sense of interpersonal tension. Let me give you a small example from life:
At the annual meeting, a colleague complained: "Our company changes the business direction every day, overtime to vomit, poor welfare, if it were not for our boss so attractive, I would have resigned a long time ago." ”
Look at what this says, is it not thrilling, is it unexpected? Now you understand why it's so popular to spit on the boss at the annual meeting, right? It is because it often truly expresses the usual dissatisfaction of employees, first let colleagues tense their nerves, and then can beautifully circle back, play a thrilling edge ball, greatly release everyone's nervousness, and get a huge sense of refreshment through laughter.
4. Familiarity
You might be surprised: Does familiarity make people laugh too?
Do you think about it, do you laugh when someone says something you've been thinking about but never described precisely in words?
Women really love to complain, no matter what you do, she is not happy. If you go to work every day, she will say, "You don't care about me at all, I've had enough!" But if you are always at home, she will say, "How do you stick to me all the time, can you give me some space of my own?" I've had enough! ”
—American talk show actor Chris Locke
In life, I believe that everyone often hears such complaints. The above example uses a sense of familiarity, and the audience can find resonance in this example, because everyone will encounter similar situations in their lives, even if you don't encounter it yourself, because it is very common, you can understand.
We call this kind of joke "observational joke", and the mechanism behind it is familiarity.
Observational jokes are a type of humor that is particularly easy to win the approval of the audience. You'll see people who hear the joke nod their heads frequently, and the expression on their faces shows that they can't wait to shout "It's true."
Familiarity can make people understand each other, and this sense of pleasure can also lead to laughter. And it's especially easy to capture people's hearts, because the audience thinks that you have spoken their hearts, and then they will open the door of their hearts trustingly and let you drive straight in.
Second, funny has a routine, and the paragraph has a formula
I understand the mechanism of humor, but I still don't know how to be humorous, what to do?
Don't worry, humor and tricks and routines can be learned. The skill of humor starts with writing paragraphs, and writing humorous paragraphs also has formulas that can be applied. Mastering the basic formula for writing paragraphs and using certain skills, you can start your own humorous journey.
The basic formula for paragraphs
The passage is to use short, humorous language to say a truth or reveal a truth, creating a "reasonable, unexpected" effect, to achieve the effect of making people laugh and thinking. If you really want to distinguish between paragraphs and jokes, paragraphs are more inclined to tell a truth, and jokes are more inclined to tell a story. But now the two are a lot of integration, so I tend to understand the passage simply as a joke.
Writing paragraphs is not the patent of stand-up comedians, because there are routines to follow and techniques to use when writing paragraphs. There are basic formulas to apply to writing paragraphs, and this formula is very simple, with only two parts.
1. Paragraph = padding + baggage
All the passages are made up of two parts, the first part is the first sentence, which we call the foreshadowing, and the second part is the next sentence, which we call the baggage.
Among them, the foreshadowing is to establish the first idea and lead you to the direction A; the baggage is to reveal the second idea, to lead you to the direction B, which is the sense of surprise we are talking about. The front paving does not need to be funny, you just need to state a fact, the more serious the better, the funny part is the baggage behind.
Singer Da Zhang Wei once said on a TV show: Everyone should love small animals because they are very delicious.
The first half of Zhang Wei's sentence "Everyone should love small animals" is to pave the way, his sentence adopts a logic that we use in the social context, and the second half of the sentence "because they are very delicious" is a burden, it produces a turn, this time the sense of humor is generated.
This example strictly adheres to the basic formula of the paragraph, "Everyone should love small animals" as a foreshadowing, not funny, funny parts in the back of the baggage, "because they are very tasty".
I often joke that since I understood the formula of the paragraph, the whole world has been reconstructed in the form of "laying the groundwork + baggage". Even when I usually heard the joke when I was chatting, I was fascinated, and immediately thought about what its bedding was and where the laughter point was.
2. The first principle of the passage - conciseness
Brevity is the first principle of foreshadowing. In life, we often encounter people who tell jokes, instigate long speeches, lay out the causes and consequences of things, the beginning and the end, and finally when they really want to shake the baggage, the audience has long lost interest and turned around to do other things. The preparation part before the laugh point must be concise, otherwise it is easy to destroy the paragraph that could have been humorous.
So what do you need to pay attention to in the baggage part? In fact, the most important thing is two points:
First, the laugh point is more funnier the further back of the sentence.
Second, after throwing off the baggage and saying the laughter, you must simply and neatly stop it, and you can't explain the joke. If the novice does not tell a good joke, it is easier to be weak-minded, and after speaking, it is explained for half a day, in fact, it is not used at all.
Therefore, a paragraph, in addition to laying the groundwork and baggage, there should not be any nonsense or even waste words. If something is neither a prelude nor a laughing point, it should be removed.
It should be noted that foreshadowing and laughter are not necessarily language. It could be a consensus, a scenario, or a reaction.
Good humor comes from insight into life
The humorous passages of the high rank can discover the hidden truths and truths behind the things from the surface of daily life, and use them to enlighten and influence others, which is insight.
A good insight is like a suspense, and when people hear it, they will be curious in their hearts and then listen patiently. At the moment when the final mystery is revealed, the audience's heart is filled with a sense of surprise and catharsis, and humor is generated.
Insight comes from observing and thinking deeply about daily life, so we should develop the habit of observing life and thinking deeply in our daily lives. However, you may feel that you are good at observing life and thinking diligently, but you still can't form insights. 3 tips for forming insights that you can try to practice.
1. Stand on the shoulders of your predecessors and rewrite your insights
The most direct way to learn is to imitate and learn, if you see a good insight, you can try to rewrite half of the sentence to see if you can create an insight.
In the eyes of the boss, there are only two kinds of employees, those who are willing to work overtime and those who are unwilling to work overtime.
There are only two kinds of employees in the eyes of the boss, the "996" and the "711".
Okay, now it's your turn, follow this sentence pattern and complete your insight.
There are only two kinds of bosses in the eyes of employees, ________
You see, it's easy to rewrite insights.
2. Observational insight + logical deduction
This approach is to observe a common phenomenon. In general, this common phenomenon represents a pattern of people's behavior. Instead of taking it for granted, stop and ask yourself "why."
At the auto show, it was all men taking pictures with car models.
Why don't women take pictures with car models? But from a female point of view, it should be that women are afraid of contrast, shopping to find a female companion who is lower than their own appearance, try to go back when taking a group photo, and look small, so you certainly can't stand silly next to the beautiful woman at the auto show.
But I found that I didn't have this psychological burden, why? Of course, it's not that I'm particularly confident in myself, or that I'm giving up on myself, but I've found that if you stare at those beautiful women for a long time, you'll find that they don't look like people, much like another creature.
So I came up with the insight that particularly beautiful beauties, neither women nor men, were alien-like beings.
Did you see that? Insights are sometimes very subjective, as long as you can provide a little bit of a different perspective on the problem, as long as you can justify yourself.
3. Dig yourself out
To dig into yourself is to see what quirks you have, what is different about yourself, and what fears you have. Because you are a person, you will speak human words and do personnel. From yourself, it will be easier for you to discover your own unique perspective. For example, by plane.
Every time I fly I think the plane will fall.
I don't know about you, but when I get on the plane, I look around at the people on the plane, and when I see a few people with good looks, I will comfort myself and say, "These people look like they shouldn't die, and the plane won't fall." ”
Regarding flight, when the plane reaches the stratosphere, the flight is relatively smooth, and there are thick clouds underneath, I feel safer. Actually, if it falls, the clouds won't be able to hold on, but I just have this strange feeling.
You see, paying more attention to your own strange feelings and thoughts, it is easy to generate new insights.
I suggest you prepare an insight book and record it as soon as you think of a passage or insight. When needed, open the book and use it at any time. In addition to constantly collecting insights in life, if we want to be a person who can use humor freely, we should also have the ability to form our own insights.
Fourth, life needs a sense of humor everywhere
Humor is the conciliator of interpersonal relationships, strangers breaking the ice, gatherings of relatives and friends, improvisational speeches, handling workplace relationships...
With humor, these all become lighthearted and harmonious. Humor can create a cheerful atmosphere, help people reduce stress, resolve embarrassment, and avoid disputes. Therefore, life needs humor everywhere, and it also needs to have its own set of humor logic.
Create a new set of logic
Sometimes we get overwhelmed by awkward situations, mainly because we're stuck in the other person's logic, and you need to create a new logic that can steer the conversation elsewhere so that the conversation can continue.
Yi Zhongtian once went to a lecture, and the organizer arranged for leading cadres to sit in the middle of the front row, and citizens in the back row. During the interactive question-and-answer session, a citizen grabbed the microphone and said: "The first row of people sitting in the first row are all leaders of the municipal party committee, is this fair?" ”
As soon as the host heard this, his face turned white and he immediately said, "This question can be left unanswered." ”
Yi Zhongtian said: "There is nothing that cannot be answered in this question, and the reason for this arrangement is that the organizers feel that leading cadres should study better." ”
In the logic of ordinary people, the sitting of government officials and leaders in the front row is an unfair phenomenon of differentiating treatment according to status and position, and Yi Zhongtian vigilantly transformed this logic into a logic of classroom learning, and established a connection between attending meetings and learning. In this way, this seating arrangement has largely got rid of the difference in status, but has formed a causal relationship with better learning and better service to the public, and successfully resolved the embarrassment.
Seeing this, you might say: I see, I want to create a new set of logic. So how to create it? There are usually two ways to create new logic, one is to split, the other is to suggest.
(1) Split
The so-called splitting is to intercept the original logic system, retain half of it, and recreate the other half, so as to obtain a new logic.
The wife scolds the husband: There is not a good thing in the world for men. Husband smiles: Don't scold your dad like this.
A foreign political leader was giving a speech, and some people were scolding at the bottom: "Garbage! The speaker replied unhurriedly: "Sir, I am about to talk about environmental protection." ”
(2) Implication
The biggest difference between suggestion and splitting is that splitting is processed and transformed on the basis of the original logic, while suggestion is to extend and extend the original logic, so as to obtain the new logic implied in the original logic.
After understanding these two methods of creating new logic, we must also know the considerations for using both methods.
First of all, in the same scene, there must be two or more sets of concepts, such as the theater has upstairs and downstairs, as well as ordinary seats and VIP seats. Only in this way can we form at least two pairs of different logics, and we can guarantee that new logics can be created from the original logic.
Second, after finding two different sets of concepts, you can relate the two. The idea of this connection is generally what is the same, or what is different between the two.
Before creating a new logic, it is important to understand what the original meaning of this sentence is to be expressed, according to people's customs. In this way, in a fixed scene, find factors that conform to or contradict the original logic to replace and create new logic. If the original scene is not enough for transformation, you can introduce a new scene, extend the original logic into the new scene, and then create it.
Fifth, pay attention to the minefield of humor
Humor can make people laugh, but also can make people think deeply; it can resolve embarrassment and adjust relationships. However, not all humor is laughable, not all jokes are popular. For the sake of humor, forced humor, not only can not achieve the effect of humor, but also laugh generously, making people feel uncomfortable.
Therefore, when practicing humor, pay attention to the "minefield" of humor, which I call the "seven deadly sins" of humor.
"In the same sentence, the first one is genius, the second is mediocre, and the third can only be stupid." The old terrier repeats it, talks about other people's passages, and gives others the impression that this is the case.
Some people like to be a paragraph porter, in order to show their humor, on any occasion repeatedly tell some old passages, the result is often that they are very excited, but the audience tastes the same as chewing wax, no reaction, people are very embarrassed. The reasons for this situation are as follows:
1. The context is not appropriate, it sounds abrupt
Paragraphs are contextual, when memorizing other people's paragraphs, your context is not necessarily the same as the context of the original author of the paragraph, you insist on jumping out of the context and saying "Interviewer, you first listen to me tell a joke", the other party will feel very abrupt, think you are inexplicable.
Humor is actually an interaction between the speaker and the listener, an exchange in a real situation, not to show intelligence. You memorized a lot of paragraphs, took them out to tell others, hoping that others would praise you for your humor, but in fact, there was no communication at all, and the other party of course had to laugh perfunctorily.
2. The other party has heard and knows where the laughter is
The other party may have heard the passages on the Internet; if you have heard them, for the sake of face, others have to endure to listen to you from the front of the lengthy preparation, which is obviously a kind of torture. If you meet someone who is more anxious, you may directly say the laughter point and make you unable to get off the stage.
3. The strips are greasy and tasteless
Some of the passages on the Internet are very greasy and not of high taste. If you recite these passages to others, it is likely to pull down your personality. Originally, the purpose of the passage is to show your intelligence, but in this way, not only can not show your intelligence, but will make you look tasteless.
4. There is no sense of truth
The core of humor is emotional truth, if you memorize other people's paragraphs, even you can't impress yourself, and you can't expect others to capture your humor points.
Humor actually reflects your immediate reactions to specific people and events, and is a comprehensive embodiment of your worldview.
Original passages have your worldview, your mental state and a unique perspective on how you see the problem. Because such a paragraph conveys your true feelings, so that people who listen can feel the humor in it.
5. Easy to become lazy
After you are used to carrying paragraphs, it is easy to breed lazy thinking, unwilling to use your brain to create your own laughter, humorous thinking will stagnate, and it is more difficult to write your own paragraphs.
Deliberate practice is more important than talent.
No skill can be mastered thoroughly just by learning, and repeated practice is a necessary process, and the same is true of humor. Therefore, after you have accumulated and stored up some humor material, the most important thing is to practice anytime and anywhere within your ability.
Practicing humor is a very courageous thing to do. Practice humor can not be done behind closed doors, do not expect to practice alone in silence to be able to make a splash on important occasions. Humor is like a child toddler, you have to have an audience, because it's funny, you need feedback from the other person. Since you are a toddler, you will fall a lot, you may fall very ugly, and it will be in full view. However, it is only after these awkward processes that it is possible for you to truly learn humor.
So, embarrassment and failure will often accompany the practitioner, which is part of practicing humor and part of personal growth.
Especially recommended
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"Sense of Humor"
Li Xin
CITIC Publishing Group
March 2020