Being funny

I think I have a bit of a fixation with being funny.

I’m not sure what it is exactly, but to me being funny is almost more important than being nice or kind or any of those other things that I’m led to believe are positive characteristics. I am always the one in restaurants telling loud jokes at the expense of her children for cheap laughs. It’s attention seeking behaviour I know – probably symptomatic of some sort of hideous self-esteem issue* – but in my mind being funny is the only way to be not boring and make people like me.

“But you are funny,” says my friend Kathie, “so it’s OK.”

“But what would I be if I wasn’t?” I ask, somewhat needily, “What would I have then?”

“You’d be nothing,” she says, “just an empty shell.”

Hmm.

I delivered some training recently to a group of PR agencies and small businesses about working with bloggers. When I got home Boyfriend asked me how it went.

“It was good I think,” I said. “I didn’t mess up or run out of things to say or anything, but I’m not sure people laughed enough. I mean, they did laugh, but it could have been heartier.”

“Well you were delivering serious training,” he quite rightly pointed out, “it’s not stand up comedy.”

I knew he was right, but still I wasn’t quite satisfied.

How to be funny

Over Christmas I was hanging out with my nephew and niece. My nephew is four and quite easy to entertain, but my niece, who is two, has taken lately to mocking me cruelly. “I don’t like Auntie Joey,” she will say, staring right at me and scowling. I was trying to get in her good books with a made up story about a raccoon that went on a rampage in Marks and Spencer looking for Percy Pigs.

My nephew found it quite a lot funnier than she did, but that’s fine – I take the attention wherever I can get it.

“Is Auntie Joey your favourite Auntie?” asked Belle, who likes to test people.

He thought for a minute, like he was looking for a tactful way to say no.

“You’re my funniest Auntie!” he said.

Boom. I’ll take that.

How important is being funny to you?

*Which we will carefully ignore.

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9 Comments

  1. Dawn F
    8 January, 2014 / 1:32 pm

    I always find your posts funny. I am still laughing over “sticky blood” from the Christmas cheese and crackers. I have two baking potatoes in my veg drawer from before the holidays that I am too scared to eat now because of the Co-Op. I don’t know who to trust anymore.

    • admin
      8 January, 2014 / 2:07 pm

      Haha! That made ME laugh :-)

      I’m sure the potatoes are OK. You can trust me. (Or can you?)

  2. 8 January, 2014 / 5:05 pm

    Ha ;) I am defo the funny one in my close circle of friends and hopefully the blog follows suit too! I think it can be a bit pressured sometimes… people naturally expect you to be funny ALL the time… And sometimes, my mind just can’t be arsed to think of a witty response… I do find so much satisfaction in making people laugh though and the vast majority of the time it just happens naturally ;))) x

  3. 8 January, 2014 / 6:31 pm

    I’m glad you’ve written thus as I knew exactly where you are coming from! My best friend is pretty much printed to tell me I’m the funniest person she knows, which I’m sure she only does to stop me from sulking.

  4. 8 January, 2014 / 9:51 pm

    humour is a great asset – you can lighten moods, diffuse negativity, and put people at their ease! I love your blog because you are so right with your observations, and you always make me laugh! Yay to the funnies – may we each have one on our team! :)

  5. 8 January, 2014 / 10:27 pm

    Oh god i’m exactly the same! I’m always worrying about taking a joke too far and that i slag my kids off way too much on my blog!!

  6. 9 January, 2014 / 12:31 pm

    I struggle with being funny. I can’t think of a word that describes being sarcastic without being mean, but that would be me. I lean towards the melancholic without being a negative nate. I’m loyal and tactful to a tee. My dad was a joke-teller…problem with that is family members hear the whole inventory over and over. My wife is brilliant at quick witty come-backs, and so are my sons. I don’t want to use stale jokes…I’m a slow, analytical thinker, so usually on-the-spot humour….doesn’t flow. But I agree, levity and humour are essential…just wish I could pull it quickly from the air, instead of straining to pull it from somewhere else.

  7. 9 January, 2014 / 1:45 pm

    Our department director told me quite seriously, while we were both tipsy, that I should go into stand up and he would pay to watch this. I’m still not sure if this was a compliment or not.

  8. Simon Howes
    11 January, 2014 / 2:51 pm

    So when can we see you having a go at some stand up?

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