Is it normal to not be able to be humorous?

I have a ton of friends and the are so funny, and they constantly crack entitlement, funny jokes. but what makes me sad is that I can't offer anything to a funny topic...I'm like just stuck; dead in the water. It's not like they are expecting me to contribute humor to a topic, but it would be nice to be able to. I can't make people laugh no matter if I try or not. I always get strange looks when I try to be funny, and I lose people's interest when I don't try to be funny. Is this normal to not be able to make people laugh? I learned that humor is something you can't learn to be and that its something we're born with; either you have it or you don't. How come I have to be the boring one? Am I doomed forever? Being funny plays such a massive role on EVERYTHING - from finding a significant other to scoring a promising career. No one likes boring, unfunny people and im sick of being that guy.

Voting Results
55% Normal
Based on 31 votes (17 yes)
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Comments ( 17 )
  • DannyKanes

    If all else fails say this joke.

    What do you get if you cross a penis, with a potato?

    A Dictator.

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    • Boo!

      Hahaha I'm so horible at figuring out jokes!! that was good.

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  • wigsplitz

    Don't worry about it. My husband is very unfunny, and when he tries to make jokes they bomb and are usually completely inappropriate, he has NO sense when it comes to comedy. I'm the comedian here, and it's fine for me. No competition. You just have to be yourself and do the things that you know you can do well.

    I don't care that my husband is unfunny either, it's never been the slightest issue, so really, don't stress it!! Funny people know they're funny and usually like to MAKE people laugh more than compete with other jokesters all the time. The only issue I ever have with his poor sense of humor is that, unlike you, he still hasn't realized he's NOT funny so he still tries and it gets annoying sometimes. Mostly because he'll make what he thinks is a joke, no one laughs, so instead of realizing the joke bombed he just repeats it until someone says 'we heard you the first time, it's not funny'. Then he gets butt-hurt. I wish he'd just quit!!

    I've always wanted to know more about where the sense of humor comes from, it's a curious topic!! I wonder how people can recognize things as funny when other people/TV/movies are being funny but have no clue how to make a joke?? Then there's people who have NO sense of humor at all and can't even laugh at other people, let alone ever attempt a joke themselves.

    I don't know if I can really offer you much help on improving, the best thing I can think of is to observe a whole lot and see if you can zero in on who laughs at what and why, so you can try to make more appropriate jokes. Different types of people laugh at different types of jokes in different situations-maybe you are a poor judge of your audience. There's different ways to be funny, too. You can be more physical, some people are hilariously self-deprecating, some people make funny observations, some have funny and very animated voices and body language, there's topical humor, and so on. Maybe you're trying to force yourself to be too funny in too many ways that don't suit you personally. Watch comedians and see how they're all different and what it is that makes them funny individually, it's more than JUST the jokes, it's also in the execution. Try to find something in your personality or mannerisms that are similar to a comedian and try to play that trait up.

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    • howaminotmyself

      I love that you used the term "butt hurt."

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      • Captain_Kegstand

        I also love it when people work "butt hurt" into serious conversation!

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        • howaminotmyself

          Yeah, but people often get butt hurt when you call them butt hurt.

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          • Captain_Kegstand

            I hate it when that happens!

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            • howaminotmyself

              It's even worse when you have to define it for them.

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  • alittleconfused

    There are different kinds of humour. I think that the humour which seems the most obvious, the people cracking jokes in conversations, depends a lot on the lack of self-consciousness of the person. These people that crack jokes at the right time are the loud ones, the attention seekers (though not necessarily in a bad way - they just have always liked to be noticed) and so it seems like they are the ones who are getting the career, the significant other etc.

    BUT people possess other types of humour. Some possess good humour, where one can take a joke, and where one is pleasant to be around without being bold, bawdy or witty (I think that's me). These people go on to have many friends, they might go on to work in administrative roles where co-workers depend on each other to be tolerant and to make each other's day enjoyable.

    Some possess written or artistic humour, where they can convey persuasive, interesting wordplay in writing, and they go on to be journalists or advertisers.

    And there is having a sense of humour, which will make people want to welcome you into any sort of career, which will attract people to you. Most of the time, while being able to crack jokes helps at the interview stage, what an employer is really looking for is an easy-going person with a sense of motivation and a passion for the joy that is life :)

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  • Im not funny either :(

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  • I like Grapes.

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  • sassafrassi

    The more you know the better chance you have of making a funny joke. Watch tv, read, study, watch youtube videos, etc.

    Example: My boyfriend, his family, and I went to Olive Garden. We had a cute waiter, and my BFs mom kept talking about him when he was away and tried flirting with him whilst ordering alcohol. We all started making fun of her and my boyfriend kept doing an impersonation of rubber johnny it was hilarious.

    Now if he had never watched rubber johnny he would have never been able to make that joke.

    ;))

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  • Marisol

    If they told me that my life depended on making a joke good enough to make someone laugh I could not be able to do it. I sometimes try to explain funny stuff but it does not come out the way it should, ever. I am hopeless at this.

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  • dappled

    This may be a gross generalisation but nearly anybody I've met who I'd class as funny is someone who appears to have had an interest in comedy from an early age. I mean in watching and enjoying it; from slapstick, to stand-up, to sit-com, to the surreal. Most famous comedians cite influences like musicians and writers do.

    I don't think you're born funny, but you may be born with an interest in funny, and then your experience shapes this into a skill of your own. Which is to say, don't give up; instead, watch more comedy. Of all types. You might avoid Shakespeare's comedies but silent films to the present day, certainly.

    There are only so many ways of constructing a joke. And then there are ways of telling it so even the unfunny sounds funny, i.e. Buster Keaton in "The Goat". It's silent so is purely about joke construction, and it's damn near flawless. Contrast with Joe Pesci's story-telling in the restaurant in Goodfellas when he gets called a funny guy. The story he's telling isn't funny at all. There's barely a joke in it, but his delivery is a thing to behold. He really is a funny guy!

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  • Wendell

    Normal if your a girl. Women can't be funny, I've found

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    • valueduser

      A little bit sexist; Men are the least effective of having a flowing and humorous convosation,'I've found'. :)

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      • Wendell

        It's a different form of humor I think

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