Humor, Seriously

Dear Spotify, while it’s a little creepy, I mostly appreciate that you seem to think you know me. So…true story. Spotify recommended Think Fast Talk Smart, a podcast produced by the Standford Graduate School of Business (i.e. its real nerdy). The host is actually kind of cringe-y because he’s so robotic in his question asking.

However, there was one episode that caught my attention. Even though the host and guest talk about work, their conversation reveals an interesting perspective on how to mine your life for funny commentary from the authors of Humor, Seriously: Why Humor is a Secret Weapon in Business and in Life.

The host: Naiomi, can you provide specific guidance on how we can create and demonstrate humor? 

Naiomi: First, is simply recognizing that humor comes from truth. One of the most common misconceptions among our clients and our students is that humor involves inventing something from thin air, and when you think about it that way, [humor] seems really heard. More often, it’s about noticing things that are true for you. How you feel, what you uniquely think, what makes you unusually happy or unusually cranky, these oddities or incongruities in your life can be incredible fodder for humor. It’s about giving voice to these observations. 

I grew up watching Seinfeld. The show about nothing. The entire premise of these shows is about one of these observations. The low talker, the slow talker…guys who paint their faces for sporting events, and we often laugh at these things from a recognition of truth: I’ve been there;  I’ve done that; I’ve seen people do that. And so step one is recognizing that we’re not creating things from thin air. We’re just mining our lives for these truths. 

… and specifics — when you’re mining your life for content, for little incongruities or oddities— are often where the comedy gold is.