Karen Burns's Key Ideas from Humor, Seriously
by Jennifer Aaker, Naomi Bagdonas

• The stand-ups: usually into dark humor and they like expressive forms of entertainment, such as roasts, for example.
• The magnets: they are naturally funny and they’re fun to be around. Usually, they’re the ones to make the crowds laugh and spread positivity. 
• The sweethearts: they are more on the innocent side. They like to joke around only when the situation permits. They want people to feel good and they would never make an offensive joke.
• The snipers: they are sarcastic and aggressive with their jokes. They like to serve punchlines and one-liners. 

Tap into the real things that happen to you and bring a little bit of humor into it. People will appreciate that and relate to the situation.

Doing this will create beautiful, shared moments between you and them, as they will identify themselves more with you and drop formal behavior, allowing a closer bond to form.

Make sure not to force anything when it comes to joking around. Frustration can easily build up when you’re mocking real-life situations

When you tell a story, try to escalate it and surprise the other person. Exaggeration works only if you take your interlocutor by surprise and turn your story around unexpectedly.

Then, be as specific as you can. When you introduce elements such as colors, details about a place, a smell, a sound, or anything else that can give life to your tale, you make it easier for your readers to understand you, as you’re building up a mental image for them. 

Compare something from your story to an outrageous example. Have your story stand out by making relatable, easy-to-get analogies. 

This will give your interlocutors a sense of deeper understanding of your tale and it will also entertain them better.

List two expected things and a third unexpected element. 

Since our brain is used to patterns, it will automatically pay closer attention to something that doesn’t follow one and stands out.