Wit is a special and rare gift, a skill that manifests itself very early and only sharpens over time. Now, when they offer to learn anything, there are those who offer to teach to develop wit. In fact, wit is always a break in patterns, a change of perspective, a game of associations. In addition, witty people have a quick, almost instantaneous reaction, because often the salt of a joke or a sharp word lies in the fact that it is said on time. If you come up with a joke half an hour after the situation that caused it, it may no longer seem funny and will cause a polite smile at best.
Instructions
Step 1
If you want to shine among intellectuals, then you need to broaden your horizons, read more books and literature, learn from the best examples. Check out the acclaimed wits: Bernard Shaw, master of short and succinct language, Woodhouse Chesterton and Mark Twain. Of domestic writers, Zoshchenko, Ilf and Petrov, Dovlatov and Garik Guberman are unsurpassed in their wit.
Step 2
Wit is usually terse and precise. The most important thing in a witty statement is surprise, as in a good anecdote. For example, in Dovlatov's one hero says: “I return home yesterday, I see - children are playing in the mud. Looked closely - mine."
Here's another factor of wit - don't be afraid to be ironic about yourself. Anyone who constantly jokes only at others can be branded as an evil wit. The one who knows how to laugh at himself always arouses greater disposition (and a desire to listen to his witticisms).
Step 3
If you want to see similarities in phenomena that are not striking. The juxtaposition of the seemingly incomparable is always funny. Learn to find capacious metaphors and images. Avoid the usual comparisons, because wit is always a denial of cliches. Look for new words and associations. Mixing low and high, bureaucratic language with a love vocabulary always evokes laughter and emphasizes the absurdity of the situation.
Step 4
Do not be afraid to bring a phrase or concept to the point of absurdity, this will increase the impact of comparison. Just like caricature, wit can use hyperbole, i.e. exaggeration. And don't rely on spontaneous improvisation. Famous pranksters say that a good impromptu must always be well prepared. Accumulate your secret arsenal of phrases, comparisons and jokes to show off in conversation.
