Become Quick Witted
Always looking to make that witty comeback that leaves your friends laughing and your opponent fuming? It's more difficult than it seems to have stinging humor hanging in the wings than you'd think - it actually takes quite a bit of knowledge, creativity, and a faultless tongue to pull off successfully. Here's a few tips to help you sharpen your dull wit (would you be reading this otherwise?).
Steps
- Read more. General knowledge, jokes, tricky sentences or words are the key to help you. Read many books! The classics will especially extend your knowledge base so that you can allude to well-known characters and authors such as Sherlock Holmes (a very quick witted character to begin with), Tom Sawyer, Captain Ahab, Dickens, Shakespeare, Bronte, and the list goes on..
- Be observant. Try to note down funny phrases, jokes, tricks or amusing actions your friends did. When your friends make fun or challenge you, these are going to help by not embarrassing you or your friend.
- Follow the best practices of witty actors on TV and movies. Stand up comedians are also witty and very entertaining as well.
- Do mental exercises. They will keep your mind sharp and fast.
- Work on your creativity and imagination. Creating stories from a single object is a good way to start. For example, you look at a person's shoes and imagine where that person has been or even what he/she has been through.
- Be aware of your surroundings. Use situations to your advantage when thinking of something to say.
- Don't come off as a know it all. People usually don't like to be around others who seem to think that he/she is the smartest person in the room. In fact, the most intelligent people are usually last to speak. In this sense, being quick witted has nothing to do with overall intelligence. It has everything to do with a good sense of timing and humor.
- The best thing is to lean towards being humorous rather than vicious. To be quick witted is not to be a bully, but to be an opportunistic comedian. If most people would take offense to your "joke" then it wasn't a joke, was it?
Tips
- Watch a show like Gilmore Girls - it is the champion of quick witted characters.
- You can always take a dramatic pause.
- Talk with a smile on your face and always stay calm. You can pat your friends shoulder or something to make sure he/she doesn't take matters seriously.
Warnings
- But especially be CAREFUL. Not everyone can take a joke. If there's someone that you know who's especially unstable or someone who doesn't have great self-esteem, don't use your wit on them. You don't want to get your teeth knocked out.
- Don't use the same trick over and over again. It gets old.
- Don't be proud after outwitting someone. This brings others down and makes you look bad at the same time.
- Be humble.
