If you are wondering why you should know how to become more witty – Let’s be honest! Who doesn’t feel like they can improve their social confidence and conversation skills?
With almost 7% of the US population suffering from social anxiety (according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America), it’s safe to say we all do.
We all want to have more fun and exciting conversations, feel more relaxed, make more friends, improve our social interactions, and advance in our careers. No matter what level we’re currently at.
Being witty and building your confidence level are the best ways to improve your social skills.
So, today we’ll be getting into the top expert-vetted actionable tips for being wittier, gaining more confidence, and having better conversations.
Start with a Good Mindset
Your mindset will dictate how you deal with social interaction. If you are feeling anxious or nervous, nothing good can come of that.
You won’t be able to be witty in any social circumstance if you don’t control your emotions.
Instead, all you’ll be doing is thinking ‘I need to be wittier fast!’. Which will only end up making you feel even more anxious for not instantly having all the perfect answers.
Before you deal with any other issues holding you back from being a star conversationist, start with your headspace. Your anxiety comes from trying to control things. But the truth is there are few things other than yourself that are under your control.
So, start there.
There’s absolutely no need to pressure yourself for immediate and perfect results. People are most often not judging you as hard as you are judging yourself.
What you do need is to be able to relax. It will make you more easygoing and charming.
You can
- Showcase your personality
- Tell jokes
- Find your words easier
- and be more open to others.
If becoming wittier is your end goal, a good mindset is what will get you there.
Get Better at Being Clever
Just like anything else, being witty takes a little practice. A good way to improve your wit is to work at educating yourself.
It’s not that difficult. There are several things you can try.
- Think of the people you know. Who would you say is wittier? It’s most likely that friend that knows a lot about a lot of things. Or the one that is very knowledgeable about one subject and gets everyone else interested in it.
- Try discovering various topics or fun facts, staying informed on current topics, having interesting hobbies. In general, any activities that will make you feel excited are likely to make others excited to talk to you. Acquiring various experiences and perspectives is a solid way to become wittier.
- Read More. If you really want to know how to become more witty, you have to significantly increase your reading. It can’t be an obscure fantasy story, as there is not that much you can share with a wider audience. Rather focus on books that have wider implications. For example, I really enjoyed Sapiens by Harari.
- Watch Youtube. Put some interesting interviews or documentaries on your playlist and just listen to them while you are cleaning or cooking. You do not have to remember everything, but you will keep some interesting bits of info that will help you later.
The more you know, the more comfortable you will be to participate in a conversation or strike one up yourself.
Try a Touch of Banter
First, a warning. If not carefully done, banter can quickly turn into an insult. Some people like it and can take it. Others, not so much.
So, make sure you keep any attempt at witty banter within the limits dictated by each situation.
For instance, you can try using banter if your conversation partner is someone you know well. Or someone who exhibits a friendly, open, and easy-going attitude.
Avoid teasing anyone who you’ve only met or someone clearly giving off the vibe that they are not looking to be friendly. In those cases, banter may easily come off as an insult or escalate into something worse.
Keep Things Short and Sweet
Being concise is a common quality of well-liked and witty people.
Getting your point across without adding in too many boring or irrelevant details can help hold your audience’s interest.
- Be brief and keep the particulars of what you’re saying interesting.
- Pick up on the signals your audience is sending and adapt your storytelling to their reactions. If you see people focusing on something else, looking around the room, or fidgeting, you’re taking too long to tell your story.
- Another good tip is to try to focus less on the words you are using or trying to seem clever. Focus more on what you are expressing and keeping what you are saying exciting to your conversation partners.
Try Something Unexpected
If you’ve ever watched a stand-up comedian, you’ve probably noticed that a lot of their humor is based on the element of surprise.
- Clever or unexpected associations.
- Puns.
- One-liners.
They create connections where there don’t seem to be any and make people laugh.
Being witty is all also about being able to make people laugh and humor is something you can practice.
A good place to start is simply watching some sitcoms on TV. They are a good source of fun associations and unexpected humor.
You can also try improv classes or just practice at home by making a list of objects around you and seeing what associations you can come up with off the top of your head.
Be More Present
The number one rule of ‘How to become more witty’ is to be more engaged and present in your conversations. If you are constantly thinking about what and how to say it, you are focusing on the wrong thing.
Being more present in a conversation will allow you to react more intuitively. And being spontaneous will make you more likable and help you come off as smarter.
Try to get out of your own head and be more present in the moment. Pay attention to what your conversation partners are saying, and you will find more inspiration for the things you want to say.
Build Some Stories You Can Use in Social Settings
Especially if you have social anxiety, it’s best to have a few go-to stories you can use in social settings. It will help you feel more relaxed.
Pick a few fun or exciting experiences you’ve had and build a story out of them. Make sure it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. As silly as it sounds, some people forget about following this simple structure.
For instance, you could tell a story about how you decided to learn to play the violin. Begin by saying something like ‘Little did I know I was about to learn something else’. This will help you catch your audience’s interest right from the beginning.
As you continue your story, use descriptive words and match your body language to the plot.
For the end, make sure you’ve built up enough tension, and then use a punch line or some humor.
This is a great tip for how to become more witty and definitely worth developing.
Conclusion
Gaining more social confidence and being witty is all about practice and focusing on the right things.
Follow these tips for improving your conversation skills and you’ll have no trouble being more amusing and making the most out of your future social interactions.
FAQ
In this post I will share 9 tips how you can achieve it. You can it all by yourself.
Communication is critically important for professional and personal live. Becoming wittier helps you with that.
It might seem that some people are just naturally witty, but usually it is a trait that builds up along with their confidence.
Yes. As everything, significant improvements can be achieved by practice and learning new information.
