How do I differentiate between joking and being serious?

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Hi,

I have always struggled to tell if people are joking or not (although mostly I get by with this), but in the same way I somehow missed out on the ability to let people know when I'm joking... Does anyone have any tips? How do I make my voice sound 'jokey'? Literally have no idea how to do this...

Thanks

i don't know about tone of voice, mine is always flat, but i've found that most people never smile when they have something really serious they want to say.
when i smile and say something to someone, they will not believe i'm sincere.

maybe you could try smiling when you want to convey a joke. it's worked with me.

of course, it depends on the person you're talking to as well. many people can't pick up on jokes, or if they're not very close to you they could take offense, etc.

Depends on your own culture as well.

In Australia it's common for aussie teenagers and young adults to say something like "jokes..." or "nah jokes" after joking with someone.

And if it's online "jks" at the end of what they say.

I honestly suggest taking the Sheldon route and saying some kind of word that indicates to your friends/family that you are joking.

Sheldon on the big bang theory likes to say "Bazinga!" at the end of or after a joke. It works with friends and family.

But if you are joking with someone you barely know or know less, I suggest just smiling and saying it calm and relaxed; maybe even chuckle slightly to indicate you are trying to be funny. Sarcasm is good if you can understand it well enough.

I don't really consider it important to distinguish whether their purpose is humour or something else.
If I find something funny, I'll laugh. If I don't find it funny, I won't.

What I do consider is whether they're lying or not.
And that I can't always tell...
So I tend to take data as just that : data. It might be true. It might be false. It might be deliberately false, with or without the intent to deceive.
I tend to just reserve judgement.

And if I have to react to whatever they say... I'll tend to base my reaction on the assumption that they were being literal... and if they weren't, that is their own stupid fault. Assuming that someone doesn't mean what they say is NOT conducive to two-way communication.