Entertaining

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Just wondered if anyone has thoughts on this.

I seem to really enjoy entertaining people. As well as spouting off bits of comedy from TV, movies or books I seem to have developed an ability to ad lib when I'm in the right mood.

It's a bit like a drug. Seeing someone type 'lol' in response to something I said in an IM conversation actually gives me a kick.

Problem is, people aren't always in the mood for humour and I suspect I get very annoying in these cases.

But when it does work it's an easy way to keep up a conversation even if you don't have an interest in common. Everybody likes to laugh, right?

Damn. I wish I could do that. I just drone on about work, or music, or something... that takes some serious talent. I'm jealous haha

Hey mate, you my lost brother?? I love doing that too.

Most of my mates see my logic as illogical, but somehow it still works... I am pretty good at repeating scenes from TV and movies (because I watch them several times over of course). Some people get annoyed with it after a while, and I just let myself think, 'Their loss...' and move on to the people who do like my humour.

In my case I think it's more a combination of obsessing over Monty Python and Terry Pratchett than talent. I enjoy their humour and want to share it, but at first when I tried to explain a funny part from a book I'd mess up the wording and it wouldn't come out funny. That was frustrating, so the next time I came across a funny line I think I started saying to myself 'this looks like a good quote to use' and making sure I could convey the idea smoothly...

Not to say that I sat down and studied humour, because I read / watch it for fun anyone, but there was definitely some practice and maybe even a smidgeon of conscious decision involved

Nice to see that I'm not the only one. Still, I sometimes wonder if it isn't a bit of a shallow way of communicating. I like talking about things like science or linguistics too, but interests like those seem to freak people out. But if you automatically launch into humour you might miss the opportunity to find out if the other person was interested in other things...

Hey! Im always doing the same thing. There are times when I cant express whats on my mind with my own words, and automatically either a verse from a song, or a line in a movie, tv show, etc comes into my head.

I guess this is some form of Echolaila, (that might be mispelled)


hmmmm....

And yes, it is very uncanny the way whatever phrase i say fits perfectly with the situation in progress.

Then there are other times when something happens and i have nothing to say, then later on come up with the best things i could have said. now that is annoying....

I make really odd observations when I'm tired. Working late at work, I'm a witty riot. I also get into hilarious converstaions with a few people.
Exhaustion = Funny

Me as well.

I find it extremely difficult to ad lib. I would ask you how you do it, but I'm not sure it's something one can learn.

When I was growing up I really loved joke books, word play and comic strips, and humour in general (although probably not very sophisticated humour).

But it was my inability to ad lib that first made me think there was something different about me. I noticed that most other people were able to play off each other and manufacture humour out of almost any situation. I still find this striking today.
Even if most social communication is superficial, and if a lot of laughter is just politeness, I seem unable to even get to this stage with people. It seems like if I can't start things off with a bit of witty banter, people think I'm just not interested in them. Or even if they feel I am interested, they're not interested in me.