The Actor Communicates: Practice Humour

A Blog on how to cultivate your own humour

Hi Actor,

Welcome to a lesson in comedy. Well not so much a lesson but rather a suggestion in how to develop it. Because it can be grown. It's a skill. With the proper priming and regular practice, just like with any skill, you can develop an insane ability for it. Whether you are a well seasoned stand up or a "newby" to even the idea that you too could be funny, here are some suggestions on how to lean into this side of yourself. Take this as the universes invitation to funnyland!

Funnyland? Oooft. Why is anyone reading this post? ...

Prime your brain to be funny:

Watch Standup

Sit down and watch someone's stand up. You can find heaps on the different steaming services available but If you don't have access to paid streaming, jump on YouTube. Watch your favourite comedians do what they do best. Just be in touch with what you personally like. Be open to other humour but ultimately the humour you like is going to inform the humour you have.

Watch Sit Coms

Pick a classic like 'Friends' or 'The Office'. Pick a current one too. Spend a few weeks really diving into them as much as you can. Quote the series regularly to friends. This can be a really great way to exercise your own comedy chops in a safe environment. It's an easy way into the skill.

Study a Favourite Comedian

Pick a favourite comedian or funny actor that has a lot of material out there and watch all their stuff. Everything you can get your hands on. Watch their TV shows, films, interviews & red carpet snippets. Find what it is you love about them and intuitively use that in your own practice.

Spend Time With the Funny Ones

Watch the people in your life that are the absolute funniest. Friends, Family, Colleagues, Teachers, Classmates. Spend time with them. What is it they do that makes you laugh so much? Learn from them.

Practice Your Humour:

Life Brings Opportunities

Look for opportunities to make jokes of moments. Social gatherings, out and about with mates and meeting new people are all great times to be searching for comedy. It's honestly everywhere when you start looking for it. Often jokes can come to mind in moments of sadness too. If you feel it's appropriate, give it a crack. It can bring the mood up and make the moment feel a little lighter. It is a balance of course and people won't always laugh along in heavy times, and thats okay. Funny things will also just happen without any humorous intention. Laugh fully in these moments. Enjoy them. This is life providing the goods.

Buy Joke Book

Purchase a joke book. You'd want to find a joke book that has a particular structure to it though: a set up line and a punch line. Put it next to your bed. Open it at the start of the day. Cover up the "Answer", read “the set up” and give yourself time (anywhere between 15 secs- 2 min) to wonder about what the answer could be. Spend time in wonderment. The goal here is not to get the answer right but to come up with potential alternate endings. Then once you've given yourself a chance to wonder, have a look at the answer. How’d you go? How many answers did you come up with? Did you have the same answer as written down in the book? Enjoy the process. Don't rush it. You may even feel a little uncomfortable at first "not knowing" the answers, don't take it too seriously. It's a joke book. Laugh when you want. The more you laugh, the more open to comedy you'll be.

Work Environment

If your 9-5 environment supports you having a laugh with work mates this can be a wonderful gym for your comedy. I worked in a mental health community centre for a couple of years where laughter was more than encouraged. This was, for me, a perfect environment to flex those comedy muscles. So if you can, work in an environment that supports it but if thats not possible, make sure your outside of work environment is comedy friendly. Be around people who love to laugh.

Quick note: If you are using the workplace as a gym to work on your humour, keep it appropriate. You don't want to be having to repeat a joke to HR.

Use Puns

When talking with friends throw in puns. Good ones. Bad ones. Horrible ones. The more the merrier. Small doses of humour, like puns through conversation, is personally (in my opinion) the best way to get your daily practice of comedy (I can hear my friends collectively sigh).

Writing

Writing a stand up routine can be an excellent way of working on your comedic chops. You don't actually have to do the show. This can be a form of journalling or creativity that you structure into your week. Do it as often as you like. 20 minutes of comedic writing per ... (Day/ Week/ Month). Putting pen to paper can be scary but also fruitful.

Perform your Own Stand Up

Why stop at just writing? Try a few of your own jokes on friends. Or if you're feeling really brave, jump up on the stage at your local open mic venue and give it a crack. Scary stuff. But I can't think of a more uncomfortable way of improving you comedy skills. Remember, discomfort in skill development is essential for fast growth. Keep it reflective, what worked, what didn't, what kind of worked but could be better? Record the session & watch it back. Come up with your own criteria to review your work and jump up again next month! It's a process!

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Whether you practice none, one or all of these suggestions the most important thing is to stay curious. Thats it. That's all thats needed. Stay curious with all of it and you'll be okay.

While you are here, I have a massive favour to ask:

Whether you are a regular reader or new to the blog (hey!), it would mean the absolute world to me if you (1) told people about the blog either in person or over socials & (2) hit that subscribe button to stay up to date. I don't advertise the blog in any way (other than through my own personal circles) so it's totally reliant on it's reader base to keep it growing. So give it a share and hit that subscribe button! Perhaps you can start conversations in your own circles based off the topics discussed. However you want to do it, I'd be so appreciative.

Take Aways:

• Prime

  • Watch Standup

  • Watch Sit Coms

  • Study a Favourite Comedian

  • Spend Time With the Funny Ones

• Practice Your Humour:

  • Life Brings Opportunities

  • Buy Joke Book

  • Work Environment

  • Use Puns

  • Writing

  • Perform your Own Stand Up

Also, I would love to hear from you. What kind of comedies do you love? What is your sense of humour like? Ever tried standup? Leave a comment below or reach out directly at lachlanstuartactor@gmail.com. Thanks!

Talk soon,

Lachy

Lachlan is an Australian Actor who has been working within the industry nearing a decade. He’s worked in Film & Theatre.

© Lachlan Stuart 2025