Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Humor Knowledge Needed to Improve Speaking Level

Humor is a common concept in aesthetics.What exactly is humor and where does humor come from have been debated a lot in the past. The definition of humor in "Ci Hai" is: "The transliteration of English humour. It has two meanings in literature and art. "(1) The ability to discover comic factors in life and to create and express comic factors in art. … "(2) An artistic technique." Obviously, this is a serious definition, which is somewhat different from the humor that people recognize and love in our lives. In life, we believe that a person's humorous conversation is closely related to his intelligence and wisdom, which requires good cultural accomplishment and rich cultural knowledge.

If a person has an understanding of all aspects of ancient and modern times, China and foreign countries, the world, customs, customs, etc., and has a strong ability to control language, then it is easy to speak vividly, lively and interesting. Looking at the famous masters of humor both at home and abroad in ancient and modern times, they are often masters of language. Therefore, humor is not artificial, but natural expression. Someone said with deep feeling: "I didn't intend to tell a joke, and the joke came out of my mouth naturally." The reasoning just illustrates this point.

Humor is the flash of a person's knowledge, talent, wisdom, and inspiration in language expression. It is an "ability to capture jokes and humorous imaginations." Disadvantages, revelation of contradictory nature and description of some unconventional words and deeds. Usually, the people who are really good at the art of talking are those who are good at leading the conversation, and at the same time turning the meaningless conversation into a humorous one.This kind of person is often at ease in the social arena, and can be regarded as a master of humor in social conversations.Monotonous conversation is boring, so a good talker must be good at humor.But this kind of humor does not mean that everything can be used as a joke.For example, about religion, about politics, about great men, about some kind of sympathetic suffering, etc., are never to be laughed at.In some people's opinion, if the words are not humorous enough, it is not enough to show their intelligence. This kind of thinking is unavoidably extreme.

American psychologist Paul McKee believes that a sense of humor plays a pivotal role in the development of people's social skills. Humorous language can release our inner tension and pressure and turn it into a relaxed smile.In communication, humorous language is like a lubricant, which can effectively reduce the "coefficient of friction" between people, resolve conflicts and contradictions, and enable us to calmly get rid of possible difficulties in communication. In social situations, people who talk humorously tend to win, and people who don't have a sense of humor often lose.In communicative occasions, humorous language can easily open up the communicative situation quickly.

The famous American lawyer Dieter is a person who is good at telling his own jokes.Once, the president of Columbia University introduced him to the audience when he gave a speech: "He is the first citizen of our country!" Dieter seemed to be able to seize this rare opportunity immediately, and joked with great pride: "Listen, everyone, the first citizen is about to start speaking." But if he did that, he would be a fool that no one would look down on . So what should he say?He not only wants to use this introduction to humor, but also to gain the audience's goodwill.He said: "I didn't quite understand the term Mr. Principal said just now. The first citizen - what does it refer to? Now I think that he probably refers to the citizen often mentioned in Shakespeare's plays. Principal Sir must be a person with great experience in the study of Shakespeare's plays. When he introduced me, he must have thought of his Shakespeare plays again. The audience must know that Shakespeare often intersperses many citizens in his plays. Most people say only one or two sentences, and most of them are people without eloquence and insight. But they are almost all good people. Even if the first and second positions are exchanged, there will be no difference at all. place." Before he could finish speaking, the audience burst into applause like a tidal wave.

In the art of speaking, humor is an expression technique that uses meaningful language to reproduce comic features and phenomena in real life to convey a special message.People who know how to be funny and humorous in life often make a lot of wit in a few words, which not only makes people laugh, but also makes people understand the wisdom and philosophy contained in it. According to the different means of rhetorical expression of humor, there are six common types. When Deng Xiaoping talked about respecting knowledge, respecting talents, and giving full play to the role of intellectuals, he said: We must give full play to the expertise of intellectuals, and it is not good to use what we have learned.Some people suggested: For those who have changed their career, if they have a level and a future for training, they can try to collect a batch of them back.This opinion is good. The "Gang of Four" created a term called "Smelly Nine". The "Old Nine" is not bad, but the "Old Nine" Yang Zirong in "Taking Tiger Mountain Out of Wisdom" is a good guy!The mistake was on the word "smelly".Comrade Mao Zedong said that the "old nine" cannot leave.now it's right.The reputation of intellectuals must be restored.

Here Deng Xiaoping borrowed the term "intellectuals" from the "Ninth Nine" and expressed his views in a humorous way by citing Mao Zedong's words that "the 'Ninth Nine' cannot leave". In the Southern Tang Dynasty, taxes were heavy and the people were in dire straits.Coinciding with the severe drought in the capital, Liezu asked the officials: "It's raining in other places, why doesn't it rain in the capital?" The artist Shen Jiangao said: "Because the rain is afraid of taxation, so I dare not enter the capital." Liezu laughed after hearing this. , and decided to reduce taxes.

Shen Jiangao cleverly used the topic to anthropomorphize "Rain", thus euphemistically expressing the meaning of "heavy taxation and daunting", wittily admonishing Liezu to reduce taxes, and achieved the desired effect. Exaggeration means exaggeration, and it is a common rhetorical technique in daily life. When Reagan ran for governor of California, he lashed out at rising prices in light of the state of the state's economy at the time.He said: "Ladies, you all know that when you stand in front of the asparagus counter in the supermarket recently, you feel that it is cheaper to eat banknotes than to eat asparagus."

Another time, he said: "Do you remember when you thought that there was nothing that could replace the dollar? Today, the dollar really can't replace almost anything!" The so-called allegory is a fictional story that is full of wit and humor and embodies profound philosophy to illustrate a certain truth. There is a unit that organizes retired old employees to travel by bus.When getting on the bus, everyone gave way, which wasted a lot of time.After driving, an old man joked loudly: "Let me tell you a story to add to the fun: Once upon a time, there was a woman who gave birth to twins after ten years of pregnancy. When asked why the twins refused to come out, they said that according to etiquette , the elder venerable should go first, but the two of them don't know who is the elder brother, so they gave way to each other for ten years, which delayed the mother's childbirth." These words caused the old people in the car to look at each other, and then There was a roar of laughter.

Imitation is a way of expression that intentionally imitates and uses the existing fixed language form to narrate.The main feature is to use existing language forms such as words, sentences, and articles to reveal the internal contradictions of the described things and create new artistic conceptions. Su Shi had a friend surnamed Liu. Due to illness in his later years, his temple hair and eyebrows all fell off, and the bridge of his nose was about to be broken.One day, Su Shi had a drink with many friends. The friend surnamed Liu suggested that everyone quote the ancient sayings.Su Shi said to this friend surnamed Liu: "When the wind rises, the eyebrows are raised, and the strong man is guarded by the bridge of the nose!"

The house laughed. Su Shi imitated the first and last two sentences of Liu Bang's "Great Wind Song", "When the wind rises, the clouds fly, the Vega rises and the sea returns to his hometown, and the warriors guard the four directions". The contrast between the two is very interesting. Reflexion is to use the other party's words on the spot to tease and refute the other party. It is a kind of language return, and the purpose is to treat the other party in the same way as the other party. Little John came back from school and handed the report card to his father.When Dad saw that he had failed two subjects, he yelled at John angrily, "Did you know that when Washington was your age, he was the best student in the school." John replied calmly, "You know Is it? Dad, at your age Washington was already the President of the United States!" During World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill came to Washington to meet with then-US President Roosevelt, asking the United States to join them in fighting German fascism and providing material aid to Britain.Churchill was warmly received and arranged to live in the White House.One morning, Churchill was lying in the tub, smoking his oversized cigar.The door opened, and it was Roosevelt who entered.Churchill had a big belly, and his belly was sticking out of the water... It was a bit embarrassing for these two leaders to meet at this moment.Churchill had an idea, threw the cigarette butt away, and said: "Mr. President, I am the British Prime Minister in front of you. I am really open and honest, and I have nothing to hide." After finishing speaking, the two laughed.Subsequently, the talks between the two sides were successful. Humor can make people laugh, but it is a smile that enlightens people's mind and a flash of wisdom.Humor can express the speaker's thoughts, feelings and attitude towards life, and can reflect the speaker's gentleness and tolerance. It is a skill for the speaker to express his ideas. Hou Baolin's cross talk "Buying a Buddhist Altar" tells such a joke: Xiao Jia: "Ma'am, you're going out! Ha... have you bought a Buddhist altar?" Auntie: "Young people don't have any rules when speaking. This is a Buddhist shrine. Can you say 'buy'? You have to say 'please'." Xiaojia: "Ah! Oh, ma'am, I don't understand. How much did you pay for this altar?" Auntie: "Hey, it's just such a thing, Bamao!" The old lady respects the gods and Buddha, and thinks that young people don't understand the rules, but because she loves money, she speaks disrespect, which is intriguing and profound. There is irony in the humor too, but there is always a smiley revelation and a spark of wit.The Soviet psychologist Platupov said: "Humor hides a serious attitude towards things behind laughter, but irony hides jokes behind serious forms." Couple chatting together.The husband said to his wife, "Why did God make women so beautiful and yet so stupid?" The wife replied, "The reason is very simple. If you make us beautiful, you will love us; if you make us stupid, we will love you." will love you." Lincoln's appearance is unflattering, and he doesn't shy away from it.At one point, Douglas accused him of being double-dealing.Lincoln said: "Now, the audience is invited to comment. If I had another face, would I wear this face?" . The characteristics of humor are sharp and mean, playful but not explicit, and contain the speaker's kindness and kindness and superb language art.Some people even distinguish the levels of people in this way: if they can laugh when they listen to others, this person is a normal person; if they can tell jokes and make others laugh, they have a sense of humor; Self-deprecation is the highest grade of humor. The most important factor in creating humor is to create a humorous artistic conception that contains complex emotions, is full of fun and intriguing, using limited language, using absurd contrasts, setting suspense, reversing mutations, and recognizing cognitions. Friendly humor can express the sincere friendship between people, can communicate the soul, shorten the distance between people, and fill the gap between people. It is an indispensable thing to hope to establish a good relationship with others . Especially when a person wants to express his inner dissatisfaction, if he can use humorous language, others will hear it more pleasantly.Humor can be very persuasive when one needs to change someone's attitude from negative to positive. When the relationship between one person and another is tense, even at the critical moment, humor can make each other calmly get rid of unpleasant situations or resolve contradictions. One day, while walking on the street, George Bernard Shaw was knocked down by a daredevil riding a bicycle. Fortunately, he was not injured, only a false alarm.The rider hurriedly helped him up and apologized repeatedly.But George Bernard Shaw said regretfully: "You are out of luck, sir, if you kill me, you will be famous all over the world!" This witty remark of George Bernard Shaw made him and the perpetrator never feel happy and tense. Liberated from the predicament, the accident was handled amicably.Bernard Shaw's humor not only left an unforgettable impression on the other party, but also gave people friendship and tolerance. Another time, Bernard Shaw had a spinal problem and went to the hospital for an examination.The doctor said to George Bernard Shaw: "There is a way to replace the broken vertebra with a bone from other parts of your body." He also said: "This operation is very difficult. We have never done it before." Obviously, the doctor's It means that the cost of this operation is different.If Bernard Shaw argues with the doctor, or expresses dissatisfaction or disappointment, he will be in an opposing situation with the doctor.The result of confrontation will bring embarrassment to both parties, and will also affect the cooperation and treatment effect of both parties.However, after listening to the doctor's introduction, Bernard Shaw smiled lightly and said, "Okay! But please tell me, how much do you plan to pay me for the surgical trial?" Bernard Shaw handled a very tricky question very skillfully, avoiding the problem. Unpleasant quarrel. If language is the bridge of the soul, then humor is the fastest train on the bridge.It shuttles between this shore and the other shore, expresses a certain intention sometimes clearly and sometimes implicitly, and reaches people's hearts in the fastest way. As in the above story, George Bernard Shaw said: "Okay! But please tell me, how much are you going to pay me for the surgical experiment?" After hearing this, the doctor would naturally understand the answer Bernard Shaw gave him in his heart. Some people say that humor is the spice of life.Some people simply say that humor is the salt in life.With it, life itself sometimes becomes interesting and magical. Humor can make the sad face smile, and it can also make the tearful smile; it can bring vitality to the lazy, and it can also dispel the fatigue of the hardworking; There is no one in life who does not like humorous language.Humorous words can grab the listener's heart, calm the listener, and make some profound thoughts more vivid and vivid. Humor has a quality, the quality of inducing joy and entertaining in a pleasant way; a sense of humor is an ability, the ability to understand and express humor; humor is an art, a way of using humor and a sense of humor to The art of enhancing people's relationships with each other and of being honest about themselves. Once, executives of 329 large companies in the United States participated in a humorous opinion survey. The results show that: 97% of business executives believe that humor has considerable value in the business world; 60% of business executives believe that a sense of humor determines the degree of success in a person's career. Modern people need humorous language, just like water is to fish, sunlight is to trees, and salt is to life.Having a sense of humor and the power of humor is one of the qualities that modern people should possess. There are many ways to acquire humorous language.First use the "interesting way of thinking" to capture the comedy factor in life. "Interesting thinking" is a kind of "misplaced thinking", which does not follow the thinking of ordinary people, but "forks" to the interesting side. Secondly, we must work hard on instant conception and master the necessary skills.Humor is a kind of "quick language art", which breaks through the inertial thinking, follows the abnormal principle, thinks quickly, speaks quickly, touches the scene, makes things interesting, unexpected, and reasonable. Again, pay attention to the flexible use of rhetorical techniques.Extreme exaggeration, abnormal metaphors, smooth metonymy, implicit irony, as well as comparison, personification, transference, connection, and duality can all constitute humor. Finally, pay attention to collecting materials.Our life is colorful and provides many interesting materials.There are also many of these materials that enter our memory warehouse unconsciously.If we are a "caring person", we will enrich our language materials. In his later years, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty hoped that he could live forever.One day he chatted with a courtier: "It is said in the photo book that the longer the 'renzhong' under the nose of a person, the longer the life span; if the 'renzhong' is one inch longer, he can live a hundred years. I wonder if it is true or not?" After hearing this, Dongfang Shuo knew that the emperor was dreaming of immortality again, so a sneering smile appeared on his face.Seeing that Dongfang Shuo seemed to be mocking, the emperor shouted, "How dare you laugh at me?" Dongfang Shuo respectfully replied, "How dare I laugh at the emperor? I'm laughing at how ugly Peng Zu's face is." Emperor Wu of Han asked, "You Why are you laughing at Peng Zu?" Dongfang Shuo said: "It is said that Peng Zu lived to be 800 years old. If it is true as the emperor said, if the "human middle" is one inch long, he will live a hundred years, then Peng Zu's "human middle" should be eight inches long. Then, isn't his face too ugly?" Emperor Wu of Han couldn't help laughing out loud. First, deliberately make the other party suspicious, create illusions, and form psychological pressure.Then explain it, make it melt away, and humor emerge in the ups and downs. Once, Sun Yat-sen lectured on nationalism at Guangdong University.The auditorium is very small, there are many audiences, and the weather is stuffy, and many people are listless.Sun Yat-sen interspersed a story: When I was studying in Hong Kong that year, I saw many coolies talking together, and everyone who listened laughed.I felt strange, so I went forward.One of the coolies said: "Brother Housheng, finish your studies. Knowing our affairs will not help you." Another told me: "One of us is an expert, keep the number on the betting ticket firmly in mind, and hide it in the In the bamboo pole used to pick things every day. When the lottery was drawn, Jing really won the first prize. He was overjoyed, thinking that after receiving the prize, he could buy a bungalow and do business, and he would never use this stick to pick things in his life again. When I got excited, I threw the bamboo pole into the sea. Needless to say, I also lost the betting ticket. Because I threw the bamboo pole before I got the money, the result was nothing but joy.” Sun Yat-sen said humorously, There was laughter from the audience. Sun Yat-sen then returned to the main topic: "For most of us, nationalism is the bamboo stick, and we must not lose it!" Mr. Sun Yat-sen's story full of humor not only wakes up the drowsy people, but also wakes them up. The speech achieved good results. To have a sense of humor, language must have something to say and make it vivid.If you seek humor with facts, there is humor; if you seek humor with fiction, there is no humor.The language is real, vivid and vivid, which can promote people's association and produce "concrete", which makes people feel endless aftertaste. Unlimited exaggeration of the facts, resulting in an extremely incongruous comic effect, is also one of the effective ways to generate humor. Mark Twain once took a train to give a lecture at a university.Because there was not much time left for the lecture, he was very anxious, but the train was moving very slowly, so he came up with a way to vent his grievances. When the conductor came to check the tickets, Mark Twain handed him a child ticket.The train conductor was also very humorous, looked carefully on purpose, and said, "It's really interesting, I can't see that you are still a child." Mark Twain said: "I am not a child now, but I was a child when I bought the train ticket. The train is moving too slowly." It is true that trains go slowly, but not so slowly that a child grows into a man.Here is the unlimited exaggeration of the slowness, which produces a special humorous effect, which is hilarious. The so-called misinterpretation is to "distort" the object, explain it "absurdly", and use a relaxed and ridiculing attitude to connect two seemingly unrelated things, resulting in a discordant, unreasonable and unexpected effect, thereby creating a sense of humor. Once, a journalist asked Bernard Shaw: "What is the difference between an optimist and a pessimist?" This is a very broad and abstract question.If you want to give an accurate answer theoretically, I'm afraid it will take a lot of effort and you may not be able to satisfy the other party.So he said: "If there is a bottle of wine here that is only half left, if the person who sees this bottle shouts: 'Great, there is still half of it! ' This is an optimist; There's half left.' That's the pessimist." George Bernard Shaw cleverly used the method of "generalizing the whole", chose a vivid example, reduced the big to the small, and answered it easily and freely, not only with a sense of humor, but also endless aftertaste. Creating new language by imitating existing words, sentences, and tone is a very common way of humor.It often resorts to some kind of imagination and association that violates normal logic, and uses the original language elements in a new language environment to create a sense of humor. In interpersonal communication, we can make a humorous and appropriate joke, which can relax the nerves, activate the atmosphere, and create a relaxed and happy atmosphere suitable for communication. Therefore, humorous people are often welcomed and loved by people. However, if the joke is not made well, excessive humor will backfire and hurt feelings. Therefore, jokes must be well proportioned, and humor must follow the principle of decency. The content of humor depends on the humorist's ideological taste and cultural accomplishment.Humor that is vulgar or indecent, while entertaining at times, becomes dull afterward.The humor produced by jokes with healthy content and elegant style can not only enlighten and enjoy the other party, but also powerfully shape one's own beautiful image. Being friendly to others is a principle of being a human being and a standard of humor.Generally speaking, the process of humor is the process of mutual exchange and transmission of emotions. If you use jokes to sneer at others and vent your inner disgust and dissatisfaction, then this kind of joke cannot be called humor. Maybe some people are not as articulate as you, and on the surface you have the upper hand, but others will think that you can't respect others, so they don't want to associate with you. Everyone has different identities, personalities, and moods in life, and they have different tolerances for jokes.The same joke can be told to A, but not necessarily to B; what can be told to B, may not be able to be told to A.Generally speaking, juniors should not joke with seniors; subordinates should not joke with superiors; men should not joke with women.When joking among peers, it is necessary to grasp the other party's personality traits and emotional information.The other party is extroverted, tolerant and patient, and can be forgiven if the joke is slightly too big; the other party is introverted, likes to think about the meaning behind the words, so you should be cautious when making jokes.Although the other party is usually cheerful, if you happen to encounter something unpleasant or sad, you can't joke with him casually; on the contrary, the other party is introverted, but just when a happy event is coming, make a joke with him at this time, and the humorous atmosphere will suddenly emerge. The effect will also be surprisingly good. Humor should pay attention to the occasion, it is not suitable to joke on solemn and serious occasions.