Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says, “Does this taste funny to you?”.

Laughter releases tension, releases endorphins in our system, makes us smile, gives us a burst of euphoria and it usually doesn’t cost much.

Laughter is good for our minds and bodies and humor is useful for lots of activities like conversations, speeches, writing, and dating.

But, how do we make it happen on purpose and on a more regular basis so that it’s not just an occasional accident?

Here are 9 ways to increase the humor level in your life:

1. Go out and be around funny people. According to the book: Laughter: A Scientific Investigation by Robert R. Provine, we are 30 times more likely to laugh when we are around other people then when we are alone.Laughing is contagious. When we hear others laugh, we generally start laughing (that’s why TV shows use laugh tracks).
2. Post a picture of yourself laughing (or others who make you laugh) where you can see it everyday. It may make you smile and get you in a humorous state of mind.
3. Buy comedy books from ebay or half.com. Once I read a great humorous book and was bummed when it was over because I enjoyed it so much and I didn’t have another funny book to read.After that I started stockpiling humorous books. Most of them are used and from the Internet (half.com, ebay.com)  in “like new” condition. Many only cost $3 or $4.

   I also really enjoyed Michael Ian Black’s “My Custom Van”. I was reading it in a restaurant once and I was laughing so hard that I think people thought I was crying.

4. Scan the newspaper comics for your favorites and buy them by the book online or have them automatically delivered to your email box everyday (it’s free at sites like gocomics.com).
5. Get a copy of the book Comedy Writing Secrets: How to Think Funny, Write Funny, Act Funny and Get Paid For It, by Melvin Helitzer.  It’s full of all kinds of tips on how to do humor well.
6. Turn off the news and turn on a comedy.
7. Keep a joke file. I learned this from a humorous speaking manual at my toastmasters public speaking group.Now when I think of something funny or hear a funny joke (that makes me laugh out loud and is reasonably clean), I go to my computer and put it a Word document titled “Jokes”.

   I also carry a little notebook with me when I’m out so that I can jot down a funny joke if one comes my way. That way I can put it into my joke file later.

   Before I go to my toastmasters group, I quickly scan my joke file and usually I’m able to tell a new joke at the meeting. It almost always gets a laugh.

   Jerry Seinfeld said, making a group of people laugh is “powerful and addicting”. I have to agree.

   Once you learn to get laughs from people, it’s hard to stop.

   Most humor is borrowed, so don’t feel like you have to constantly make up your own jokes.

   You can take the jokes you hear and personalize them by replacing some of the details with things from your own life.

8. Use self-deprecation instead of insults.If you want to joke around with people be careful not to make jokes at other people’s expense. This can cause you to come across as mean.

   What works better is to sometimes poke a little fun at yourself.

   Making a joke about yourself tends to make you come across as humble, personable, and likeable.

   I’ve tried this a number of times at toastmasters and found it works really well.

9. Use pauses correctly.When telling a joke, pause before telling the punch line. This helps build some anticipation and tension that is released later when people laugh.

   Also pause after you deliver the punch line. This gives people some room to laugh.

   Talking right after you tell a joke when people are trying to laugh is called “stepping on the laugh”.

How about you, what are some ways you have found to get more humor in your life?