I got this definition from Wikipedia - "Self-deprecating humor is humor which relies on the observation of something negative about the person delivering it." Simply put, it is joking about your own shortcomings.
I believe it is a great quality to have. The minute you start cracking jokes about yourself, the atmosphere around you eases up a bit. I use it quite often to lighten up a conversation. Also, if you are uptight or have ego issues, it is very difficult to inculcate this quality in yourself. You have to be very secure within yourself to be able to use it effectively.
It can be used to break the ice. When you are trying to get friendly with someone you barely know, humour is a good ice-breaker. It invariably shifts the tone from formal to informal. However, humour is tricky, you wouldn't know what jokes the other person would like or if he/she could get offended. A good solution would be to use self-deprecating humour. This will put the other person also at ease and open up.
Also, if you are talking to someone and feel that he/she is insecure in your presence, crack one or two jokes about your own shortcomings and see how that person opens up to you. It barely happens to me though as people are hardly insecure in my presence. Although I did see a gorilla at a zoo who felt I was slightly better off than him but I think thats about it.
It is also a great tool to disarm somebody. There are always people who look to put others down to make themselves look good. They have various ways of doing so - pointing at you and laughing, patronizing you, etc. Try to laugh at yourself in front of them and they will have no ammunition left. Think about it - How can you point at a person and laugh when he is laughing at himself? I possess a lot of quirks that would tempt these people to point at me and laugh and self-deprecating humour has been my first and successful line of defence.
I am a great admirer of Amitabh Bachchan. Although, one thing about him that annoys me is he is too modest in his interviews. Such political correctness makes me cringe. I believe he is intelligent enough to joke about himself which will achieve 2 objectives - firstly, he will still sound modest and secondly, his repetitive political correctness will disappear.
I repeat, if you have difficulty in joking about yourself, you have ego or security issues.
I believe it is a great quality to have. The minute you start cracking jokes about yourself, the atmosphere around you eases up a bit. I use it quite often to lighten up a conversation. Also, if you are uptight or have ego issues, it is very difficult to inculcate this quality in yourself. You have to be very secure within yourself to be able to use it effectively.
It can be used to break the ice. When you are trying to get friendly with someone you barely know, humour is a good ice-breaker. It invariably shifts the tone from formal to informal. However, humour is tricky, you wouldn't know what jokes the other person would like or if he/she could get offended. A good solution would be to use self-deprecating humour. This will put the other person also at ease and open up.
Also, if you are talking to someone and feel that he/she is insecure in your presence, crack one or two jokes about your own shortcomings and see how that person opens up to you. It barely happens to me though as people are hardly insecure in my presence. Although I did see a gorilla at a zoo who felt I was slightly better off than him but I think thats about it.
It is also a great tool to disarm somebody. There are always people who look to put others down to make themselves look good. They have various ways of doing so - pointing at you and laughing, patronizing you, etc. Try to laugh at yourself in front of them and they will have no ammunition left. Think about it - How can you point at a person and laugh when he is laughing at himself? I possess a lot of quirks that would tempt these people to point at me and laugh and self-deprecating humour has been my first and successful line of defence.
I am a great admirer of Amitabh Bachchan. Although, one thing about him that annoys me is he is too modest in his interviews. Such political correctness makes me cringe. I believe he is intelligent enough to joke about himself which will achieve 2 objectives - firstly, he will still sound modest and secondly, his repetitive political correctness will disappear.
I repeat, if you have difficulty in joking about yourself, you have ego or security issues.
Wah Sleeel !!!
ReplyDeletesee.... this one even I understood! only if you write something non-political a bit more often!
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