Using Humor As An Awkward Nerd

Happy Tuesday, Dear Readers.

When meeting new people, I can get social anxiety, which should surprise nobody considering that I am a massive nerd and growing up I had a significant stutter, so my positive social interactions were, to put it mildly, less than optimal. It is why I gravitated to written communications; with written words, I could get out what I wanted to say, without being an awkward, stuttering mess.

I was able, over a couple years, to stop stuttering (well, stop stuttering mostly; there are still times if I am extremely flustered that it will happen, and yes, it makes me want to cringe myself inside-out when it happens), but the awkwardness stuck around for quite a bit longer, which is when I learned a very valuable lesson which helped me out immensely: if you can get people to laugh first with you, they are less likely to laugh at you for being awkward or stuttering.

I love comedy, but I love comedic timing more; you can turn lots of stories you have from okay to engaging with a bit of timing, and with a turn of phrase and an expression as you pause, you can get people who were not expecting to laugh to do so. I like making people smile, and if I can use humor to leave a good impression, then it is a win-win for me. Laughing relieves tension, and it makes engaging and interacting with people to have a conversation easier.

I am by no means a stand-up comic of any sort, but I work with what I have, and what I have is an absurd lexicon, an ability to use timing in my stories to my advantage, and knowledge of how language and a little bit of hyperbole can go a long way. It works for me, as I can usually get my friends and family to laugh, and just today I was able to get two businesswomen to laugh during an interview I was having to work for their company. In the moments they laughed, I wasn't nervous during that interview and I didn't feel as awkward as I usually do; I was just one professional telling two other professionals a funny anecdote of my past that tied in to what I can help them with in the future.

I hope that you laugh today, Dear Readers. Really, I hope that you laugh every day, but in case laughs are few and far between for you, I hope today is the day.

-A.M.W.