Knowing the difference can be the key to capturing the comedic imagination of your audience, no matter where they are from. But there are deeper levels of humour – comedic elements that cross boundaries and tap into something universally human. Our sense of humour is deeply rooted in our nationhood, our shared view of the world, and the norms that are so familiar to us, but so foreign to others. So much of what we find funny is socially ingrained. That day I learned an important lesson about humour across cultures. And then, sharing in the awkwardness, we burst into tears of laughter together. We looked at each other for a long, silent moment. “You know, I guess it’s much funnier when you watch them do it”. Instead, I got a long awkward silence, broken only by my own yammering.
When I’d finished, I waited patiently for the obligatory fit of giggles.
It was an Oscar-worthy performance, certainly one of my best. In a blind panic, I dived into an almost word-for-word rendition of Monty Python’s famous ‘Buying a bed’ sketch. I tried to explain how well-regarded English humour is around Europe. Desperate to impress, and wary about breaking some sort of cultural taboo, I started chatting about humour in different languages.
#Leap and laugh how to
How to use humour to break cultural boundariesįour years ago, I was on a date with a lovely Japanese businesswoman in downtown Shibuya, Tokyo.
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