Wit is not such a common quality in people. If you use the vocabulary language, this term refers to the sophistication of thought and ingenuity, manifested in original, funny and successful expressions. But this is an overly generalized definition.
Wit as a lifestyle
Surely each of us has a friend who is distinguished by this quality. Such people, as a rule, look confident, relaxed and satisfied with life. Their eyes burn, and if you look closely at their gaze, you can, figuratively speaking, notice a thought. It would seem that what does appearance and quality have to do with psychology and sociology? And despite the fact that the internal state of a person always affects how he looks.
Wit is such a quality that always leaves its “imprint” on a person, which is not surprising. Indeed, wit is a storehouse of the mind, expressed in vivid verbal form. This quality gives a person the ability to pay off almost all conflicts with the help of a tag phrase. The wit of a person demonstrates her sense of humor, intelligence, education, and skillful speech skills.
A person with this quality is able to express any thought in such a way that everyone understands its meaning. Thanks to this, he is always confident in his capabilities and strengths. And a person with this quality has every chance of being heard. So can wit be considered a lifestyle? Definitely.
Turning to Freud
In 1905, the famous Austrian psychoanalyst published a very interesting work. He is known as "Wit and its relation to the unconscious." If you familiarize yourself with this work, you can understand that Sigmund Freud identifies humor with this concept. That is, the intellectual ability to distinguish funny and ironic sides in certain phenomena.
Freud suggested that humor (just like dreams) is associated with the human unconscious. The psychoanalyst assured - a joke is born at the moment when a person tries to express an idea that is considered unacceptable or forbidden in society. But what is called the superego - responsible for religious and moral attitudes, allows the human ego to express this or that thought in a humorous form.
“Wit and its relation to the unconscious” is a voluminous work. It describes interesting thoughts, and it is useful for everyone to familiarize themselves with this work. But in short, according to Freud, wit is mental sublimation. That is, a protective mechanism, thanks to which the internal voltage finds an output.
Work on yourself
Wit is a quality that is very difficult to develop. This opinion is shared by many people. There is a special predisposition to it. Perhaps a gift. The word "charisma" is quite suitable. After all, these are, in fact, not only some external features that make the face of a person more interesting. Charisma is also the exclusivity of the personality intellectually. But still, many people are interested in how to develop wit. Well, everything is real.
Firstly, one must become ironic in relation to oneself. If you constantly joke with the rest, then you can be considered not a witty person, but a malicious wit. But a person who knows how to ironically pin himself up causes irony. Such people seem straightforward, friendly and open.
Secondly, jokes must be subtle. In the company of close friends, of course, suppose humor from the category “below the plinth”. However, in society one must be able to express oneself beautifully, but funny.
Thirdly, you need to be less serious. People who, even on vacation, look tense, few people like. We must learn to feel the humor of others and try to be so on our own.
Vocabulary
That's not all about the question of how to develop wit. However, the most important thing needs to be told separately. This refers, of course, to the vocabulary.
You can replenish it (and need) in various ways. Books, films, educational programs, interesting people - there are countless unique sources of information around us. We can adopt your favorite words, phrases, manners and even lifestyle. People, puzzled by the question of how to learn wit, need to learn this.
A person’s vocabulary is like a complete set in a car: the wider it is, the better. The person himself will begin to feel more confident. And in any company and society, he will be like a fish in water, if he knows different styles of speech, manner of presentation and behavior. This manifests itself versatility.
Lack of framework
This is another feature that distinguishes a witty person. After all, in fact, what are the boundaries and framework? This is what drives everything to standards, of which there are too many in the modern world. And what are the standards? This is boredom, lack of originality, uniqueness.
Witty people see the world differently. They study our reality in all its diversity, taking into account any trifle, and remembering the most interesting, unusual, which they then apply in life. Examples of wit in this manifestation are numerous. During one or another thematic conversation, when it is necessary to give an answer, a person can take an expressive pause and ask if his opponent heard about a certain phenomenon? Then turn to him, tell why he remembered about it, demonstrate the connection, make arguments. Wit is not only a sense of humor. It is also the ability to interestingly carry on a conversation.
Original humor is always valuable
Much has been said above about the wit of the unconscious and the ability to use this gift. Well, it’s worth giving an example of several vivid phrases demonstrating it.
In the first half of the 20th century, such a famous American actor as Oscar Levant lived and acted. Such phrase belongs to him: “I decided to take care of myself. He quit smoking and drinking, went on a diet, refused heavy food. And in two weeks I lost 14 days. " It is difficult to argue with the originality of this saying. The Levant was a witty and charismatic personality, and it can be stated with confidence that he became an actor and comedian, for the most part, thanks to this quality.
Yuri Nikulin also has many interesting expressions. They, like the previous example, are not meaningless. Here is perhaps the best of what he said: “Never take revenge on vile people. Just be happy. And they will not survive this. ”
No need to be afraid to be absurd
This is the last rule to follow if you want to become witty. Absurdity is sometimes very appropriate. So the famous American writer Mark Twain believed. He owns the phrase, which to this day evokes a smile even among those who heard it. And it sounds like this: “Quitting smoking is easy. I threw 50 times. " In this case, absurdity is deduced through exaggeration. You can use understatement. In Gogol’s “Dead Souls,” by the way, similar examples are also often found.
Here, by the way, is the confirmation that reading literature is necessary - from it you can learn a lot of interesting things.