How to survive irony

When I was a child, my parents told me that lying was wrong. As a result, once I became an adult, it is possible to make me believe anything.

I take all words literally, and therefore I oftentimes don’t get jokes

Imagine that everyone is laughing, but you don't understand why. When they realize that you haven't understood their joke, they laugh once again – this time at you.

But... Is it a pity or a sincere laugh?

And when sarcasm comes into play, it's even worse. You try to interpret every word one by one, and fail every time.

There's always a slight delay for you when a joke is announced. You're so proud when you finally understand, but then it's too late to laugh about it.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to hide your misunderstanding. 

The following are all my secret tips to be a social chameleon around jokers.

1. Imitate: Laugh without understanding the joke

I've mastered this one to perfection. Just one sentence comes to mind: Is it really funny?

You feel like a stranger seeing everyone else laughing, but a little less so if you're laughing yourself silly too.

And rest assured: Many don’t know why they are laughing either.

2. Acting: You make yourself look like a deadpan

You are keeping your straight face and charisma. People around you think that it’s dry humor on your part.

Only you know the fact that you just don’t understand what’s going on.

3. Accept: Tell them that you don’t understand

This one is the most sincere method but the most embarrassing too. With this one, the joker is forced to tell you that it’s a joke.

But on the other hand, if a joke needs explaining, it may simply be a bad joke. So then you can tell the joker that he just has a bad sense of humor, turn the table, and laugh at him.

To all those who are ironic and sarcastic: Irony is a language that not everyone masters, so please bear with us.