A Rare Skill
Have you ever been in a situation where your friend cracked a joke on you and you were unable to defend it? A situation where you were out of comebacks.
if yes, then does it happen a lot or rarely?
if your answer is "a lot" then the chances are that either you are not quick-witted(Hazir jawab) or even if you are, you haven't polished your skills yet.
Well, the skill of being quick-witted isn't something that only a particular group of people can possess, however, there are some people who are naturally good at it. But, the good news is that everyone can master it with some practice.
before moving on to our topic, let me give you an idea of what exactly being quick-witted means:
A quick-witted(Hazir jawab) person is one who possesses the ability to think and respond very quickly and effectively.
( Being specific in the field of humour) A quick-witted person is the type of person who comes up with immediate comebacks to any type of jokes or sarcasm made on him/her.
Now that you have an idea of what exactly a quick-witter is, let's see how to be one.
Being a quick-witter is not as simple as reading books(on humour), watching comedy shows or memorizing funny comebacks, however, it can help a lot.
Being a quick-witter takes more than that, such as;
1. Observation
2. Active listening
3. Confidence
Allow me to further explain it to you
1. Observation:
You must be a good observer to be a quick-witter, because, quick-witters make their jokes (or points) based on their observation. For example, you were wearing a glove with a hole in it while talking to your friend and suddenly he says "Wow, nice fashion". Now you see, this joke was purely based on observation and it had nothing to do with books, shows etc.
Note: There are certain techniques to effectively observe someone or a group without giving them a feeling of creepiness which I will explain in the coming posts.
2. Active listening
After observation, another main step towards being a quick witter is "Active listening". You will agree that many of us are not as attentive as we pretend to be in any conversation. In fact, while we are pretending to be listening, we are actually thinking of something to say (maybe funny) which will suit the situation. That's why when someone cracks a joke on us while staying within the boundaries of his/her context, we get surprised and miss the opportunity to come up with a good comeback. Active listening is essential for being a quick-witter because quick-wittiness is all about situations, and if you don't know which situation you are in; then, you can't come up with a good comeback either.
3. Confidence
You must be wondering how confidence is related? Well, allow me to explain;
Imagine your friend cracked a joke on you and the very second he cracked it, you came up with a great comeback but you weren't able to share it because you were lacking confidence. Being quick-witty directly has nothing to do with confidence but when it comes to expressing your skill(quick-wittiness), that's where confidence comes in handy. Because there is no point in coming up with comebacks if you can't share them. So, confidence is also essential.
Conclusion: I can't promise you that you're going to be a master, but I can certify that you will get better if you follow the steps. Being quick-witted is not about coming up with good comebacks in every situation, it is about improving yourself.
Note: It is pretty rare for someone to have comebacks ready for every situation; so, in case you miss any opportunity, don't go hard on yourself.
