5 ways to be funny without really trying
1 Don't try too hard
Trying too hard is the commonest mistake made by people who would like to be funnier.
There's nothng worse than sounding forced - just be yourself, and be natural.
If anything, it's better to be under-stated than over-the-top
2 Develop your comedy mind
As you go about life, watch out for things that make you laugh.
There's a good chance that many of these will amuse others - try them out on people. Remember the ones that work, and store them in your repertoire - you've now got comedy 'material'
The most important part of the comedy mind is looking at things in a different way from the usual.
This habit will also help you develop your own particular brand of humour.
3 A great deal of comedy and humour arises from throwing together two quite unusual or incongruous ideas - things that don't usually go together, and therefore take people by surprise - providing a 'twist'.
Monty Python did this all the time - they took the idea of a government department and combined it with the notion that people walk in very different ways, and came up with the Ministry of Funny Walks. The rest is just carrying the idea to an extreme or exaggerated degree.
4 set-up and punch-line
This is the mainstay of the stand-up comedian's method, and you can use it too.
When you've got a line that you think will be funny, make sure you build up to it in a way that will give people the information they need to get the joke, but also also lead them to expect somthing different from what your punch-line delivers. Every joke you ever heard does this.
This is where you can also bring in comic timing - don't rush the process, and leave a pause to build up anticipation before delivering the punch line.
5 Practice
Finally, practice your humour on people who aren't so important - like your husband or wife, your children, maybe your parents - until you're good enough to use on people whom it could be really important to amuse - like your boss, bank manager, or people holding you hostage.