How to Fake Laugh

It can be awkward when you miss or misinterpret a joke and are the only one left not laughing. Why not buy yourself time and let your brain figure things out while fake chuckling along with your friends? Fake laughing is a useful social skill that you can employ for the benefit of others as well as yourself. Impress your boss by fake laughing along with his unamusing wisecrack, or show some moral support by fake laughing at the dud joke of a coworker.

Part 1

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Shaping Your Fake Laughter to Sound Natural

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1
Lose control of yourself. Natural laughter usually comes as a surprise or as the result of a stimulus, like tickling. This results in an unplanned vocalization - laughter! By its very nature, laughter is irregular, so the measured tones of your fake laughter can easily be spotted. ^{[1]XResearch source}
- Add variety to your laughter by starting with low tones and ending with a higher pitch, or vice versa.
Listeners are more likely to believe a fake laugh is real when the speed is increased.^{[2]XResearch source} Instead of slower, deeper laughs, you might try imitating a lighter, quicker giggle.
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3
Add breaths to your guffaws. Human brains distinguish between real and fake laughter by the breath inserted between your chuckles and chortles.^{[3]XResearch source} Allow your breath to come in staggered, haphazard intervals to cue your friends that you did find the joke funny, even when you did not.
- More breathiness will make your laugh sound more genuine. There are typically more breathy parts in natural laughter than faked.^{[4]XResearch source}
Both men and women have been found to tend toward different laughing styles, and using these might help you fool your audience. Women tend to laugh in a more lyrical, sing-songy way, while men more frequently grunt or snort in amusement.^{[5]XResearch source}
5
Regulate within normal boundaries. This is a tricky part of faking a laugh, as laughter is the spontaneous explosion of vocalized joy. Too much regulation will come across as false and unnatural, but the opposite is also true. Laughing too much can signal your listener that you don't actually find what is being said is humorous.^{[6]XResearch source}
- Aim for a volume for your laughter that is around the same volume of those laughing around you, or that is about the same volume as conversation.
- A general guideline when faking: don't allow your laughter to be so loud that you cannot hear conversation over it.
6
Start loud and act embarrassed. You might have the experience of laughing out loud at something at an inappropriate moment. Laughter sometimes strikes when it's less than convenient, but you can use this to your advantage when faking. Make your first bark of laughter loud enough to get attention, and then cover your mouth and pretend to be embarrassed.^{[7]XResearch source}
- Be sure to smile throughout this process. Smiling triggers tiny muscles in your face to flex and wrinkle, imitating the look of natural laughter.^{[8]XResearch source}
7
Taper off at the end of your fake laugh. A common error of inexperienced fakers is cutting a laugh off too abruptly. Natural laughter is rarely cut off suddenly. To imitate natural laughter, allow your tee-hees to dwindle until you feel the moment is right to stop.^{[9]XResearch source}^{[10]XResearch source}
- Observe the expressions of those around you. When you notice the upward-pointing "laugh lines" softening back to a more neutral expression, you should begin wrapping up your laughter.

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Using Your Mind to Fake Laugh Naturally

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If you're already in a good mood, it'll be easier for you to shift gears into laughing mode. Start your day browsing some webcomics you find humorous, or maybe turn on the stand-up comedy special that always tickles your funny bone to get yourself ready to laugh throughout the day.^{[11]XExpert SourceBen Whitehair
Acting CoachExpert Interview. 3 June 2021.}^{[12]XResearch source}
Smiling has many positive health benefits, like raising attractiveness, boosting your immune system, and lowering blood pressure. But more importantly, smiling can give your mood a boost, which can help you transition from a small grin to a chortle of amusement.^{[13]XResearch source}
This is the main reason why laugh tracks have been used in sitcoms and other comedic television shows - the sound of laughter is contagious.^{[14]XResearch source} Listen carefully to the laughter of those around you, and see if you can catch the chuckle-bug.
Laughs occur predictable throughout language. Though there are exceptions, generally laughter occurs at the end of phrases or during pauses in speech. To give your fake laughter the best chance of passing as real, you'll want to "punctuate" your speech with it, instead of choosing a time to laugh randomly.^{[15]XResearch source}
5
Keep a mental laugh bank. There are some images that, no matter how frequently you see them, still strike you as hilarious. Or maybe there's a joke that gets you laughing no matter how many times you hear it. Keep these in your mental "laugh bank" for use when you need to fake a laugh.^{[16]XExpert SourceBen Whitehair
Acting CoachExpert Interview. 3 June 2021.}
- Funny events from your personal life, like the antics of a comedic aunt or cousin at a family party, can serve well as laugh bank material.

Part 3

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Substituting for Fake Laughter

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This doesn't simply include somber events, like funerals and passport photos, but also higher-risk situations, like job interviews. If your interviewer cracks a joke and you don't find it funny, he may detect insincerity in your fake laughter, and it could affect your chances of getting the job.
2
Give a polite smile in place of a laugh. This is an obvious way you can show your social support to your conversation partner without coming across as dishonest. Grin, nod, and offer other positive social cues, like saying:^{[17]XResearch source}
- "I wish I had thought of that one!"
- "I've never heard that one before. Where'd you hear it?"
3
Crack a joke in response. When a joke is made that falls flat, you might pick it up by putting a twist on it or by making a joke of your own. Humor is a social tool that we use to express shared values and joys, and by cracking a joke of your own, you can show your social support. An example of this might look like:
- Boss: What do you call a cow with no legs? (followed by silence)
- You: Hungry?
4
Offer a reasonable excuse. There are many reasons you might not find a joke funny. For example, you may have heard the exact same joke a few days earlier, ruining the punchline for you. Some other excuses you could offer:
- "Sure I thought it was funny. I was just laughing on the inside."
- "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you - what did you say?"

Expert Q&A

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How can I improve my fake laugh while I'm acting?
Ben Whitehair
Acting Coach
Ben Whitehair is a Social Media Expert and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of TSMA Consulting. With over a decade of experience in the social media space, he specializes in leveraging social media for business and building relationships. He also focuses on social media’s impact on the entertainment industry. Ben graduated summa cum laude from The University of Colorado at Boulder with BAs in Theatre and Political Science as well as a Leadership Certificate. In addition to his work as CIO, Ben is a certified business and mindset coach and National Board Member of SAG-AFTRA. He is also a successful entrepreneur as the Co-Founder of Working.Actor, the premier business academy and coaching community for actors.
Ben Whitehair
Acting Coach
Expert Answer
Try to make a genuine connection with the person you're acting with and practice a lot to help make it sound more natural.
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Tips

Fake laughing isn't necessarily a bad thing. It is a kind of social communication that sends signals to your conversation partner, indicating things like politeness and embarrassment.^{[18]XResearch source}
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When faking laughter, always smile. Smiling is considered to be an important part of the laughter process.
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Try to fake laugh by yourself at home and record your voice, then listen. If it sounds fake to you, it probably does to other people.
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Warnings

Faking laughter too often might lead people to question whether or not you can be trusted to be honest. Fake laugh at your own risk.
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If your own laughter sounds fake to even you, there's a good chance it sounds fake to other people. Remember, people are unconsciously quite sensitive to fake laughs, and quite good at detecting fake laughs.
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