We all mess up sometimes. Sometimes, it has funny results. However, when I tell people a funny time I messed up, or even when it’s not funny, I’m accused of being proud of it. Other times, they might try to console me or downplay it when I’m not even upset. This happens despite the nonverbal information I give, like laughing when it’s supposed to be funny or being serious when it’s not.
One example: I forgot owls were nocturnal & so I hit one when I was driving & it was in the middle of the road. I thought it would just fly away like a regular bird plus how often do you see an owl in the middle of the road. I was told the story was bad & that I shouldn’t be proud of doing something stupid.
I don’t understand why this happens. Does anyone have any tips?
2 comments
first rule of comedy is to know your audience. Learning what is appropriate for where is an important step to not telling awkward jokes.
You are likely laughing at things that people find upsetting/bad, which makes it seem like you don’t care enough about the harmful thing you did (like in the owl example)
They are consoling because they believe the thing you did is really bad and assume that you must feel bad about it, because what kind of psycho wouldn’t