[Eddie Winslow]

In this post I mentioned that vibe and functional humor are topics that are rarely discussed, but are massively powerful tools for getting laid and getting ahead in life. Of all the techniques I use to connect with people, my funny voice impressions are by far my most valuable.

I call voice impressions a subset of "functional humor" because they serve several purposes while socializing:

-They immediately make the conversation fun and non-serious

-You can get away with saying things in character that you couldn't say as yourself, and have plausible deniability if you cross the line (super important if you are white guy in 2016)

-They always get laughs - it's hilarious and takes less creativity than you think

-It displays massive confidence

-It allows me to test people's boundaries, learn more about their personality and beliefs, and feel them out so I can effortlessly match their energy when I am out of character

A non-exhaustive list of my favorite characters:

Flamboyant Gay Man*
Basic White Girl*
Uptight White Guy
Unreasonably Hostile Black Guy
Soulful Black Woman
Horny R&B Singer*
Not-Quite Bilingual Mexican Guy
Slightly Retarded Teenager
and my personal favorite...
Overconfident College Freshman Virgin Stoner Bro

*These are my bread and butter when talking to girls

Note: If you speak English and have any type of non-American accent, learn how to do an impression of an American guy/girl today. This is an absolute lay-up and GUARANTEED crowdpleaser if you are speaking with Americans. It doesn't even need to be good. I'm jealous that I physically cannot do this one.

Another thing that is great about developing characters is that nothing is canned. These aren't jokes. There are no lines to memorize - it all flows natural.

I'd love to hear about some of the characters that others use. Also, if you have any questions about how to use characters or functional humor, let me know. I can confidently say I am very, very good at this stuff.

More to come.

[General Stalin]

To me this is sort of "no brainer" stuff but certainly a topic that is not often talked about. I do a lot of impressions/accents/mimicking/mocking and it definitely helps create a funny light-hearted vibe, and is sorr of an easy goto for getting people laughing and beinging some humor into the game without having to be particularly witty, sharp, or good with off-the-cuff jokes. I'm originally from North East MA so one the "crowd favorites" is me putting on a Boston accent (I don't have one but I can put one on for fun). Girls eat it up when I talk like some stereotypical loud-mouth low-class townie from Southie.

Also yes, mimicking a basic bitch and lispy gay man are slam dunks I concur.