comedian-speak

Something that's come up a few times in the last couple months: the language of comedians. Namely, that with some of the ones I'm friends with, I often can't tell if they're kidding around or not in casual conversation. I think it's usually when they say something that I just can't imagine could possibly be true, it just sounds silly or preposterous, and I'm used to them saying things that make me laugh. It's also taken me a while to figure out that what comedians say onstage is for the most part true. Like someone I know was talking about getting instage and after his set I was like "are you really engaged?" and he really was. I think it's because I joke around in a totally different way, at least, to my mind, it's very obvious, and it's cool but sometimes a little unnerving not to know when someone's kidding. Just interesting. It definitely does feel like another language or set of verbal cues sometimes, though I think we all have various verbal and nonverbal cues we use, probably often unconsciously. Yes, myself included. I think sometimes people think I'm just always bold and direct and to the point, and in my writing I usually can be, but I also get shy/nervous/uncertain, more often than it probably seems.