The Psychology of a Nervous Laughter

Laughing is not bad.

Laughing too much is bad.

And we often laugh too much when we are nervous.

During moments of nervous laughter, we can’t help but giggle.

Although this movement may seem small, it isn’t.

Laughing too much:

-Distracts others.

-Waters down the power of your message.

-And hurts your confidence.

So why are you so nervous?

That’s the question of the day.

If we want to melt away the nervous laughter, or what I call the “incessant giggle”…

We need to get to the root cause of it all.

The root cause of why the giggle has been amplified.

Different Manifestations of Social Anxiety

Our body is a tangible expression of our emotions.

That’s why body language is so important in terms of communication.

When our internal world is full of chaos, aka social anxiety, sadness, anger…

Our body follows suit.

Different people show discomfort in different ways.

Some people touch their bodies a lot.

Like their arms or their neck.

Others get dancing eyes.

Which is when their eyes go from one target to the next.

And other humans get excessive laughter.

The internal nerves want to be expressed in one-way shape or form.

And depending on the intensity of the discomfort, the nerves can be expressed in more than just one way.

So don’t be surprised if you are laughing excessively, touching your arms a lot WHILE darting your eyes.

All in all, disruptive body language is a representation of your social anxiety.

Understanding the Nervous Laughter on a Deeper Level

The nervous laughter is a different version of the uncomfortable body language movements.

‘Why do you say that?

Because there is sound involved.

For rolling your eyes, no sound is involved.

For shuffling between touching your neck & arms, minimal to no sound is involved.

But for nervous laughter?

Sound is involved.

‘Why does this exactly matter?’

It matters because subconsciously, you are still keeping yourself IN the conversation.

You are not fully taking yourself out of the limelight.

This is an important concept to internalize if you want to understand the psychology of the nervous laughter.

‘Can you guide me thru what you’retrying to say?’

Yes.

You are stuck in a bridge.

-A part of you wants to be involved in the conversation.

-The other part of you wants to leave the conversation.

And being stuck between the 2 is causing the nervous laughter.

You are subconsciously creating vibrations of some sort to showcase interest in the interaction.

A part of you feels that if you don’t say ANYTHING, then that would be a sinister crime.

That would show a level of disinterest that plummets your likability.

And your likeability is precious to you.

Which is why you keep laughing and laughing and laughing…

Is the Silence Really that Bad?

So we are starting to understand a bit more about the nervous laughter.

It is caused because we feel stuck.

Imagine a light switch.

It can either be ON or OFF, right?

‘Right.’

But it cannot be ON and OFF, right?

‘That’s correct.’

Well, that’s what we need to realize with communication.

Unfortunately, electricity principles do not cleanly follow communication.

Because in terms of the light switch example…

If you leave the switch in the MIDDLE ground territory, then the light will simply be OFF.

But in the communications world, if you try to communicate in the middle ground territory, there is rarely silence.

Rather there is:

• Talking too fast.
• Talking too much.
• Nervous laughter.

All because we have vilified the silence.

But is the silence so bad?

No!

The silence is a socially savvy move.

A move that we do with our closest friends & family members.

Are you always talking when you’re chilling with people who you are super close with?

‘Not really. I can be quiet around them.’

And is it weird?

‘Nah, not at all.’

Exactly!

If we stop vilifying the silence, then we will do wonders for our confidence.

But more importantly, our nervous laugh will slowly begin melting away.

How to Rewire the Psychology of Nervous Laughing

You see, my friend…

Conversations are like a light switch.

Either be ON or OFF.

But don’t try to be ON and OFF.

What that means is:

1. Talk when you want to.

2. Don’t talk when you don’t want to.

Avoid middle ground territory.

This simple & easy to apply philosophy will work WONDERS for your social skills.

Mainly because now you will know how to actively listen.

And when you speak, you will speak with conviction.

During those times when you are silent?

Embrace it.

Feel the sensations of the silence.

Understand the natural aspect of silence in terms of communication skills.

Just like your phone is not always on.

The conversation does not always have to be on.

Artists are extremely intelligent in knowing when to apply blank spaces or lack of color to add dimension to their art.

Even the artist embraces the silence in their content.

When you embrace the silence, do so with swag.

Do a little smirk.

Slow your breathing down.

And if the other person was talking, gently nod your head to encourage the speaker to speak more.

All in all, in order to tackle the psychology of the nervous laughter, you need to rewire your perception of the silence.

Speaking with Steady Confidence

Where are you reading this blog right now?

Analyze your environment.

Is the room completely filled?

Or is there a lot of empty space?

I am assuming there is more space than objects.

The objects are able to be perceived because there is space in the first place.

If there was no space, then you wouldn’t any objects.

Likewise, in terms of communication, we need to keep the same mindset.

If we never had silences, then others would never be able to grasp a significant point we made.

We would not stick out.

This is why nervous laughing needs to be melted away.

Social skills is more rewarding when you are laughing because something is actually funny.

Not because you have to.

It was an illusion all along bud.

You never needed to laugh because you had to.

That was a perception you created due to vilifying silence.

But don’t.

Silence is your friend.

It adds structure to the conversation.

Embrace it & you will start moving with the steady confidence that lights up the eyes of others.

If you want more practical communication insights, subscribe to my free daily newsletter.

– ArmaniTalks