Can men learn to seduce with humour?

By Megan Lane
BBC News Online Magazine

The most effective weapon in a single man's arsenal is to make 'em laugh. That's the premise of a new workshop which aims to help men use humour as a flirting tool. But will it work?

"Tell me... did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

John Cleese. Woody Allen. Billy Crystal. Vic Reeves. Funny men, yes. Attractive men? Not on their physical merits alone. But can they pull chicks? You betcha.

It is no coincidence that these comics have a way with the ladies. Their fame and bulging, er, bank balances may have something to do with the attraction, but what it comes down to is something far more primal. These men make us laugh.

Even a cursory glance at the personal ads shows that the majority placed by women state that a good sense of humour - GSOH - is an important quality in a date.

Having long heard his smart, funny - and single - female friends bemoan men's feeble chat-up efforts, comedian Marc Blake has decided that the time is right to help his fellow bloke. From April, he is running a series of workshops for the comedy channel UKTV G2, which will teach men to woo with humour.

As a self-styled dating guru, does Blake himself have much success with women? "Well, I'm married, so yes, I guess so."

At a dummy run in front of journalists and a few nervous - but none-the-less eager - students, he tells the class that it is possible to laugh a woman into bed. "Of course, that is where you want the laughter to stop."

Sexist gags

Not that that means cracking gags non-stop, or doing endless Alan Partridge or Monty Python impressions, boys. And lame clichés such as "how do you like your eggs in the morning?" are definitely out.

Ladies, would you?

As if by way of proving this theory, Blake's patter includes a stream of questionable battle-of-the-sexes gags. We laugh politely at the predictable jokes, but groan in equal measure. None of the women present look ready to head to the bedroom just yet.

It gets more interesting when Blake moves on to how to adopt the skills of a stand-up comedian, instead of the lines. Because what laughter does is relax people, put them at ease, make them feel included. And what making people laugh does is make you feel confident, charming, happy and a bit of a risk-taker - all appealing qualities in the opposite sex.

He encourages the somewhat diffident lads in the front row to try out some come-ons in a mock gym. The lines are, for the most part, terrible, but he encourages them to be upbeat in their delivery - even in the face of rejection.

"Do you come here often?"

"I feel pretty good," says one of the guinea pigs after being shot down in flames. "It made a real difference being positive about the whole thing." Would it make him more likely to take such a risk for real? "Hmmm, maybe."

And so it continues with scenarios for the office, on holiday, while speed-dating. As a final exercise, we're asked to come up with a pick-up line to use at the supermarket. There are gags about cuts of prime meat and melons, as you'd expect, but most popular is the self-effacing - and so very British - "Does my failure to come up with a line using melons, cucumbers and sausages explain my single status?"

Well, it made me laugh. So whoever came up with that one, get your coat, love, you've pulled.