when there is a chain of jokes in a group of people i have trouble adding to the conversation because im laughing and i cant think of anything to say. only thing i can think about it what they just said.
are there ways to help me improve my improvisation skills to empty my mind of the laughter and the joke so i can extend the conversation? are people born with ease to keep the conversation going?
thanks for any advice

maybe you could join one of those improv classes?
I've always been pretty witty so if i werent, I think i'd do that!

Definitely learned. Its like asking whether Jazz musicians come out already knowing how to improvise.

yeah, sure bro, everyone around you that you know, who is funny/witty, has had to learn it. You can't be serious.

I know that by watching lots of stand up comedy I was able to get better at improv. The main thing is to feel relaxed and say what you feel without analysing it in your head.

you don't always learn wittiness by conscious effort. you also learn by being brought up by witty people, going to school with witty people, sharing work space with witty people, watching witty people on TV. it's a process of calibration. it's absurd to think that a baby coming into the world has ANY idea of how social interactions take place.

formal and informal learning (schools, universities, friends teaching you how to play guitar, parents teaching you how to say "dada") are only accelerations of naturally occurring processes that we do without even thinking about it.

you don't always learn wittiness by conscious effort. you also learn by being brought up by witty people, going to school with witty people, sharing work space with witty people, watching witty people on TV. it's a process of calibration. it's absurd to think that a baby coming into the world has ANY idea of how social interactions take place.

formal and informal learning (schools, universities, friends teaching you how to play guitar, parents teaching you how to say "dada") are only accelerations of naturally occurring processes that we do without even thinking about it.

ok, thanks. ill put this to some good use