If you tell a joke and nobody laughs, this is where it gets really awkward because most people immediately start laughing at their own joke or explaining the punchline. That is a fatal mistake because the moment you start chasing a reaction, you show everyone that you're starving for their approval. Here is a dark psychology trick to own the moment. Don't laugh. Don't explain. Let the dead silence sit there for exactly 2 seconds. Now slowly look around the room with a calm disappointed face