Humor is key to making a good impression and can come in handy in a number of ways. You want to connect with someone new? Make them laugh. If you're hoping to impress a date? Make him or her laugh. Looking to get a raise from your boss? You get the point. And what's the simplest and smartest way to make someone laugh? Tell a joke.

If you're naturally funny, then quick wit and humorous story telling isn't much of a challenge for you. Congratulations. But if you find it sometimes difficult to make a comical remark, then it'd help to understand why a joke works and how it's put together by one the great comics of our time. The Nerdwriter sums it up nicely in this video below where he breaks down one of Louis CK's bits: "Like great poetry, a great joke is language distilled to its most potent form." Here's how to break it down.

The Anatomy of a Joke