Keep the people who still laugh at your worst jokes. Easy audiences are rare and they’re on your side.

An easy audience is not a lack of taste but a decision about you. Laughing at something that was not funny means somebody chose to be on your side before the joke even landed, and that choice does more work than the joke. It also makes you willing to try, which is where everything you say starts.

Notice who in your life laughs first, since this is the kindness people take for granted. Then run it the other way: laugh at somebody’s bad joke on purpose this week. It costs nothing and tells them they are allowed to keep talking.