A good server reads the table before talking. A good friend reads the room before joking.

Reading first is a small act of respect. The same joke lands or wounds depending on what was happening ten seconds before you said it, and the only way to know is to look. People who are funny in a way others enjoy are paying close attention; the rest are performing regardless of the audience.

Leave two seconds before you say the funny thing, and check who is in the room. Someone having a bad day, someone who is the subject of it, someone who does not know you well yet. The joke you held back is never the one you regret.