If you’re the only one laughing at your joke, the room just told you something.

A room gives feedback whether you asked for it or not, and silence after a joke is a complete sentence. It is not a judgment on you as a whole, it is specific information about that line, in that group. The urge is to explain it or repeat it louder, which always makes the silence longer. Hearing it the first time is the cheaper option.

When it happens this week, let it pass without a rescue attempt. Move on, then notice what the joke needed: a different room, a different target, or nothing at all. Knowing which is a skill, and it comes from paying attention when something misses.