I like how you pivoted that from being about worrying that i'm not funny to something that i can do, which is be more generous and laugh more. So it's definitely something that gives me a sense of agency and feels like something very real that I can do. If you were to capture the best communication advice you have ever received as a five to seven word presentation slide title, what would it be? I would say, know your content, audience and space in between.
Humor does more than just make people laugh. It allows you to connect with your audience, diffuse tension, elevate status, and compel others to your point of view. Humor can also help you and your message stand out, yet most of us hesitate to use humor, especially in our professional lives.
In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart, Matt Abrahams speaks with Stanford GSB Professor Jennifer Aaker and Lecturer Naomi Bagdonas about when and how humor operates in the work place. “Many believe that humor simply has no place amidst serious work,” Professor Aaker says. “Yet showing your sense of humor can make your peers and your friends attribute more perceptions of confidence and status to us while also cultivating a sense of trust.”
Aaker and Bagdonas are are the authors of Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life, which comes out in October of this year.
Connect: