Be Jovial
but don’t be a Joker
Man is the only species that can smile. It is the gift
that is bestowed to make him popular and get his work done smoothly. It is said
“It takes 21 muscles to smile and 72 to frown”. So why waste energy frowning?
Smile and the world smiles with you and cry and you cry alone. One survey has
proved what we always knew –we all like comedy and comedy tickles our funny
bone. It does not come as big surprise to know that comedy movies and serials
are a big draw. Two of the most popular Telugu channels are Gemini Comedy and
ETV PLUS. Telugu films have the best comedians in the entire Indian film
industry.
Modern day Organizations can be very stressful and
taxing. Work is relentless and the pressure can be daunting. The best way to
deflect the tension is to use humour that will deflate and disarm people. Audrey
Hepburn the famous actress had a pencil thin frame. She was once confronted by
a lout (an uncouth individual with no manners or etiquette). “Audrey” said the
Lout “were you ever mistaken for a man?” Audrey drew herself to her full height
looked at the lout straight in the eye and said “No, were you?” The answer
stumped the lout into silence and humiliation. Such is the power of ready wit
and humour.
I started my career as a sales person. Most sales
people are very good at all the sales functions, like prospecting, meeting the customers
and getting a sale. But one thing all sales people hate is the daily drudgery of
filling up the DSR (Daily Sales Report). They inevitably delay it. Our Area Sales
Manager (ASM) has a poster which had a sad looking Chimpanzee sitting on a
toilet seat. The chimpanzee is looking very wistfully at the toilet paper. The
caption on the poster says it all “no work is complete until the paper work is
done”.
Our ASM was continuously badgered for credit from our
customers. So he has a new poster put up. The poster said “Our Credit Manager’s
name is Helen Wait, so if you want credit, go to hell and wait”. Most customers
found this poster extremely funny and rib-tickling!
Once I was delivering a lecture. One audience member
was trying to be as disagreeable as possible. This audience member would continuously
object whatever was said and try to disturb the flow. Sensing that things were
getting out of hand, I said “There are two types of people in this world, those
who do not agree with view point of fools and those who agree” Looking at the audience
member, I smiled and said “I belong to the second category, I agree with your
viewpoint” much to the delight of the entire audience.
Sometimes most of my students do not come up to my
expectations. I tell them. Big Ethel the plain looking girl from the Archie comics
had entered a beauty pageant as a contestant. The results came in and Big Ethel
was crestfallen. Looking at her haggard face, Veronica (her friend) says “What
happened?” Big Ethel “I got the second prize”. Veronica responds “WOW, that is
great news, you should be thrilled, why the long face?” Big Ethel grimaces “I
was the only contestant and they gave me the second prize” Even though the class
roars in laughter they get the message. Shape out or ship out.
I got into the class in the afternoon and say “Good
morning” There are snickers from the back and some say good morning and some
say good afternoon. Once Akbar tasted a very delicious brinjal curry. He is enamored
by the dish and says “Wow, brinjal is a great vegetable” Catching on Birbal
says “Yes Jahapanna, look at the colour, look at the texture and look at the
shape. Yes indeed Brinjal is the king of all vegetables”. Suitably impressed
Akbar makes Brinjal the official vegetable of the Mughal Empire and starts eating
it every day.
After some time Akbar gets bored with brinjal and says
“I had enough of this stupid vegetable” Birbal says “I agree Jahapanna, see the
colour, it is faded, it is not even symmetrical, it has too many seeds and it
is not even very tasty”. Akbar is surprised. He says “Birbal just a few days
ago you were singing peons of praise about brinjal. Why the sudden change of
heart?” Birbal is quick to respond “Oh great king, you are my emperor and not
Brinjal. I will mimic whatever you say!” I tell the students “If the recruiter
says good morning, wish him back the same way. The recruiter has the power. He
can make or mar your careers. It is better to agree with him”. And by the way
when we meet a person for the first time in a day, it is perfectly all right to
say “Good morning”.
Golden
rules of being Humorous
1. Be humorous but don’t be sarcastic: It always pays to be humorous. But being sarcastic
makes the receivers wary. Let the humour be clean and enjoyable.
2.
Take the joke on yourself: All of us like the circus buffoon. He lets everyone
take pot shots at him. Similarly we should let the joke be on us. It makes us
more human and people like a person who is modest, unassuming and is ready to
laugh at himself.
3. Don’t hurt people: For God’s sake, don’t hurt people. People have enormous memories and
they don’t forget insults. If the joke backfires, apologize immediately. It is
better to be safe than to be sorry. Don’t let the wounds fester.
4. Be careful:
It is no longer acceptable to joke about
people’s sizes, body shapes, gender, caste, creed, skin colour, language, physical
handicaps or joke about a particular
sect or a group of people.
5. No off colour jokes or insinuations: Off colour jokes with double meanings and innuendoes
are universally disliked. Apart from being disliked they might lead the person
into lot of trouble. People have lost jobs and spoiled their careers with this
type of behaviour. Any discomfort now a days can lead to a complaint of harassment.
And harassment at work place is viewed very seriously.
6. Take the seriousness out of a situation: By cracking a joke,
the seriousness is taken out of a stressful situation. But one should remember
that once the joke is cracked and others smile, it is better to go back to the
serious matter at hand. A series of jokes can make others very irritable. They had
assembled to discuss a topic and not to listen to a standup comedian peddle his
wares.
7. Laugh with people and not at people: This one is very important. Laugh with people and
don’t laugh at them. Be inclusive and make everyone be a part of the fun. Team
work always wins.
8. Don’t hog the limelight: be generous in
allowing others to crack jokes and appreciate somebody else who too is humorous.
Take the group along with you. Win along with others. Winning with a group is the
best elixir of work.
9. Be prepared to take the floor: A humorous person always takes the opportunities to
make the situation become light and enjoyable. So be prepared with an
assortment of humorous incidents. Our smartphones can help – store some delightful
anecdotes. You never know when they are needed!
10. Try to be original: In the modern world most of the jokes have already been circulated in
the social media. So try to bring in some original content. Original content is
always appreciated. Observe. There are so many new things to learn. Try to look
at the sunny side. It always pays to be agreeable. One of the most liked
columns in Readers Digest is “Humor in real life”. And that says it all.
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