speak humor, be humorous

Chapter 18 Humor in work and career (1)
Language is a tool of communication, and humor is a "magic wand" that makes language flourish.No matter what occupation you are engaged in, whether you are a newcomer or a skilled worker, and regardless of your position, humor can help you communicate and communicate with others smoothly, help you quickly and effectively establish a harmonious relationship with others, and help you You solve problems at work and ride out difficult times.

sell yourself with humor
Modern people know how to sell themselves. Although the level of ability is an important determinant, clever sales methods are often the key to success.Some people are quite talented, but they just don't make a good impression.And some people add humorous ingredients in the process of self-promotion, and they get twice the result with half the effort.

There is such a little story:

There is a college graduate in the United States who is eager to find a job.One day, he ran to a newspaper office to recommend himself.He approached a manager and asked, "Do you need a good editor?" "No!" "What about reporters?" "No, we don't have any openings right now!"

"Then, you must need this thing." The college student took out a delicate signboard, which said: "We will not be employed when the quota is full."

The manager felt that the young man in front of him was very interesting, so he immediately called to report the matter to the boss, and then he said to the college student with a smile: "If you like, please come to work in our advertising distribution department."

Using humor to sell himself, the young man finally broke the deadlock and found a job.Later, he became an excellent manager of that newspaper, increasing the daily sales of the newspaper from about 5 to more than 30.

This little story reveals a big truth: learning to sell yourself is not an empty preaching.The process of selling yourself is actually a process of fully displaying your humor, talent, learning, character, and wisdom.This cannot be dealt with temporarily.

Sometimes, using humor in the interview process can make the finishing point.

When a recent college graduate applies for a job position, he takes a test.Among them is such a test question - what does "cryogenics" mean.He paused to think hard.Finally, the college student wrote down his answer: "This word means I'd better look for a job elsewhere." As a result, he was hired.

If you want to stand out from the crowd of competitors, creative thinking and humor are essential conditions, and just the right humor can often make candidates recognized.Creativity, combined with the power of humor, can make us more resilient to things.We can use creative ways to achieve a purpose, use it to find answers, sometimes to find by fantasy, in the brain to imagine: "If I do this, what will happen?" In the United States, there are many Job seekers use humor and wit to succeed.

The US Central Intelligence Agency needs a senior agent, and after layers of strict screening, two men and one woman are left.They will face the final assessment.

The chief examiner brought the No.1 man to an iron gate, handed him a gun, and said: "We must be sure that you can obey orders under any circumstances. Your wife is sitting inside, go in and kill him with this gun." She." The man asked with horror on his face, "You're not serious, are you? How could I kill my wife!" So he lost the election.

Then came the No.2 man. After the examiner gave him the same task, he was surprised at first, but he still took the gun and entered the door.

Five minutes passed without any movement, and then the door opened, and the man came out with tears all over his face, and said to the examiner: "I want to do it, but I can't pull the trigger." Naturally, he also lost the election.

Finally it was the woman's turn.

When she was told that her husband was sitting inside and she had to kill him, the woman took the gun without hesitation and walked through the door.Before the door was closed, gunshots were heard.

Thirteen consecutive shots were fired, followed by screams and the clashing of chairs.

After a few minutes, everything was calm again.

At this time, the door opened, and the woman came out, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and said to the examiner angrily: "You guys, didn't you tell me that the guns were filled with empty ammunition, so I had to use a chair Beat him to death."

No matter what kind of unexpected interview we face, as long as we are brave and calm, divert the topic with witty and humorous answers, and keep the witty words alive, we can succeed.In a word, self-promotion should be bold and self-selection should be humorous.

Humor can bring you closer to your boss
For many employees, the biggest distress is that they work hard but are not appreciated by their bosses.To gain the appreciation of your boss, you must take the initiative to close the distance with your boss. It cannot be denied that to eliminate the sense of distance with your boss, you must first do your job well, or even do it perfectly, and you cannot let your boss think you are a useless employee.However, if you only know how to work hard, you may not be appreciated by your boss.Coleman, an American human resource management expert, said: "Whether an employee can be promoted depends largely not on whether he works hard, but on how much the boss appreciates you." So, how can you stand out?
For those who are troubled by the above problems or those who want to make a difference, you can try to change seriousness into humorous communication in front of the leader, and the effect may be unexpected.

A young man was looking for a job, and he came to McDonald's for an interview.The boss asked him what he would do, and he said I can't do anything, but I can sing.

The boss said you can try singing a song, so he started to sing: "McDonald's has more choices and more laughter!"

The boss was happy when he heard it, and then asked him some questions about what he knew about McDonald's. Finally, he was successfully hired.

In the above example, the job seeker used the power of humor in the interview. He first uttered the slogan of McDonald's in a singing way, which made the boss smile and at the same time gained the favor of the boss.

Most bosses are well-educated people. If you want to get closer to your boss, you have to work harder on language.In general, humorous language should work well.

Clerk: "Manager, you really love to work!"

Manager: "I'm trying to figure out what that means."

Clerk: "Because you've been keeping an eye on us to see if we're working."

By joking with the manager, the employee inadvertently draws closer to the manager, not to mention the manager is also a humorous person.Be careful when joking with your boss.It's always best to keep an eye out for opportunities to have some witty one-liners face-to-face with your boss.For example, two people side by side are waiting for the elevator or washing their hands.In addition, humorously "offending" your boss is also a good way to bring the two parties closer.

Coolidge, the silent and strict President of the United States, was once "offended" by humorous means.Once he went to see a play at the National Theater in Washington.Halfway through, he began to doze off.The actor Mark stopped singing, walked to the front row, and shouted at the president: "Mr. President, is it time for you to sleep?" The president opened his eyes, looked around, and realized that the words were directed at himself.He stood up and said with a smile, "No, because I knew I was going to see your performance today, so I didn't sleep well all night. Please continue singing!"

This humorous dialogue showcases both the actors' outspoken humor and President Coolidge's tact and sense of humor.The actor did not offend the president, on the contrary, he became a good friend of the president.It can be seen from this that the humor of the following offenders is used in a timely and appropriate manner, which can often shorten the distance with the boss and win the understanding and trust of the boss.

When you are too tired at work, you will inevitably be lazy. What should you do if your boss sees you at this time?

There was a construction site where workers were moving things, a little at a time.The foreman had to speak.

Foreman: "What are you doing? Look at other people moving such heavy things every time!"

Worker: "Well, if they are too lazy to move as many times as I do, I can't help them."

Humorous answer, the foreman was also amused.

The worker justifies his laziness in a humorous tone. Even if the boss criticizes him, he will be more accommodating and the punishment will be lighter.If you have a lot of experience in pretending to be crazy and acting stupid, then you might as well tell him the following in a nonchalant manner in front of your boss who complains about you: "Fortunately, I'm already married." Of course, your boss can't understand you. The meaning of a sentence must be a blank look.At this time, you can say to yourself quietly as if talking to yourself: "That's why I am used to others nagging me now..."

Humor can really bring you closer to your boss here.However, nothing in life is absolute, and the same is true for the distance from the boss. This distance should not be too far or too close.If a person does not do a good job seriously, and spends all day around his boss, he only knows how to say good things and empty words, and deliberately closes the relationship with his boss; It is not advisable to pull and pull, you only move, and alienate the boss virtually, so you must grasp the skill of approaching the boss with humor.

Humor can win the favor of colleagues

Colleagues like to talk to you about their concerns, such as relationship, career, and family issues. They think you are very considerate of others and are the best listener.Not only do you really listen patiently to what others have to say, but if you have the skills to help a colleague out of trouble, you are eager to do your best.Appropriate comfort will be given even if things are not within their capabilities.If so, who would not want to be friends with you?In addition to these, if you have your own characteristics, it would be great if you can develop your own unique way of humor.My own unique way of humor is exclusive to me, and no one can learn it, so it will be more powerful.

Once when the salary was paid, Xiao Li's salary card didn't contain a penny.But he didn't fly into a rage, nor did he curse.He just asked the person in the salary department, "What's the matter? Could it be that my salary has been deducted for a whole month?" Of course, Xiao Li got a replacement salary.

Xiao Li takes a tolerant attitude towards colleagues' occasional mistakes, instead of taking it as a big deal, criticizing and abusing colleagues for their stupidity.He shared the happy fruits with his colleagues in a humorous way.And that's exactly what unmoved, unflappable humor is supposed to do.

We are less likely to inspire others with our own humor if we do not appreciate the benefits of others' humor for us.In order to show that we value the good that others bring, we should maintain an optimistic attitude at all times and enjoy ourselves with others.

A man jokingly said to his female colleague who was about to get married: "You are so far away. The company has such an excellent talent as me, and you didn't even realize it!" The female colleague smiled happily.

For the humor of the man above, the female colleague not only did not feel disgusted, but was grateful for his friendship and appreciation.The joyful atmosphere is rippling among colleagues, what a precious friendship this is.

The editors and writers of newspapers and publishing houses are a kind of cooperative relationship. If there is timely humor during the cooperation, the work of both parties will progress more smoothly.

American writer Jack London promised to write a novel to a publishing house in New York, but failed to deliver the manuscript.

After repeated urging by the editor of the publishing house to no avail, he made an ultimatum call to the hotel where Jack London was staying:

"Dear Jack London: If I don't get the novel within 24 hours, I'm going to come up to your house, punch you on the nose, and kick you downstairs. I've never been Keeping promises."

Jack London replied:
"Dear Dick: If I can use my hands and feet to write a book, I will surely fulfill my promise and deliver the book to you on time."

The banter between editor and writer illustrates their close working relationship.And the writer's excuse for not being able to deliver the manuscript is even more ingenious.

The editor of a magazine received a letter: "Dear editor: I hope to reach a tacit agreement with you. If you publish my manuscript, you will get half of the manuscript fee. I hope to get your approval."

The editor wrote back and said: "Your opinion is very good. I hope that the money will be paid by you, five yuan per line. When you send the manuscript and money, I will publish it in the advertisement column."

Because the cooperative relationship is not the relationship between the leader and the led, things should be dealt with on an equal footing, and mutual opinions should be raised. Expressing different opinions should also be polite and tactful, so as not to hurt harmony.It is a smarter way to express in humorous language.

The singer Zeno Patilla gave a solo concert, and the piano accompanist played so hard on his own that the sound of the piano often drowned out the singing.Although Padilla hinted to him several times, he ignored it completely.

After the concert, Patilla shook hands with her partner, the pianist, and said modestly: "Sir, today I am honored to participate in your piano recital."

The singer expressed his dissatisfaction with his partner with humorous language, and took care of the other party's face, which is a clever and decent way to resolve conflicts.

Humor can win cooperation with clients

Generally speaking, customers will take an indifferent attitude towards the salesman who breaks in suddenly. Few people will say that you came just in time, like timely rain.

Once, a novice salesman complained to an old salesman: "I can't do this job. Everywhere I go, I am insulted."

"Really? That's too bad," said the old salesman sympathetically. "I've never felt that way. I've been traveling all over the years, and I've had samples thrown out the window, and I've been Getting pushed out. But I guess I'm lucky I've never been insulted."

The old salesman explained to us what kind of humorous attitude a salesman should have with his personal experience.American Herbert Trow mentioned such a vivid case in his book "The Power of Humor".

An experienced old salesman took a trainee salesman who was completely unfamiliar with the business and flustered to sell cash registers.This senior doesn't look handsome: short, round and fat, with a red face, but there is a kind of humorous vitality in his speech and demeanor.

They came to a small shop, and the boss shouted to them: "We don't need a cash register!" At this time, the old salesman leaned on the counter and laughed, as if he had just heard the funniest story in the world. .The boss looked at him inexplicably.

After laughing for a while, the old salesman straightened up, smiled and apologized and said: "I can't help laughing, you remind me of the owner of another store. He also said he was not interested in this, but then he became our best friend." one of my customers."

Then the old salesman introduced his products with relish.Whenever the boss expressed no interest in it, he buried his head in his arms and giggled.Then he looked up again and told another story, again about someone who bought a new cash register after expressing no interest.

Everyone was looking at the two salesmen.The trainee salesman was so embarrassed that he wanted to turn around and run away, thinking: "They will think we are a couple of fools and throw us out." But the old salesman continued to laugh and put his head in the in his arms, then looked up again, turning every rejection from his boss into a humorous reminiscence of the past.

Finally, to the astonishment of the young salesman, the boss agreed to buy a new cash register after a while.Later, the experience had a magical effect on the young salesman.Whenever he encountered difficult things, he would think of the old salesman, his chubby figure and smiling face appeared in front of his eyes again, and the happy and meaningful laughter sounded in his ears , so he has the humorous power to deal with work.

Humor can create laughter between you and your customers, making customers accept your products in laughter.If you're dealing with critical customers, humor is the most effective tool.

At a car show, a young couple complained about the price of a car.

"That's almost the price of a big truck," the wife complained.

"Of course, if you like big cars, I can sell you two large tractors for the same price."

Faced with the customer's complaints, the salesman used humor to express that the small car he was selling was worth the money. While making the customer laugh, it was easier to get the customer's approval.

After telling so many stories, how to use the powerful weapon of humor to win cooperation opportunities with customers?Here are a few suggestions:
Try to figure out what type and style the client is before opening your mouth.The wrong humor can hurt you as much as the right humor can help you.

Cleverly inserted humorous conversation will make customers like you.But a word of warning: it is never appropriate to use political, racial or religious humor with someone you don't know well.

You can also tell a personal story instead of making up some nonsensical humorous story.For example, funny things about you in the office, at home, or when your children were young.You can also record humorous stories so that the next time you talk to a client, you can quickly remember about the last conversation.

(End of this chapter)