Tips for Using Humor in Business, part 3

I'm currently touring theatres with another comedian Kent Rader in the Baby Boomer Comedy Show, and at the end of the show we open up to questions. Hey you're not going to get to ask Leno or Seinfeld questions about comedy, but you can ask us. And one of the biggest questions we get is "what's your worst show." They don’t ask our best show, they ask our worst. And after almost every show we also get people coming up to us saying "I'm funny, I should be a comedian." The main reason they don't do it. . . they're afraid of bombing.

This week I'm talking about guidelines for using humor in business, and today's tip . . . please stop worrying about bombing. First of all in business, most people won't get mad at you if you toss in some humor. They're just appreciative that you're trying to lighten up the situation. They get mad if you're a comedian in a comedy club and you bomb, but not in business. No one cares. AND if you keep thinking about bombing, you WILL mess up the joke. Instead pay attention to the humor itself, and as long as it's not offensive, if you think it's funny, and it makes you laugh, then you'll sell it when you say it. A lot of comedians have jokes that aren't funny when they're written out . . .but they sell it on stage and people laugh. Stop worrying about bombing. And just enjoy using humor.

And check out my friend Kent Rader's flash briefing titled Laughter Matters.

That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.