Tips for Using Humor in Business, part 5

In his monologue, Jay Leno joked about every topic you can think of. But I once heard him say that there are really only 4 or 5 subjects in comedy . . . and he said he may be making political jokes, but if you listen closely, they're not so much political statements as they are jokes about politicians and sex.  

This week I'm talking about guidelines for using humor in business, and today's tip, don't worry if your topic is serious, you can find humor in every topic.  You may not be able to address the topic directly, but you CAN talk about things around the topic. Like Leno doing political jokes but they're really sex jokes. I once was the master of ceremonies for an event for a children's hospital fundraiser, and the speaker ahead of me talked about a premature baby and how small he was. Now I obviously can't make a crack about a premature baby. . . but I had to follow it with something, so I made a quick analogy . . . I said that to put that baby in perspective, the food on our plates tonight weighed more.  I made a weight joke and it was a nice seque into more humor. Find some things around your topic you CAN talk about, and use that. I actually heard a comedian do a tasteful joke about 911 by talking about the policies that were changing due to 911. It was well done, and though I would NEVER suggest that anyone touch that subject, it does prove my point. . there's humor in every topic.

If you want to see the topics I joke about, check out my website www.TheWorkLady.com

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