There is hardly any human activity that can’t be improved with a dash of humor: a major speech, a sales meeting, a social situation, an award presentation, a list of talking points, a training session, a meeting or dinner.
I’ve always thought it would be a good idea for performance reviews if we introduced the category, “Can person laugh at self?” In an organization where a little self-deprecation is encouraged, people are more likely to take risks.
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For many years, we’ve begun all of our sales meetings at Mackay Envelope Co. with our sales reps going around the table, one after the other, telling a joke or a story. It puts everyone at ease and helps us work better together. There are plenty of times to be serious, but we believe that keeping things light and comfortable encourages better teamwork.
I remember reading a quote in Forbes magazine from Dyan Machan, a career counselor and writer: “Researchers have found a connection between a well-developed sense of humor and problem solving. … Humorous people are usually wiser and have broader perspectives. And they are often better workers.”
In the same article, Machan refers to a survey that found 98 percent of 737 chief executives interviewed would hire a candidate with a good sense of humor over a humorless type.
I’m no different. When I’m interviewing candidates for a key position at Mackay Envelope Co., a sense of humor is high on the list of attributes I look for. Our employees spend a lot of time together. Let’s make it enjoyable.
As you can tell, I’m a firm believer in using humor – not necessarily jokes. A good sense of humor helps to overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerate the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected and outlast the unbearable.
When I’m giving a speech, I pride myself on giving audiences take-home value. However, to educate, I understand that I also have to entertain, and that means telling lots of humorous stories to prove a point – and to get audiences in the right frame of mind.
Few did this better than Abraham Lincoln, who became famous for his ability to use a humorous story or anecdote to make a point. To explain why he used stories so frequently, Lincoln said: “I believe I have the popular reputation of being a storyteller, but I do not deserve the name in its general sense, for it is not the story itself, but its purpose, or effect, that interests me.
“I often avoid a long and useless discussion by others or a laborious explanation on my own part by a short story that illustrates my point of view. So, too, the sharpness of a refusal or the edge of a rebuke may be blunted by an appropriate story, so as to save wounded feelings and yet serve the purpose. No, I am not simply a storyteller, but storytelling as an emollient saves me much friction and distress.”
Lincoln often used his robust sense of humor to minimize and subdue conflict.
Consider this story of how a police officer did likewise:
In “The Light Touch: How to Use Humor for Business Success,” Malcolm Kushner wrote about an officer investigating a routine domestic disturbance call between a husband and wife. As she was pulling up to the offenders’ house, a television set flew out a second-story window.
The officer heard loud voices as she walked to the front door and knocked.
“Who is it?” screamed an angry man.
The officer knew that if she said “Police,” it would make things worse, so instead she replied, “TV repairman.”
The man started laughing and opened the door. Cooler heads prevailed, and a favorable atmosphere had been established for resolving the dispute.
No one needs a cooler head than America’s commander in chief. As Harry Truman said: “If you don’t have a sense of humor, you’re in a hell of a fix when you are president of the United States.”
Mackay’s Moral: A person without a sense of humor is like a car without shock absorbers – jolted by every pothole in the road.
Harvey Mackay is author of The New York Times best seller “Pushing the Envelope.” He can be reached through his Web site: www.mackay.com; or Mackay Envelope Co., 2100 Elm St., Minneapolis, MN 55414.
