He Said What?!?!

What was he thinking?! Obviously, he wasn’t. Thinking, that is. Michael Richards, better known to the world as Kramer, took his funny and light-hearted image he’d established over his successful career with Seinfeld, and flushed it down the tubes. I can just picture him skidding into Jerry’s apartment, shaking like an electrically charged, over-caffeinated baffoon, uttering “Oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nooooooooooooooooo!”

 

“Oh no” is right. Whether you’re dealing with hecklers, irritable coworkers or cranky customers—insulting them is a bad idea. Comediennes anticipate that these things will happen, and they have comebacks that are so practiced that they can appear to be spontaneous—but few professional comics will leave those situations to chance.

 

There’s something you can learn from Michael Richards’ common sense infarct. We all have times when have to deal with hostility from others. A lot of times, if we’d thought about it, we could have anticipated these episodes.

 

And when those situations do arise, we have choices. In his book, The Light Touch, Malcolm Kushner suggests:

We can respond seriously to the complaint.

We can refuse to respond.

We can pretend to respond (picture the doctor that overwhelms the other person with medicalese or the lawyer that responds with legalese).

We can respond with humor.

 

All of these choices, mind you, are appropriate choices at one time or other. But not every one of them will fit every occasion every time. You have to use good judgment (which apparently some people lack).

 

When responding with humor, the idea is not to derail the other person so you can totally avoid the conflict. You want to unbalance the other person, even momentarily, so that you give yourself a moment to think, regroup, and then respond in the best possible manner to the situation at hand.

 

Take for instance the waiter who has forgotten your request for water. Twice. When you ask him a third time, an appropriate response for the waiter might be, “I’m sorry. My memory is really very good. It’s just very short.” (pause). “I’ll be right back with your drink.”

 

The waiter addressed the concern; used a quick one-liner (doesn’t have to be fall-down-funny) that he has thought about ahead of time, and then responded to the need.

 

In one of my workshops, a manager said that an irritable customer once demanded: “How long have you worked here?”

His humorous response: He looked at his wristwatch, smiling, and asked, “Well, let’s see… What time is it???”

The customer looked surprised and then smiled. From there, they were both able to move forward in a more positive frame of mind.

 

Anticipate and prepare. Comics do it. Politicians do it. And so should you.

 

Here’s your homework assignment:

Make a list of the hostile questions you might deal with at work.

Now come up with a list of humorous responses.

Force yourself to come up with at least 10.

The rationale? Because the first ones you come up with are going to be absolutely hysterical—and they’re probably going to get you in trouble! Flippant is funny—but in this case, you need to stretch further to find something that is funny but not offensive. It takes a little more work, but it’s worth it.

 

Use humor in your workplace proactively and you’re going to find that you have a lot more fun AND a lot more profit!

 

For more reading on this topic, check out the  following links,

 

Handling the hostile: Preparation smartest way to be ready for …
Jackson Clarion Ledger -
Jackson,MS,USA
… 17. “My conjecture is that there was another, totally unrelated issue that was distracting or distressing him,” says Karyn Buxman, who conducts humor and …Bond, environment, timing all make for a sure ‘BET’
Jackson Clarion Ledger - Jackson,MS,USA
… “There’s always someone who can be offended. A lot of times they bring their agendas with them,” says Karyn Buxman, president of HUMORx. …

Check out the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH)

Check out the upcoming annual convention for the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. It’s coming up February 16-18^th 2007 in Panama City Beach, FL. It’s the 20^th Anniversary for the organization and you don’t want to miss this one. 

Want to find what you’re looking for on the Internet AND donate to a good cause? Next time you’re about to Google, go instead to www.goodsearch.com There is a place on the page to note where you would like your contribution to go. Simply insert “AATH” or “humor” and each time you search, 1 cent will go to the organization, and it costs you nothing! It might not sound like much, but after time it does add up—and your efforts will contribute to future research and scholarships in the field of therapeutic humor—NO JOKE!!

When Humor is Part of The Corporate Culture

I had the chance to sit around the table with the most fun bunch of people yesterday. They weren’t humorists or comediennes—but they were funny as all get out—kind of like Seinfeld meets healthcare. And they love their work.

 

Moe Green, founder of Classic Care Pharmacy started his business 10 years ago with a handful of people. Today he has over 120 employees and services 125 long term care facilities. The corporate culture is fun, and his staff and his customers are raving fans.

 

While having lunch with two of the team (Judy and Girish) they told me they hate to miss even a day of work. “There’s something going on everyday, and most of the time it’s fun!” they said. Apparently the rest of the staff agrees with them. The camaraderie and team spirit is palpable when you walk in the office.

 

As far as retention goes, people who come on board tend to stay on board. “We don’t brag too loudly to others about how good we have it here,” teased a couple of gals following my after-dinner entertainment. “We don’t want a bunch of other people vying for our jobs!”

 

From chatting with Moe, two keys to Classic Care’s success became obvious. First, he’s a firm believer in empowering his people. “When issues come up, I let them make decisions. There’s rarely an issue that is life or death.” Engaging his employees in company matters helps them to feel ownership. Once a month he holds a “State of The Union” address where he collects all 125 people and gives them updates on what’s going on and gets their feedback. And all of the executive team have an open door policy.

 

Second, fun is part of the corporate culture and it begins with the interview process. Moe is looking to hire for attitude and if the interviewee isn’t comfortable with the joking and teasing that goes on with the interview committee, then it’s made clear that this is part of the culture. If he or she feels uncomfortable, then perhaps they would be better off working elsewhere—the company isn’t going to change its culture just because someone doesn’t want to play along. Throughout the year, employees spend time together at potlucks, bar-b-ques, sports and just hanging out. They are an extended family.

 

The weekly executive meetings usually include gales of laughter. “Sometimes staff will come over and close our door because we’re laughing so loud,” Moe admitted.

 

What’s the result of all this? It comes as no surprise that Classic Care Pharmacy Ottawa was just named one of The Top 10 Employers in the National Capital Region (based on engagement, leadership and over-all employee satisfaction). This award was not just for healthcare but for businesses across the province. And Classic Care continues to grow at an astounding rate: 30% in the last 10 months! 

 

When humor is part of the corporate culture, businesses can enjoy tremendous financial success—but that’s not all. George Burns once said, “Do something you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” It seems that Classic Care employees will never have to “work” again—and with clients as fun as Classic Care, neither will I!

Develop Humorous Stories

I just had the opportunity to listen to a real master in the speaking industry, Lou Heckler (http://www.louheckler.com). Addressing other professional speakers on the topic of humor, he gave 3 important tips on developing a humorous story:

1)      Reflection: What things have you seen or overheard that struck you as funny? Spend more time sitting and thinking about moments that have amused you.

2)      Misdirection: How can you take your listeners down the path with you to that moment of the unexpected and then let them experience the derailment?

3)      Connection: How will your audience relate to the experience? It will only be funny to them if they can personally identify with it.

Whether you’re a professional speaker, a CEO, a nurse, a volunteer—anyone can benefit from the ability to tell a funny story. It builds rapport, good will and a sense of camaraderie. (And of course, a sense of humor is one of the top qualities sought in a mate!)

Just yesterday my husband and I went to see a theatre production: Man 1, Bank 0, a one man show by Patrick Combs (http://www.man1bank0.com). His incredibly funny story draws audiences from coast to coast because it’s something almost all of us can relate to: wanting to see the underdog win in a battle with Corporate America (especially when it’s our bank!). His ability to take the obvious, misdirect the audience and then connect with them on a what-is-most-personal-is-most-universal level is what makes his story such a hysterical success.

Take Lou’s advice: reflect, misdirect and connect. And then drop me a line and tell me your story!  (Thanks, Lou!)