Humor enriches any conversation. But not jokes starting with, Hey didja
hear the one about...? Plan your humor and make it relevant. For
example, if youre going to a meeting on the buget, look up money in a
quotation book. In an uptight business situation, a little levity shows youre
at ease.
Once, during an oppressive financial meeting, I heard a top executive
say, Dont worry, this company has enough money to stay in business for
yearsunless we pay our creditors. He broke the tension and won the
appreciation of all. Later I saw a similar quote in a humor book attributed to
Jackie Mason, the comedian. So what? The exec still came across as a cool
communicator with his clever comment.
Big players who want to be quoted in the media lie awake at night
gnawing the pillow trying to come up with phrases the press will pick up. A
Michigan veterinarian named Timothy, a heavy hitter in his own field but
completely unknown outside it, made national headlines when he planned
to attach a pair of feet to a rooster who lost his to frostbite. Why? Because
he called it a drumstick transplant.
I dont know if a French woman, Jeanne Calment, then offcially the
worlds oldest person, was looking for publicity on her 122nd birthday. But
she made international headlines when she told the media, Ive only ever had
one wrinkle, and Im sitting on it.
Mark Victor Hansen, a big player in his own field but once reatively
unknown outside of it, was propelled into national promnence when he
came up with a catchy name for his book coauthored with Jack Canfield,
Chicken Soup for the Soul. He told me his original title was 101 Pretty
Stories. How far would that have gone? Soon the world was lapping up,
among others, his Chicken
How to Use Motivational Speakers Techniques to Enhance Your
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Soup for the Womans Soul, Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul,
Chicken Soup for the Mothers Soul, Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul,
plus second, third, and fourth servings of chicken soup in hardcover,
paperback, audiocassette, videocassette, and calendars.
A Word of Warning
No matter how good your material is, it bombs if it doesnt fit the
situation. I learned this the hard way during my cruise ship days. On a
cruise to England I decided to give my passengers a reading of the English
ooja
(Ooja)
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