Finding The Funny Fast
How to Create Quick Humor to Connect with Clients, Coworkers and Crowds
By: Jan McInnis
Published: June 15, 2009
Format: Paperback, 126 pages
ISBN-10: 0984099905
Publisher: Cubicle Comedy
"Don't wait for permission from others to use humor. Anyone can add humor to their presentations", writes comedian and consultant Jan McInnis in her entertaining and enlightening book Finding The Funny Fast: How to Create Quick Humor to Connect with Clients, Coworkers and Crowds. The author describes how adding humor to a presentation or marketing letter can make it not only more memorable, but also much more effective in boosting sales.
Jan McInnis didn't start out in life to become a professional comedian, but she soon came to understand the power of humor for building connections. Since people need to build connections, and business people must build relationships prior to any sales transaction, humor is a fast method of breaking down barriers. Humor adds power to speeches, by putting the audience at ease and by discovering common ground, resulting in a more receptive audience for the speaker's message.In sales letters, a bit of humor can help establish a more personal connection, while helping the message stand out from the rest of the marketing noise. The author demonstrates clearly, why humor works, and why it should become a key component of any business relationship.
Jan McInnis (photo left) was not considered a funny person for most of her life, and when she began to add humor to her presentations, she realized that anyone can be funny. The author demonstrates how topical humor, based on the interests and foibles of the audience including the company itself, can help build rapport with the audience. At the same time, the ability of the audience to share in the joke, helps to build teams within the business as a whole. Humor also can help to defuse conflicts within an organization, making an understanding of how to create humor fast, a critical management and leadership skill. When the value of humor is added to a company culture, its use in the appropriate places, can help get a point across to co-workers and staff, while helping make the information and ideas enjoyable and memorable for all concerned.
For me, the power of the book is the simple premise, that anyone at any time can create and present humor. The understanding that being funny is not some innate gift or talent, but something anyone can do, is one of the crucial discoveries in the book. Jan McInnis stresses well the power of humor, both as a presentation and marketing took, and also as a management and leadership skill. The book contains many great tips for uncovering the hidden humor, in almost any situation. Whether the comedy can be found in the every day absurdities of corporate life, or in solving staff and personnel problems, humor builds common ground from which to build lasting solutions. Adding a dash of laughter to sales and marketing letters and materials makes them more likely to be read and remembered, while developing a connection with the reader.
I highly recommend the light hearted, yet highly practical book Finding The Funny Fast: How to Create Quick Humor to Connect with Clients, Coworkers and Crowds by Jan McInnis, to anyone seeking to build a deeper and more lasting relationship with customers, clients, an audience, colleagues, and staff. From using one liners to kick off otherwise boring meetings, to giving a keynote address to a major audience, the ability to a spice up the moment with a few laughs is a powerful ice breaker.
Read the fun and insightful book Finding The Funny Fast: How to Create Quick Humor to Connect with Clients, Coworkers and Crowds by Jan McInnis, and discover how you can be funny and effective in both management and marketing at work, and for adding a touch of fun to your entire life. Anyone can be funny, and any situation provides ample material for laughter. Become the life of the company, and at the same time, a star performer as well.
