10.26.09
ShortCuts
This week’s Comedy Around The World takes a short-cut through the mountains of central Pennsylvania.
I drove to and from Happy Valley yesterday–location of Penn State University and the Nittany Lions. During my tenure as a graduate student at Penn State, it seemed there were always delays because of road work.
It was a frustrating experience. Kind of like a boring meeting. Or a pointless conversation. It feels like there is no end to the journey. (Incidentally, that’s what graduate school felt like until September 30th of this year…).
Now, though, the new highway is finished! It cuts off 15 minutes from my normally 2 hours and 15 minutes drive. I was thrilled to discover this time-saver. And I was excited to remember that humor is also a short-cut for us.
1. Humor matches your message to the shortened attention-span of today’s listener.
2. Humor (the best humor) bases itself on a grain of truth. You save people’s time. They don’t have to check to make sure you’re not lying. Oh, sure, you are exaggerating, but you are building on a thing that is essentially true.
3. Humor builds a connection with people. You don’t have to waste energy bringing people to your side. They are already there.
4. Humor saves time by geting to the point. But more importantly, the stress-relief of humor provides space. Space for people to create new ideas and responses.
This week, see what other short-cuts your sense of humor creates for you. Try it: it’s worth the wait!
