The reason I’m a big fan of humour isn’t because I’m a noble soul, fulfilling my destiny of spreading joy as far and wide as possible.
(Imagine Mother Teresa, on stage at the Comedy Store… “How about that online dating, eh? I wrote “missionary” in the position section and got 5,243 messages…”)
Of course, I AM that magnanimous and generous, but that’s still not why I’m doing it.
After all, smiles don’t pay the bills.
If you don’t believe me, go into Tesco, pick up a laptop and ask how many one-liners they’ll take for it.
They’ll laugh. And not in a good way.
Laughs don’t cause people to open their wallets. If they did, we’d see a lot more creative muggers.
“Wait, so if comedy doesn’t make you an instant gazillionaire, what’s the point?“
Comedy, like copywriting, speling* and learning to make pretty social media images, is a tool.
It’s a weapon in your armoury to help get, and keep, your audience’s attention.
If you can get them to pay attention, they’re going to listen.
If they listen, they’re in a place to make a YES or NO decision.
Using humour isn’t about getting a set amount of laughs per minute. It’s about getting – and keeping – your audiences attention.
Humour is one of the tools to help you do this.
It’s a fun one though, and one worth adding to your bank of tactics. 🙂
*Totally intentional.
P.S. I should probably still put a link to this in this bit. It’s open until Sunday.