How to Get People to Laughter – The Laughter Theory
Humor is a tendency towards subjective experience that provides entertainment and often triggers laughter. Humor is considered to be a natural approach towards alleviating feelings of sorrow, pain or anxiety. The word derives from the Greek language, meaning “mood”. The earliest evidence of its use dates back to prehistoric times, when man supposedly used jokes to let his associates know of things he meant to say. From then on, it has become a common social gesture to share a laugh or smile during the tough moments of a day.
The art of humor has evolved and changed over time, with humanity’s ability to tell funny stories coming into its own. Humor has evolved and developed as a key component in the healing process. Humor is the natural tendency of human beings to elicit laughter and give amusement. The word comes from the Greek word humerus, which means “of or relating to humor”.
It is widely accepted that humor serves to alleviate the symptoms of many illnesses. Theories about the positive effects of humor are still undergoing research and ongoing debate. But the results of scientific studies have demonstrated that there are a lot of connections between the funny things we do and the improvement of our emotions. A study conducted by McGraw College in Brisbane, Australia, for instance, found that a humor-based advertising campaign significantly improved the number of people who gave their support to the cancer charity.
Another interesting aspect is that humor can increase our compliance and perseverance in difficult tasks. According to this theory, the association between humor and increased productivity is caused by the incongruity between the various incompatible concepts that we experience when we are put in certain circumstances. An example of an incongruity is a job interview. When a person interviews for a particular job, it is not uncommon for him to encounter several different and opposing thoughts and images in his mind. These incompatible concepts may come from various events that happened in his childhood or previous experiences.
However, the presence of laughter tends to diminish or cancel out these incongruities. The laughter induces a relaxation in our minds and bodies and makes us more receptive to our environment. The study conducted at Mcgowrie College also found that a company’s use of humorous videos during recruitment drives significantly increased the number of applicants who applied. Another interesting feature of this theory is that not all types of humor have a positive effect on employees.
For some types of jokes, the use of humorous videos may actually decrease employee attendance and employee participation. Studies show that the consumption of jokes reduces the desire among employees to interact with others. This means that instead of being able to listen and understand others, they just watch the funniest joke without getting the proper laugh. A funny video alone cannot give you the right laughter that you need in a funny moment.