Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And how anyone can harness it. Even you.)

Recently, every week, I have entered the New Yorker’s cartoon-captioning contest. It works like this. On the last page of the current issue, they provide a strange, fanciful, or otherwise unique drawing. The contestant’s job is to invent a funny caption and to submit it via the Internet. Next week’s issue selects three captions as finalists, and participants vote on-line for their favorite among these. On the third week, one caption emerges as the winner, and – on-line but not in the magazine itself – the other two are listed as runners-up. Suffice it to say that I have never managed to create a winning entry. Indeed, I have never even qualified as a runner-up. Clearly, I need help in developing my comedic skills. Such assistance promises to come from the new book by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas entitled “Humor, Seriously.” In it, the authors analyze the importance of humor to our lives in general and to our business-oriented communications in particular. In short, they assemble personal reflections, clever anecdotes, experimental research findings, comments from real-life comedians, and observations reflecting a great deal of wisdom mixed with common sense to limn the essence of ways in which levity can enliven, enrich, and enhance our activities as we participate in the human condition. Aaker and Bagdonas have done their homework, and the benefits of their fruitful efforts emerge in a carefully structured and engagingly presented trip through the subtleties of what makes things funny and why we care. One reason we care is that laughing is good for us. Another is that jokes can pave the way to smooth relationships in the workplace. Another is that comic insights often embody great truths. All told, as demonstrated by A&B, levity is the soul of wit. A&B have created a passionate entreaty to foster levity-humor-&-comedy in your business, your organization, … your life. Humor smooths the way, encourages friendships, cements relationships, sparks innovations, and resonates with love. All this awaits the reader of “Humor, Seriously.” And – if you are such a reader – you’ll be grateful for the experience. Meanwhile, after reading A&B, my latest submission to the New Yorker’s captions contest still failed to achieve success. It did not win, place, or show. Apparently, I’m a slow learner. I guess it’s time to read the book again. This time, following the cues provided by A&B, I’m ready to respond with “Yes, And….”

This book is insightful, groundbreaking and sharp. No, seriously, if you drop it at an angle on your foot, it hurts. But once the pain subsides, it makes for a great read. It’s the funniest serious book I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.Humor, Seriously provides an entertaining and informative spin on how effective humor can be when developed as a powerful communications tool. The tips, tricks, case studies and techniques help create an awesome roadmap to help readers refine and strategically adapt humor to practically any situation. And Jennifer and Naomi have artfully broken down the process into bite-size pieces that can be enjoyed bit by delicious bit or in entire binge-worthy mouthfuls, sort of like my favorite chocolate.What I love about this book is that it while it cracks me up, it also cracks the code on what makes humor funny, appropriate and successful. This book also provides a solid foundation for using humor as a force for good, not just getting laughs.Up to now, I’ve taken great pride in my marginally funny sense of humor, but it was really a hit-or-miss proposition that involved throwing things out there and hoping for the best, with wildly mixed results. Humor, Seriously gives someone like me hope that I can actually be more funnier (industry term) simply by understanding concepts like the relationship between truth, pain and distance, and paying attention to how words might land for listeners.And if you’re willing to learn from “humor bombs”, there’s even a formula for recovering from those backfires, too. Brilliant. The bottom line is that this book will make you a better person. Do yourself a big favor and buy it; your friends, family and colleagues will thank you. Seriously.P.S. Quite frankly, Jennifer and Naomi are geniuses. I hope they both get a raise. But if not, at least this book will make the world a better, funnier and more interesting place.

I enjoyed reading and adopting ideas and examples laid out by the Authors. They are amazing to bring humor in corporate world.

Can't say enough good things about this book! Authors Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas summarize plethoras of their research into this oft-overlooked area not only to make a case for WHY humor is important in the workplace and in communication, but HOW to best make use of comedy to increase our effectiveness (not to mention grow our networks and careers, which is to say, money).As a member of the big tech community with a deep interest in improv comedy, I learned a ton on how others' perception of me plays a key role in my ability to get things done, how comedy tools like callbacks and "the rule of three" can improve my communication and how to build bridges across cross-functional teams using humor. "Navigating the Gray Areas of Humor" was especially insightful to me, as knowing how far to take a joke in a business context is always a tricky question as the yardstick for what's funny and what's offensive can shift with the culture. Stay woke!All in all, I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone in the business community, or anyone simply looking to improve their communication skills. Working overseas in a non-English speaking country has only underscored my personal need for humor as a tool to both break the ice and deepen professional relationships, and the science behind why this is effective provided me with the "why" I needed to not overlook this at work each day--and neither should you. Enjoy the read!

OJO: Inglés avanzado como mínimo para poder disfrutarlo a tope (juega todo el tiempo con el doble sentido a un nivel que, sin la caracterización no verbal se complica sin tener un buen background en inglés).

The reader‘s expectations were not matched fully. The book‘s essence would fit on a one-pager, so it becomes somewhat boring. Nevertheless the authors provide some helpful insights.

Well written in most parts.

Ok one time read though.