Most of us would agree that having humor in our lives increases rapport, strengthens our relationships and overcomes communication barriers. People who work in a positive, often playful environment are more likely to stay. Productivity and creativity increase while stress is reduced. We just feel better after a good laugh. Think funny!

1. Open with a humorous story.. I remember the time the lights when out and I fell off the stage. I wasn’t hurt and quickly said, Now I will take questions from the floor. I’m at my best when taking questions in the dark. Before you can be funny, you must learn to see funny. Find the humor around you, in your life every day. The lady who takes an aisle seat rather tan sit next to the window… doesn’t want to mess up her hair. Practice telling the story out loud, and cut out any parts that aren’t crucial. As Shakespeare so wisely said, “Brevity is the soul of wit.”

2. Use props (candy bars, hats, funny faces, etc.) Props can be used as a metaphor or an analogy for a point you are introducing. They get your creative juices working while providing an anchor for your audience to focus on.

3. Cartoons use your own or others a picture saves a 1000 words. Put cartoons on an overhead or use as part of a PowerPoint presentation.

4. Humor – should be relevant to your topic. Tom Peters said, I deeply believe in humor; not in jokes. Humor is spectacular. Humor relieves anxiety and tension, serves as outlet for hostility and anger, and provides a healthy escape from reality. It lightens heaviness related to critical illness, trauma, disfigurement, and death. It comes as no surprise that many people are utilizing humor to deal with the trying times. But is the humor timely? Is it appropriate?

Do not use ethnic, racist, political or religious jokes. Include a joke that helps bring back the attention of the audience or as a way to lighten up your remarks. We all can use a good laugh from a well timed, funny joke.

5. Self effacing humor- it is better to admit you made a mistake than to admit that you are one. One of my lines as a mother of five is: For someone who isn’t Catholic, I sure did my share for the pope! Phyllis Diller is in the Guinness Book of World Records as having the most laughs per minute. A laugh is measured by:

5 points if everyone is laughing and applauding
-4 points if everyone is laughing and there’s a smattering of applause
-3 points if everyone laughs but there’s no applause
-2 points if some people are laughing
-1 point for a titter or giggle

6. Mime- Marcel Marceau makes us laugh and moves us. Charlie Chaplin was an all time great without using the spoken word.

7. Move Your Body -Try lifting your nose, look off to the side, jut out the bottom of your jaw, and notice how you become arrogant or aloof, Take a wide stance, shift your hips forward, and now you’ve just gained 50 pounds. The use of body movements will help to visually enhance your remarks.

8. Repetitive oral recitation- (repeat after me, Remember, if you can see funny, you can be funny. Repeat a particular sentence throughout your presentation to encourage audience retention.

9. Use taped music for a stretch break. Get the audience to sing a funny song. Pass out words to a song. Lighten up your attendees have some fun and your audience retention will increase. Don’t be afraid to be theatrical or silly. It’s why we pay actors the big bucks; and your audiences won’t forget you. Be outrageous. It’s the only place that isn’t crowded.

10. Group exercise a fun way to conclude your presentation is to use a group exercise. Use the football huddle to get the group to repeat a cheer or an affirmation to take some action.

When you negotiate with people who are angry, what strategies and tactics can you use to combat their anger?

There will be times when you will have to negotiate with people who are angry, for one reason or another. When you encounter such a person, the first thing you should try to do is establish the source of their anger. Are they angry with you because of the position or organization you represent? Do they feel as though they’ve received the ‘short end of the stick’ and think you played a role in their dilemma? Did they start their day by getting up on the ‘wrong side of the bed?’

The reason it’s so important to identify the source of their anger is so you can understand the mindset they possess and the reason they possess that mindset. Once you’ve determined the reasoning behind the adoption of their current position and the source from which it came, you’ll have insight into how to alter their mental makeup. After understanding their mental makeup, you can employ the following 7 strategies …

1. Before the encounter, if possible, determine how you might address the situation. Gather information as to the source of the problem the other person has and why they are maintaining that position.
2. Listen very intently to the nature of their concerns and don’t interrupt while they are speaking. When you interrupt someone, you are literally saying, what you have to say is more important than what they are saying. In addition, you can’t gather information while you’re talking versus listening. Some people just want to be heard.
3. Let the other person know you’re really listening by reiterating what you’ve heard. State the fact that you’re listening in the form of, ‘So I’m sure I understand what you’re saying, I’d like to reiterate what I’ve heard.’ Convey empathy and genuine concern for their situation.
4. Read the other person’s body language, even if you’re speaking to them on the phone. You can listen to the level of anger they possess. Some negotiators suggest you infuse humor into such a situation. My suggestion is ‘go easy.’ You don’t want to exacerbate a situation further by being perceived as insensitive.
5. Identify your position as it relates to why you and not someone else is negotiating in this situation.
6. Highlight your authority to address their problem (note: Do not put yourself in the position of having the final authority of giving them what they want, until you’re sure you can deliver what they seek and it’s not to your detriment. You always want to have a ‘back door’ to escape through in case you can’t deliver the ultimate request they’re making.)
7. Change the pace of the conversation. If the other person is screaming, acknowledge your perception of their state of mind and speak in a softer tone. If they are speaking fast, you should speak slower. What you’re attempting to do is change the tone, pace, and speed of the conversation. By doing so, you will start to alter the mental state of mind the other person possesses.

If you’ve learned how to interpret body language, even if you can’t see the other person (if you want/need more information on how to read body language, send me an e-mail), you’ll gain insight into how their perception and emotional state of mind is changing. If you’re negotiating face to face, determining their mental level of anxiety becomes invariantly easier. Suffice it to say, when you negotiate with an angry person, display empathy, an understanding of their perspective, and the willingness to address their concerns … and everything will be right with the world.

The negotiation lessons are …

• When negotiating with an angry person/people, let them talk. Go the ‘extra mile’ to understand their source of irritation and let them know you’re trying to work with them to solve their problem.
• Determine if they are using anger as a tactic to manipulate you into getting what they want. If you determine they are using anger as a tactic, let them know that you are ‘on to their game.’
• While trying to assist the angered person to achieve what they seek, keep your own goals for the negotiation in mind. Be sure to set boundaries, so the other person knows, as early in the conversation as possible, that you will assist them, but not to your disadvantage. Always be willing to walk away from a situation and incur the consequences, if you can’t agree upon an equitable outcome.

Spectacular presentations are the easiest way to robotically educate and engage your audience.

First, let’s look at what we mean by robotic. Robotic means that something happens or is done automatically; it is set up to run without human intervention. And Spectacular Presentations are robotic. Once they are created and up on the web, they spread your message for you.

Which brings up a good question… your message… what is it? Well, the topic or niche of your message remains the same, but the context that it is delivered in can be of many varieties. It can be:

1. An e-course – designed to teach your students.
2. A story or lesson – designed to entertain and inform your audience.
3. A promotional message – designed to let people know who you are and what you do.
4. Training – consistent content delivered to your students.
5. E-coaching – designed to inform, teach and guide the people you are coaching
6. Viral marketing – people love things that are out of the ordinary; something that peaks their interest and perhaps even makes them laugh (or cry).
7. A podcast – designed to do any of the above… but in a portable format.
8. Etc… etc….

Any of these contexts are a great way to deliver your message to the people who want it, and when they want it. And yet, no matter what context you choose, a Spectacular Presentation can be made to deliver it just that way.

The key to this is that people do want your information and they usually want it now. By delivering your content or message robtically that’s exactly when they can receive it… now! That’s because you don’t need to be there to deliver it to them; it’s automatic.