Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And How Anyone Can Harness It. Even You.)

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.

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….”

Liked how it defined humor and gave good principles for its role in professional life. Feel like it made it better to grasp.

If your goal in reading this book is to become a stand-up comedian fulltime as a career, this isn’t the book for you. If you want to understand humor, learn about humor as it affects you, and incorporate it into your life (business and personal), yes! You can do it!The book has a great tone to it. The authors did a lot of research. Some of their examples may have you going, “Who’s that?” if you go to bed before 11pm (I got a sense that the authors relate more to Seth Meyers more than Stephen Colbert). Other examples will have you smile, laugh, and say to yourself “Great suggestion!” If you purchase the print version, be liberal with a highlighter or post-its for some of the pearls that are sprinkled throughout the book. Or wait, pearls roll and aren’t sprinkled. Tips.“Humor, Seriously” is highly practical as being a great read. Try the tips they suggest. Better yet, incorporate them in your professional/personal dealings with others. People may not be rolling on the floor with your comments during meetings (and they shouldn’t), for example, but your points will probably be listened to more, people will probably at some level, will enjoy working with you more, and you won’t require a food taster or Kevlar attire during lunches and meetings.Even Snipers (from a test you can take online), will benefit from the book. Some people just don’t get irony and haven’t even heard of Oscar Wilde!

This is a lovely short book that has some useful ideas in it. It’s light hearted but it’s ideas are actually quite powerful.It definitely has me thinking about how to bring more humor into my life in general.

Un libro interesante, te deja conocer un poco más de ti mismo y te ayuda en implementar tu forma de humor en tu vida cotidiana.Es práctico y muy simple de leer. Por la parte práctica te hace fácil entender en qué situaciones y cómo usar tu sentido del humor.Creo un libro muy válido para estos tiempos y cambios de generaciones donde algunos toma n a mal una broma y otros no, deja mayor claridad, cuando si, como si, donde si.Es un buen libro de ayuda, aún no siendo el libro que más me atraiga si recomiendo leerlo. Y más aún si puedes compartir con personas de confianza para enredarte mejor.

A light but insightful read.

Eu li recentemente Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life e tenho de dizer, foi um verdadeiro riso! Está bem, vou tentar ser um pouco mais profissional do que isso.A sério, este livro é uma leitura fantástica para qualquer pessoa que queira dar um pouco de leveza ao seu trabalho ou à sua vida pessoal. A autora Jennifer Aaker faz um excelente trabalho de quebrar a ciência por trás do humor e seus vários usos, desde a construção de relações mais fortes até o aumento da produtividade.Uma das coisas que mais gostei no Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life, foi a forma como Aaker incorporou exemplos da vida real e histórias ao longo do livro. Fez com que o material se sentisse relatável e acrescentou um toque de humor (veja o que eu fiz lá?) à experiência de leitura.Se você está precisando de um pouco de "pick-me-up" ou apenas quer aprender mais sobre o poder do humor, eu recomendo altamente dar Humor, Sério, uma leitura. É um livro divertido e informativo que te fará rir e pensar sobre o papel do humor na tua própria vida. Só não espere tornar-se um comediante stand-up da noite para o dia - esse não é realmente o objetivo do livro. Mas ainda é uma boa leitura.

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.