Funny Business. Michael MDiv Dolan
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Play off a line or joke from a current popular advertisement or movie. Don’t steal from it – twist it in a way that makes sense at your job. Take the tag line and change the last word to something you do at work. People are already prepared for such humor. You can do it quickly. Be careful of two fertile fields of humor: politics and religion. Never assume you know your reader’s predispositions. Make sure you understand their feelings on these matters before bringing them up. But if you do, find humor here.
You know why there’s no example here, right?
Make sure humor does not obscure your message
Keep the jokes about work. Don’t go off on a tangent just because the joke is funny. Every paragraph in the memo or letter needs to stay on track. Humor is often good for building ties or keeping people interested. But make sure you get the work done. Better to have the reputation as “a funny person who gets the job done” rather than just “a funny person.” You can see from many of the examples so far that people are using one liners to make a point. The line is funny yet the point remains clear
Tell the truth
Even with exaggeration and other larger than life joke forms, there must be a bit of truth inside all the funny froth. It’s why it made sense to jail early stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce. People laughed until they recognized they were the butt of the joke
I don’t bring up St Lenny because you are likely to be arrested. You are likely to be fired for being right. Be careful. Recognize any truth here:
THE PLAN
In the beginning was the Plan.
Then came the Assumptions.
And the Assumptions were without form.
And the Plan was without substance.
Darkness was upon the face of the Workers.
And they spoke among themselves, saying, "It is a crock, and it stinketh."
And the Workers went unto their Supervisors and said, "It is a pail of dung, and none may abide the odor thereof."
And the Supervisors went unto their Managers, saying, "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it."
And the Managers went unto their Directors, saying, "It is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength."
And the Directors spoke among themselves, saying one to another," It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong."
And the Directors then went unto the Vice Presidents, saying unto them, "It promotes growth, and it is very powerful.”
And the Vice Presidents went unto the President, saying unto him, "This new Plan will actively promote the growth and vigor of the company with powerful effects."
And the President looked upon the Plan, and saw that it was good.
And thereupon the Plan became policy.
This is how Sh*! Happens
OR
Of several possible interpretations of a message, the least convenient is the correct one.
Work is the end point
The purpose of writing at work is getting something done. The main seminar I’ve don over the years is “Writing for Action.” Humor at work works best when it supports the main point of the writing. If you are cautioning other about being careful at the beginning of a project, you may want to say: “You can con suckers into committing to an impossible deadline, but you cannot con them into meeting it.” The last paragraph needs to call for a sales close, to improve the production line, to modernize the procedures. Don’t end with a gag – and you will be tempted to.
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