Use Humor as a Winning Business Tool

If you're not laughing your way through your workday, you aren't alone. Laughing in the office has evaporated faster than Liquid Paper on a typo.

Humor, fun and laughter belong in Corporate America. In fact, your sense of humor can be used as a serious business tool to advance your career. It can be used effectively to put clients at ease, close a sale and write memos that people actually read.

Laughter is also a great de-stressor. Studies have shown when people are having fun at work, they enjoy their jobs more, stay at them longer, and do a better job. This lowers the attrition rate for a company and improves the bottom line.

Let's face it, we all want to work with, work for and even date people who can make us laugh. So why do we abandon our sense of humor as soon as we back the car out of the garage?

Consider the following five tips to maintain a lighthearted attitude, build your network, and achieve your professional goals:

Joke About Yourself
Take your work and responsibilities seriously, but not yourself. People like people who are willing to poke fun at themselves. A little self-deprecating humor can go a long way, so admit and joke about your defects rather than trying to cover them up.

Use Humor In The Stressful Situations
When Bob, a sales person presented his report to a prospective client, the client said, "After seeing this report, I can tell that you are a complete idiot." Bob kept his humor and rather than getting defensive he said, "You're so smart! You figured out I was an idiot in five minutes. It usually takes people three months to figure that out about me!" Bob kept his humor, and kept his client.

Structure Fun
At least once a day, lighten up the by doing something unexpected. Humor and joking aren't reserved for the brazen. Southwest Airlines proves a little risk is worth the pay off. And guess what? Southwest has the most productive workforce, lowest attrition and absenteeism rate in the industry, not to mention a reputation for highly creative and innovative management.

Diffuse Conflict With Humor
Being defensive creates tension, lowers your status and it leads to bad business decisions. Putting a positive spin on negative comments is a comedy technique that works well. Negative and toxic people are all around us. Sometimes they are our bosses and sometimes they're working in the next cubicle. Whatever the situation, don't leave your humor in the hallway. Sometimes in tense negotiations, a strategically placed joke, a can shift power to your side.

Keep Yourself In The Comedy Zone
Don't wait for life to get better to get a sense of humor. It's not what happens that determines your happiness; it's how you chose to look at it. When things happen remember: You have a choice -- so don't get mad, get funny.

Source: Judy Carter is a motivational humorist and author of The Comedy Bible and The Anti-Self Help Bible: Finding Happiness when you're Fat, Broke and Surrounded by Idiots. She has appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America and CNN.