Examining_Humor_and_Persuasion

In such a diverse society, the art of persuasion has become quite complex. There are many different types of people that must be considered when approaching a situation that requires some form of persuasion. While there are many tactics often used to persuade people, one age-old tool remains humor. Humor can be very useful when effectively used, but as we will examine in the following paragraphs, it can also be a double-edged sword. Humor is a very powerful ally in the persuasion process for many reasons. First, it helps to ease the situation. It can be used as a good ice breaker in presentations or other face to face meetings. Also, humor, when done accurately, can help the audience connect with the presenter. Once the audience connects with the presenter, it will be much easier to make the audience care about the subject at hand. If the issue is salient to them, then they will focus systematically on the message itself and analyze it according to traditional criteria such as logos, pathos, and ethos. If they find the argument compelling, they will become convinced. (Lyttle, 2001). This argument, also known as the systematic processing theory, is very interesting because it also ties in with the common theory that making your message memorable is vital to persuading the consumer. People are bombarded with messages on a daily basis. In order to be successful, it is important that your message stands out. Humor is a very good way of making your message stand out. One current example of how humor is affecting the advertising industry is the fact that companies spend millions of dollars each year to advertise in the Super Bowl. Every year, the race is on to make the funniest and most memorable commercial of the Super Bowl. It has actually become a tradition all of its own. Part of the fun of watching the Super Bowl is watching the television commercials to see what new, outrageous commercial will be the talk of the evening. In fact, "ABC found that 30 percent of people watch to the see the ads and aren’t interested in the game” (Downey, 2001). According to the persuasion theory, humor might also help make the audience more receptive to the message at hand. Humor has a positive effect on people and often will put them in a good mood. When people are in a good mood, it will be less likely that they will reject an idea. At the very least, they will be more willing to hear a new idea when in a good mood (Downey, 2001). Aside from helping the audience connect with the presenter, humor may also be effective in increasing trust in the presenter. A shared sense of humor may also indicate that the presenter and audience have a shared system of values, thus helping the presenter gain the audience’s trust. People are much more likely to take advice from a source they trust than from some random person they feel they have nothing in common with. In order to be an effective persuader, one cardinal rule to always keep in mind is to know the intended audience. People are different and what may work for one group may be completely inappropriate for another. It is for this reason that some argue that the use of humor is actually counterproductive. Another argument against the use of humor in a persuading situation is the possibility of actually diluting the meaning of the argument at hand. In the wrong situation, humor may actually make you lose credibility and will in turn, make your argument weak. If the audience senses that you are not serious about your argument, then it is very likely that they will not connect with your message. One personal example is when I had an interview for a job with a government agency. Previous to this interview, I had only interviewed with retail or small businesses. I had always used humor to break the ice, relieve my tension, and more importantly, to connect with the interviewer. I was particularly nervous because this was my first interview for a government job. I turned up what I thought was witty charm and in the end, fell flat. I did not get the job. Although the interviewers were laughing with me and we had some rapport, I feel that humor was inappropriate in this situation since the job was such a serious thing. Humor in this case, made my attempt at persuading them to give me the job weaker. I may have come across as someone who did not take the situation seriously when, in fact, it was because I was so nervous that I made the bad call to turn to humor. It is very important to measure the intended audience very well to avoid such crucial mistakes. In this case, it cost me a very good job and nullified my entire argument. One final reason why humor is not always the best way to go when trying to persuade someone is that some people actually rely on humor as their only weapon for making their case. Some presenters don’t bother making a strong case because they feel their humor and charm will carry them the whole way through. Although this may at times work, it is important that humor is but a tool to help your argument prevail. Presenters should remember that humor is a tool for the argument but it should in no way become the only tool. “In addition, they should consider that the effects produced by humor may be too small to compensate for any weaknesses in the persuasive message itself” (Lyttle, 2001). After examining the benefits and drawbacks of using humor in a persuasion situation, I can only conclude that humor will definitely make an impact on the message at hand. Whether the impact is positive or negative relies entirely on the presenter and how well they use their discretion. As previously mentioned, knowing the intended audience is crucial when determining if humor is appropriate. Also, it is important to remember that humor in no way makes up for a weak argument, so it is important to do the necessary research beforehand. Humor can be a great tool to make a strong case even stronger. References Downey, K. (2001). For Super bowl ads it's, like, party hearty. Retrieved from http://www.medialifemagazine.com/news2001/jan01/jan15/3_wed/news2wednesday.html Lyttle, J. (2001). The effectiveness of humor in persuasion: The case of business ethics training. The Journal of General Psychology, 128 (2), 206-217.