HUMOUR ME |
CONTINUED
...
whatever. That’s because, if they like it enough,
your audience will become your distributors.
Most humour is to do with the
unexpected. Often, people explode into
laughter from the shock of recognition –
something gets said that is often thought but
rarely gets spoken. Maybe it breaks a taboo
of some kind and so we laugh with the relief
at seeing our own private thoughts normalised
and confirmed. I believe that kind of laughter
diffuses shame.
Inspiration is about the unexpected too.
People who overcome great odds are unusual.
Where we fear we might fail, they prove you
can unexpectedly succeed, and that the very
worst moments can be transformed into the
very best. That’s unexpected, and so we pay
attention.
Acknowledging the negative is also
unexpected and paradoxically leads to more
/ 46
trust in the truth of a message overall. If you
admit your weaknesses, I am much more likely
to believe you when you tell me about your
strengths.
Connection happens because of shared
emotions. We all live very different lives from
one another but we all feel the same emotions.
We all know what it is to feel joy, pain, fear and
hatred, even if they have been triggered by very
different life experiences. It is through our
shared emotions that we connect, no matter our
age, race, gender, religion, education or class.
When asked what he wanted his writing
to do, E.M. Forster (author of A Room with
a View, Howards End and A Passage to India)
said, ‘Only connect.’ It is in the unexpected
moment of connection via empathy, recognition,
shared shock and laughter that the message
goes home.
But don’t be cynical about it.