Make Me Laugh Out Loud
Everyone Loves To Laugh
Everyone Loves To LaughEveryone loves to laugh and we like the people who make us laugh. We can’t help ourselves; it’s one of the laws of likeability. We like people who enhance our mood, and laughing is certainly a mood enhancer.
My father-in-law is the king of email jokes. I’ve asked him to stop sending them to me a million times, but it doesn’t seem to matter, he sends them anyway.
Every time I get an email from him I open it, laugh out loud, associate him with my enhanced mood and secretly look forward to the next message he sends. The cycle of life and laughter continues.
It struck me recently just how powerful this law of likeability really is. I know how much I enjoy being around funny people and how my mood improves with just the mention of their name. I like me better when I’m in a good mood, and I like the person responsible for helping me get there.
Who’s Responsible For This?
My father-in-law is a very nice guy, but I wouldn’t consider him to be a stand-up comedian. And even though he’s not the one who makes me laugh, he’s responsible for me laughing when I open and read his email. Because of that, I associate him with my good feelings and I like him even more.
I am not suggesting that you send your customers an email every time you find something funny on the Internet, what I am suggesting is that there are ways you can be responsible for making your customers laugh without being funny yourself.
A few years ago my father-in-law (Don Clark) sent me a list of signs created by local businesses. I not only laughed out loud, but I’ve shared these words of wit and wisdom with a few thousand people. I’m going to share them with you in a moment, but before I do I want to ask you a favor.
Take The Sign Test
Take The Sign TestWhen you read each sign, I want you to decide if you feel more likely, less likely or neutral about wanting to do business with this company based strictly on their sign.
Are you ready?
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At a Proctologist’s door
“To expedite your visit please back in.”
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On a Plumber’s truck:
“We repair what your husband fixed.”
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On a Plumber’s truck:
“A flush beats a full house.”
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On a Plumber’s truck:
“Don’t sleep with a drip. Call your plumber..”
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At a Towing company:
“We don’t charge an arm and a leg. We want tows.”
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On an Electrician’s truck:
“Let us remove your shorts.”
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In a Nonsmoking Area:
“If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate
action.”
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On a Maternity Room door:
“Push. Push. Push.”
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At an Optometrist’s Office
“If you don’t see what you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right
place.”
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In a Podiatrist’s office:
“Time wounds all heels.”
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Outside a Muffler Shop:
“No appointment necessary. We hear you coming.”
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In a Veterinarian’s waiting room:
“Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!”
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In the front yard of a Funeral Home:
“Drive carefully. We’ll wait”
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At a Propane Filling Station,
“Thank heaven for little grills.”
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And don’t forget the sign at a Chicago Radiator Shop:
“Best place in town to take a leak.”
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So what did you discover? If you’re anything like me, and I know I am, you enjoyed most of the signs and you were probably more likely to want to do business with the company based on their sign. Why?
It made you laugh. It made you feel better about yourself and in return, it made you feel better about the person responsible for making you laugh, the person who created the sign.
It’s not your fault. Liking people who enhance your mood is one of the most powerful laws of likeability. It’s virtually impossible to dislike someone who makes you feel good about yourself.
Lesson
You don’t have to be funny to be responsible for making people laugh.
- Place a funny saying on your business card.
- Add a funny quote in your signature file.
- Make a funny sign and hang in on your door.
You can do this. Take a few minutes to think about how you can enhance the mood of the people you serve with a simple sign. They’ll be compelled to like you and want to do business with you, just like you were compelled to like and want to do business with the business owners above.
If you have a funny sign for your business or if you’ve seen a sign worth mentioning, please tell me about it in the comment section below.
Don’s Comedy Email List
If you want my father-in-law to place you on his email list, let me know and I will ask him to include you. But know this, his list is like the hotel California: you can get in, but once there, you’ll never get out 😉
Tags: enhance mood, funny signs, signs
Make Me Laugh Out Loud | Bob Sommers | 
June 11, 2009 9:26 pm
By Darlene Willman, "The Sassy Networker", July 7, 2009 @ 8:35 am
Laughter is the best remedy for whatever upsets you. I believe when you laugh, it releases endorphins that automatically makes you feel better. Be the person to share laughter and you’ll be remembered forever. In fact, make it a point to laugh with someone every day!