|
Humor directed at another person is best when gentle. That is what real kidding is about. Don't try to be Don Rickles with your friends and associates. Leave such public derision to comedic professionals or you'll risk damaging your relationships.
Exceptions: When it's agreed between persons that they can aggressively kid one another, as within social and sports clubs.
Some folks delight in poking fun at others. Of these, most are gentle with friendly ribbing. A few others are downright cruel. And some don't seem to know the difference.
In the right context or relationship frame, even blistering humor at another's expense can be OK. For example, a typical "roast" of a celebrity performs the not-so-gentle ribbing with an array of presenters. Because everyone understands that "it's all in good fun, and we don't
really mean it," and because the roast may even be for a charitable purpose, no harm is done. In fact, the more thoroughly the target personis roasted, the more the presenters and audience love him. (Usually it's a "him.")
Similarly, close friends may kid one another unmercifully because both know it's not being done in a mean-spirited way. There may be running gags about golf swings, love handles around the middle, and the whole range of human foibles. Were an outsider to talk in the same way, the target person would take offense.
Probably the best humor is when you make fun of yourself, "self-deprecating humor." Yes, you can be the butt of your own jokes.
(If you want to use more and better humor in your conversations, I recommend you subscribe to the great "Humor Power Tips" newsletter, free at www.humorpower.com.)
Thank you for subscribing and reading this tip!
Until next week's tip,
Loren
| 
