Humor and Persuasion

Everybody likes to laugh. There is not anything wild about that claim. Humor can elevate the mood of someone who is down or contribute to someone’s already good time. A beneficiary of a raised mood is the person or message providing it. In terms of persuasion, when people are in a good mood they are less likely to disagree and furthermore, they connect with the source because a shared sense of humor represents a shared set of underlying values (Lyttle, 2001). Simply, humor creates likability for the source that helps to break down the walls of persuasion by building a relationship between the sender and receiver.

The use of humor for persuasive purposes is no secret. Just watch TV for a short while and notice how many commercials try to make you laugh. Humor can create a comfortable and likeable feeling between parties, distract an audience from weaker messages, and add to overall exposure. Humor can be seen as the preferred choice for weaker arguments. So unless you are building your persuasive case based on strong convincing arguments, it may be a good idea to splice some humor into your message.

References
Lyttle, J. (2001). The effectiveness of humor in persuasion: The case of business ethics training. The Journal of General Psychology, 128 (2), 206-217. Retrieved August 15, 2009 from ProQuest database.