How To Be Funny At Work And Not Get Fired - A Candid Comment

I love a good pun and some dad jokes are pretty funny.  One of my buddies at work often tosses out the dad jokes and oh the puns.  Example what do you call 3 cows starring at each other?  A steak out.  LOL ya that is funny.  That said there are some things one needs to remember when it comes to being a yuckster at work.  It's all fun and games until the boss calls you into the office after you've cracked wise and then hands you a pink slip.  Now one may think hey that is not really fair.  Oh it's fair some things are really not good to do or say in a workplace.  So before you quip from the hip or prank a fellow coworker take a tip or two here and save yourself a trip to HR.

Comics try to gauge the room as they toss out the funny.  Some jokes are really a hit and others are umm just not going to pull a chuckle.  Back when I was studying Radio Broadcasting at Mohawk College here in Hamilton I saw a show where a comedian was joking about being a parent one joke about poopy diapers drew crickets.  He had misread the room.  That is the first thing knowing if you have an audience that will find you funny.  Trying to be witty can land you in serious hot water.  The comic did recover and joked about the joke, that is another tip.  Know when you have bombed and acknowledge that. We all foul up a joke and admitting that can actually be quite funny.  

Another tip is getting permission from others in the room.  Getting a buy in from people is kind of important so how do yo do that.  It's really by building some rapport with the others in the room and getting them to see you as an ally once you have them on your side you can let your humor out.  One way I get a room on my side and gain permission is to start a small chat before a meeting with others in the room or to pitch a couple of ideas n the meeting.  Even if no one bites if I have a sense they respect the attempt I can inject some humor into the mix.  Like hmm I guess I am hitting some fly balls to center field here, or oh well back to my tickle trunk I go so I can see if I have a few more ideas I can share.  The point here is to crack em up without coming off as a jerk or worse.  

As for pranks at work.  I really suggest avoiding those altogether.  There is something to be said for pulling a fast one on a colleague or the boss but, that is not really a good idea.  Bubble wrapping the bosses chair, putting salt in the sugar jar or changing the language on the computer of your colleague may sound funny but, it really is annoying and not that funny.  Most pranks are intended to make people look stupid.  In  a work place pranks are not going to end well. So I would suggest avoiding them altogether.

So to close here are the pro tips to use when trying out your humor at work.

Read the room: Make sure that you have attention of the people in the room.

Get Permission: Ensure that your permitted to be a contributor to the meeting and then make sure that the situation is not so serious or you have the space to be able to tell a joke to make others feel more at ease.

If you fail that's OK own it: Comics bomb you will too so own it and move on.

How To is a podcast from Slate. How To Crack Up Your Co-workers (Without Being Offensive) is an episode that speaks to being funny at work.  Check it out and let me know what you think about being funny at work.

See ya in the next article.