Social Engineering Blogs

asian gal_white guy happy Like many aspects of human behavior, laughter is complicated.

In a recent article for Time, Dr. Greg Bryant, an associate professor at UCLA outlines a study he conducted at his Vocal Communication Lab. There, he and his research team played recorded laughs to participants and asked them to distinguish whether the laugh was “real” or “fake”. The real laughter was from live conversations between friends in a laboratory setting and the fake laughter was produced on command.

Interestingly, listeners were able to tell the “real” laughs from the “fake” laughs about 70 percent of the time. Which means 30 percent of the time, they couldn’t tell the difference. Bryant was interested in why people fell for the fake laughs.

Bryant says, “Laughter triggers the release of brain endorphins that make us feel good, and it reduces stress. There is even evidence that we experience a temporary slight muscle weakness called cataplexy when we laugh, so we could be communicating that we are unlikely (or relatively unable) to attack. But laughter is not always made in fun, and can be quite hurtful (e.g., teasing). Laughter is a powerful signal with huge communicative flexibility.

A fake laugh is produced with a slightly different set of vocal muscles controlled by a different part of our brain. The result is that there are subtle features of the laughs that sound like speech, and recent evidence suggests people are unconsciously quite sensitive to them…The ability to be a good faker has its advantages, so there has likely been evolutionary pressure to fake it well, with subsequent pressure on listeners to be good “faker detectors.” This “arms race” dynamic, as it’s called in evolutionary biology, results in good fakers, and good fake detectors, as evidenced by many recent studies, including my own.”

Dr. Bryant suggests that the reasons we laugh are as complicated as our social lives, and relate closely to our personal relationships and communicative strategies. He states that one focus of researchers now is trying to decipher the relationship between specific sound features of our laughs—from loud belly laughs to quiet snickering—and what listeners perceive those features to mean.

For Jane’s 50th birthday, her big surprise gift was an eight-week workshop on Improv comedy for the two of us. Believe me, she was surprised! I thought it would be a great thing to experience together, that we’d meet interesting people and would laugh a lot. Mission accomplished on all fronts! The course concluded with a show at The Funny Bone Comedy Club in Columbus. Working with 10 people in a safe space week after week is different than doing a live show in front of friends, family and strangers, so we were both a little nervous about that. But, we had so much fun we signed up for another course and concluded our second Improv show in late February. As I reflected on the Improv experiences we enjoyed together, I saw interesting parallels between Improv comedy and sales. Even if you don’t consider yourself a salesperson the reality is every one of us sells ideas and ourselves daily. Practice. I can’t imagine reading a few books on Improv or following a blog for a period of time then trying to perform in front of a live audience. Practicing in a safe space with a teacher was a huge confidence builder for all of us. And we learned quite a bit from one another as we observed each other on stage. Salespeople traditionally hate anything remotely close to role-play and think reading about sales or attending a seminar will give them all they need to succeed. Wrong! The more you role-play the more ready you are for a sales call as long as your scenarios are realistic. I’ve also seen where salespeople learn as much, if not more, from each other during the training.Unscripted. Improv is short for improvisational comedy, which is unscripted. When you improvise you are creating in the moment and Improv is all about taking what’s given to you then creating a funny reality. Quite often audience members shout out people, places and things leaving the people on stage to use their imagination to construct a funny scene. You don’t know what will be thrown at you onstage and that’s the same when it comes to sales calls. You don’t know exactly what might come up before, during or after a sales call. You don’t know what objections you might be hit with so you need to be comfortable responding in the moment. The longer you’re in sales the more situations and objections you’ll face and the more comfortable you’ll be in dealing with whatever comes at you. Just as more practice and performances help comedians, so it is with salespeople.Study. Great comedians don’t just wing it even though they might improvise. Through study and observation they learn what makes something funny and why some jokes fall flat. They draw from the world around them so the audience can relate and understand their jokes. Imagine a comedian making jokes about King Henry the 8th and England in the 16th century. That probably won’t go over as well as jokes related to the present and politicians people know something about. By the same token, good salespeople understand their customers, their needs and speak to both. Good salespeople study their craft and learn how to speak persuasively so the customer “gets it” just like the audience gets a joke. Timing. Timing is crucial in comedy. Two comedians can tell the same joke but how they set it up, how they deliver the punch line and exactly when they deliver the punch line can make all the difference between laughter and silence. Sales are very similar. Two salespeople can say essentially the same thing and for one it comes across in a natural, conversational way but for the other it feels like a pushy salesman. Timing is also very important when it comes to closing a sale. When to close can vary based on many things and there is some “art” as to what you do to close the deal. Do it too early and prospective customers recoil because they feel like they’re being sold. As Jeffery Gitomer likes to say, “People don’t like to be sold but they love to buy.”Yes, and…When people hear Improv comedy one of the first things you’ll hear them say is, “Yes, and…” Improv is much more than this little phrase but it’s one of the first concepts you’re taught. In order to make a scene work you’re told to take whatever is given to you and build on it. Nothing kills a scene quicker than rejecting what someone has said or done. Sales is similar in that shutting someone down, rejecting what they say, insisting they’re wrong and you’re right, is a sure way to alienate them. “Yes, I can understand why you feel that way and…” then transition into something to hopefully get the other person to start seeing things differently.So if you want to succeed in Improv or sales remember to be PUSTY (Practice, Unscripted, Study, Timing, Yes). And one more thought to consider: Everything I just shared applies to parenting. Give what I just shared a quick reread and see if you get what I mean. Most of us are not handed a training manual when we become parents so we figure out quite a bit as we go along. I believe these same principles I’ve just outlined can help you be a better parent.Interested in learning more about Improv? If you live in the Columbus metro area I encourage you to reach out to Jeff Gage. He was a great teacher and it was apparent he loves what he does because, despite doing this for decades, he laughed as much as anyone during our workshops and shows. Reach out to him to see when his next classes will be held. It’s guaranteed you’ll have fun, meet interesting people, and laugh a lot. There’s not much better in life than that!Brian Ahearn, CMCT® Chief Influence Officer influencePEOPLE Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

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