Perhaps the single most effective way to create a positive first impression or establish a connection with people is through humor. Humor can break the ice in an initial meeting, take the edge out of conflict, reduce the stress when things go wrong and put people at ease. We typically appreciate the individual who can lighten the tone of a situation with a few well-placed words.

You Don’t Have To Be A Comedian To Use Humor

To be that person, you don’t have to be a stand up comedian or have a repertoire of witty jokes. In fact, you don’t really even have to be funny. All you really need is the willingness to look on the lighter side of things. If you can make the effort during stressful times to find something that will make people forget about their stress – even for a moment – you become a valuable commodity indeed.

Let’s be honest. There are some people out there who are pretty intense – taking things, and themselves, way too seriously. While their passion and focus is admirable, they’re hard to be around for much more than short periods at a time – particularly during stressful situations. One thing’s for sure, you don’t want to be that person. Not if you have any aspirations of building a strong, positive network.

The next time you catch yourself getting a little too intense, ask yourself this one question: Realistically, what is the absolute worst that could happen in the current situation? What is the worst-case scenario? Then take a few moments and think about what you would do if that actually happened. Chances are, you’ll be able to figure out a game plan pretty quickly. The interesting thing about this exercise is that, when you get back to thinking about the real situation, it never seems quite so bad.