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Subject:Re: Humor as a communication technique -Reply From:Tracy Boyington <tracy_boyington -at- OKVOTECH -dot- ORG> Date:Tue, 16 Jun 1998 09:01:55 -0500
Andrew wrote:
>> ...a well written, humorous and slightly irreverent document...can >>communicate more ideas then something that is written seriously.
and Lisa replied:
> Also agreed, and just let me add that in an instructional capacity
>(which, in a way, we're all in) humor teaches more than dry facts.
and I say:
I agree with both of these statements, but to be effective, humor must
be humorous to most and offensive to few. I've seen far too many
examples of "humor" created by people who weren't nearly as funny as
they thought they were. And I didn't read Andrew's original post, but he
said his post that was meant to be lighthearted and "irreverent" seemed
to offend many people. So I'd be *really* careful about humor. In fact,
I'd test it on someone who never laughs at the same jokes you do.