Thursday, March 10, 2011
Week 7, Question 3
One concept from chapter six that I thought was interesting was humor. As a college student we are taught to be serious, not to waste time, and to always be professional. When I read about humor in this chapter I was surprised it was referred to as an important area of communication. If you were to walk down the street and ask someone what kind of qualities they look for in other people somewhere on this list humor is going to be included. People love to laugh. Humor is a way to relieve stress, support group fantasies, and integrate new ideas. “Humor is based on our ability to take advantage of inconsistencies and incongruence’s.” (Harris & Sherblom) Humor can make people feel better about difficult situations as well. The use of humor in a small group can help get work done faster. When people are happy they focus better on the task at hand. Being happy and relaxed can clear your mind and spark creativity. I know personally that the use of humor by some of my previous group members definitely contributed to a positive group experience.
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I like that you pointed out how "the use of humor in a small group can help get work done faster" because the fact is people do work better when they are enjoying themselves. Of course, it's important to maintain a level of seriousness with humor... but a good balance of humor can always help relieve a stressful situation. I know I can recall several different times in my life where I found myself working in small groups and it just felt so uncomfortable because I felt like I had to censor myself and I always felt like my actions were constantly being watched. Too much seriousness can cause people to feel like they are being pressured causing them to feel nervous, which can inevitably affect their progress and success. Adding humor to a serious situation can help people adjust their level of comfort and work in a more positive environment,
ReplyDeleteHello Comm141,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog and I agree with what you said. I believe that when humor gets incorporated into group discussions or meetings, it relieves people of negative feelings such as stress, nervousness or annoyance. Humor is definitely a positive part of communication when I am at work during meetings. I know for a fact that when I attend meetings at my work, time goes by so much faster when people are humorous and work is still getting done. It is less stressful than being in a meeting when it is all about seriousness. Of course there are meetings where it is all about being serious but a joke here and there can help alleviate anyone of those negative feelings. It is very comforting when we listen to humor and engage in it. I like knowing that I can be in a group setting where humor is looked as a positive thing because this (like mentioned previously) can better the atmosphere of an environment.