Par Antonio Fonduca

La théorie d'humeur suggère que l'humeur et le rire soient des manières primitives de signaler de bonnes nouvelles et consent dans un groupe. Avoir un sens de l'humour commun peut être éprouvé en tant que partage d'un code secret. L'humeur indique également que quelque chose au sujet de la personne exprimer l'humeur comme confiance, intelligence et la synchronisation sont tous exigés pour une remarque pleine d'humour placée par bien.

L'humeur exige la capacité de répondre à d'autres dans le moment et son utilisation peut être efficace dans des situations difficiles de négociation. Par exemple, s'engager dans la droite pleine d'humour d'interaction après qu'un point de l'ordre du jour difficile ait été adressé peut fonctionner comme dégagement de tension. Finalement, l'humeur peut constituer une manière efficace de contrôler le guanxi entre les parties de négociation.

Quand il vient à l'humeur de Chinois en particulier je voudrais partager un couple des histoires. Un Chinois m'a dit ce premier :

Deng Xiaoping, quand il était vivant, a eu un visiteur - président américain - qui a apporté un cadeau fantastique. C'était un téléphone dont vous pourriez appeler n'importe qui, les morts ou le chiffre vivant, d'imagination ou la vraie personne. Deng Xiaoping a fait trois appels : le premier au président des USA pour le remercier du cadeau ; le deuxième appel au C. Elai, un des politiciens les plus honnêtes qui ont jamais habité en Chine (il était dans le ciel à l'heure de l'appel) ; le troisième appel à Mao Zedong (dans l'enfer). Plus tard, Deng Xiaoping a obtenu une facture de téléphone et a été étonné puisqu'elle n'a pas adapté ses espérances. Il a appelé la compagnie de téléphone et a dit qu'il avait reçu une facture étrange avec seulement deux appels enregistrés. The lady said that she would go and check and soon came back to say that it was very simple really, “the call you made to Mao was a local call”

This second story, extracted from an interview with a Western director at a large firm in Nanjing, further depicts the characteristics of Chinese mentality and humor.

In a negotiation setting, my Chinese counterpart suddenly burst out, “I really like win-win situations. First I win, and then – I win again, ha ha”. The Chinese can often be quite straightforward in their behavior. They can look at you, really gazing you in the eyes and tell you the most unexpected things, just like that. In another occasion, my Chinese counterpart gazed at me and said, “The other suppliers have accepted to the terms and conditions and you have to comply, ha ha, otherwise your competitors will get the contract, ha ha”

What can we learn from these stories? To begin with, we need to dig deeper to really understand the underlying forces of the Chinese mentality. We also need to remain open minded as prejudice and taken for granted opinions can be quite deceitful.

The strategic uses of humor in the stories include:

- To make oneself appear stupid and weak
- To communicate the forbidden and unspoken
- To critique indirectly
- To mask threats

In the latter story, in the viewpoint of the Chinese, he is purely stating the obvious. His behavior is not necessarily rude, although it understandingly may be interpreted as such. He conveys his message, using humor as a tool to mention the forbidden. He might be laughing to hide his nervousness. He might be using humor as ways of releasing tension. He might not only be protecting himself, but also the Westerner’s feelings by conveying his statements indirectly. Certainly, the Chinese are well known to avoiding saying “no” straight out (rather they tend to use any of the plethora of ways of saying no indirectly).

How can we view his laughing, this seemingly rude behavior, in a different light? Many times, this behavior is about saving face. He might laugh since the matter is sensitive. He might feel uneasy and perhaps even be embarrassed, thus trying to hide this in his laughter. At the same time, his behavior might also be interpreted as an honest reminder of the power balance in the relationship, i.e. his bargaining strength.

Undoubtedly, there are several possible interpretations. In any case, try to avoid assuming the worst or the first thing that instinctively comes to mind. Remain open minded and try to really understand the underlying intentions.

Finally, how can we ourselves use humor to our advantage in our business relations? We can use it reactively and proactively:

- as an ice breaker
- to smooth and speed up the courteous phase
- as a way of fishing for information
- to say things that cannot normally be expressed (taboos, masked orders etc.)

Hence, humor not only provides a strategically effective method for argumentation, but also serves to mask true meanings and making direct statements appear indirect. Successful use of humor may also serve to express discontent, since it permits the speaker to express a problem while at the same time saving face.