Antonio Fonduca著

ユーモア理論はユーモアおよび笑い声がよいニュースに信号を送る原始方法、グループで承諾することを提案する。 共通のユーモアを経験することができる持っていることは暗号の共有として。 ユーモアはまた人についての何かを信任、知性としてユーモアを表現し、タイミングが井戸によって置かれる滑稽な注目に必要なすべてであることを言う。

ユーモアは時の他に答える機能を要求し、使用は困難な交渉の状態で有効である場合もある。 例えば困難な議題項目が演説した直後に、滑稽な相互作用の従事は張力の解放として作用するかもしれない。 最終的に、ユーモアは交渉党間のguanxiを管理する効果的な方法を構成するかもしれない。

中国のユーモアに関しては特に私は幾つかの物語を共有することを望む。 この最初1つは中国人によって私に言われた:

彼が生きていたときに、とう小平に訪問者-素晴らしいギフトを持って来たアメリカの大統領あったが。 それはあなたがだれでも呼ぶことができる電話死者または生きた、想像図または実質人だった。 3つの呼出しになされるとう小平: ギフトに彼に感謝する米国の大統領への最初の1つ; C.への後場。 Elai、中国(に彼住んでいたあることが最も正直な政治家の1は呼出しの時に天にあった); 毛沢東への第3呼出し(地獄で)。 後で、とう小平は彼の予想に合わなかったので電話代を得、驚いた。 彼は電話会社を電話し、彼が登録されていた2つの呼出しだけを用いる奇妙な手形を受け取ったと言った。 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.