由Antonio · Fonduca

幽默理论在小组建议幽默和笑声是发信号好消息原始方式并且同意。 有共同的幽默感可以被体验作为分享一个安全代码。 幽默也认为某事关于人表达幽默作为信心，智力和计时是为井被安置的幽默评论需要的全部。

幽默要求能力反应其他在片刻内，并且它的用途可以是有效的在困难的交涉情况。 例如，参与幽默互作用，在一个困难的议程项目演讲了之后也许功能作为紧张发行。 最后，幽默也许构成处理guanxi有效方式在谈判的党之间。

当它特别是时来到中国幽默我希望分享两三个故事。 这第一个告诉了对我由中国人：

邓小平，当他活，有一个访客-带来一件意想不到礼物的美国总统-。 它是您可能叫任何人的电话，死者或者活，幻想形象或者真正的人。 邓小平做三个电话： 第一个对感谢他的美国总统礼物; 第二次呼叫对C。 Elai，在中国的其中一个最诚实的政客(他住在天堂在电话之时); 第三个电话对毛泽东(在地狱)。 稍后，因为它没有适合他的期望，邓小平得到了电话账单和惊奇了。 他告诉了电话公司并且说他只接受了一张奇怪的票据以登记的二个电话。 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.