由Antonio ・ Fonduca

幽默理論在小組建議幽默和笑聲是發信號好消息原始方式并且同意。 有共同的幽默感可以被體驗作為分享一個安全代碼。 幽默也認為某事關於人表達幽默作為信心，智力和計時是為井被安置的幽默評論需要的全部。

幽默要求能力反應其他在片刻內，并且它的用途可以是有效的在困難的交涉情況。 例如，參與幽默互作用，在一個困難的議程項目演講了之後也許功能作為緊張發行。 最後，幽默也許構成處理guanxi有效方式在談判的黨之間。

當它特別是時來到中國幽默我希望分享兩三個故事。 這第一個告訴了對我由中國人：

鄧小平，當他活，有一個訪客-帶來一件意想不到禮物的美國總統-。 它是您可能叫任何人的電話，死者或者活，幻想形象或者真正的人。 鄧小平做三個電話： 第一個對感謝他的美國總統禮物; 第二次呼叫對C。 Elai，在中國的其中一個最誠實的政客(他住在天堂在電話之時); 第三個電話對毛澤東(在地獄)。 稍後，因為它沒有適合他的期望，鄧小平得到了電話賬單和驚奇了。 他告訴了電話公司并且說他只接受了一張奇怪的票據以登記的二個電話。 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.