Idioteex

Posts Tagged ‘Help’

Now, wait a minute. You are not a stage comedian or an actor. Your job is to sell something, not put on a clown act. How does humor fit into customer service?

And that’s exactly why this works: Everybody thinks just like the above paragraph. Because everybody thinks that way, nobody uses humor to ease a customer transaction. This causes the business world to take on a droning, monotonous tone: “How are you?” “Would you like a receipt?” “Thank you for shopping with us.” “Can I get you anything to drink with that?” “How may I assist you?’

It goes on and on, a routine that everybody sleepwalks through. Clearly, you don’t have to be very funny to break up the rhythm. Even a little, tiny bit funny does very, very well in the jet stream of flowing consciousness that is the consumer’s day. And they will remember it for the rest of the day.

Here is one of the best examples I’ve ever seen from real life. Do you like calling a business and hearing one of those droning phone menus that tell you to push a button for each option? Well, here’s another one:

Welcome to International Discount Brokerage!

This call may be recorded or monitored for quality assurance.

For stock trading, press 1.

To order a new account kit, press 2.

For stock quotes, press 3.

For other customer service, press 4.

If you are a netware points benefits customer, press 5.

To hear more about our easy-buy program, where you can secure future stock credits, press 6.

If you would like to hear a duck quack, press 7.

If you know your party’s extension, press 8.

To return to the main menu, press 9…

Or stay on the line for the next available customer service representative.

Thank you.  Read more...

It is a dream of many animal lovers to do something dramatic like start an animal sanctuary, or stop the whole world eating meat (I wish), but sometimes it is the small things that count. Here are 10 things you can do right away to help animals and make a difference.

1. Go Vegan - Choosing a vegan diet is the ultimate form of activism. You are leading by example and sending a clear message that you will not stand for animal cruelty (not to mention environmental destruction). Not only will you help animals by not contributing to their abuse, but you will become healthier and have a clear conscience. That’s a great start if ever I’ve heard of one. You don’t have to live a life of denial to be a vegan. There is an amazing array of vegan food and if you cook you can create beautiful dishes that will wow your family and friends. You can make vegan versions of most meat dishes with a little thought and creativity. Go on, give it a try.

2. Volunteer – If you love animals and want to help in a hands on way, look up some local animal shelters in the Yellow Pages/online and give them a call to see whether you can volunteer. Volunteering with animals, or even in the office of an animal rights organization is an incredibly rewarding experience and a great help.

3. Leafleting - Contact your local animals rights organization or go online to sites like PETA or Animals Australia and order some leaflets on an animal rights issue you care about. If you have a decent printer, you can download literature straight away. Once your leaflets arrive you can walk around your local area and post them in letter boxes. You could also leaflet in public areas like shopping centres or universities. College students are often very open to change.  Read more...

Inspirational motivational speakers become indispensable when meetings become events where motivation is in short supply; the underachievers are pulled up; and competitors are lauded grudgingly for their successes. Keynote laughter speakers lighten up the atmosphere and put things in perspective in business meetings where big monetary figures are put on the tables; falling graphs are dissected to tiny atoms to be analyzed; and achievements are celebrated briefly only to facilitate the announcement of the next set of ambitious and sometimes over-ambitious business goals.

Meetings are seriously starved of humor. Insiders that are speaking at the meeting can never have the hold over the audience as trained corporate keynote speakers can, because they are always perceived either as bosses or sub-ordinates. In case the speakers from within the organization are enjoying their speeches, well in all probability, they alone have the privilege of doing so while the rest of the audience is struggling precariously to stay awake.

For meetings that do not have professional motivational humorous speakers, the typical scene is: the speakers and non-speakers as well as the achievers and the non- achievers all wait for the crucial lunch break, coffee break and the conclusion of the meeting. These breaks seem to be the highlight of the meetings with the intervening periods filled with rising emotions, boredom, drifting, and erotic thoughts. Ironic! But it’s true. Of course there are exceptions to his type of scenario. But the scenario described above is generally the rule.

Moreover, when fervent efforts at stifling yawns, changing sitting postures umpteen numbers of times, routine talks that seem like drones, and unenthusiastic applause; and all these laced with a staple solemnity seems to be the characteristics of a typical meeting, funny speakers become the desiderata in the scheme of things.  Read more...

Here’s a transient synopsis at animal communication. Animal communication is one of the most simple forms of communication. It’s about reinforcing the human animal bond, and is a learned ability that makes it possible for a human to understand animals thoughts and feelings in detail. Animal communication is intuitively conversing with animals, mentally sending and receiving thoughts, images, and experiencing physical, emotional, mental, and religious distress. It’s the power to converse with animals through telepathy – an exchange of photographs, thoughts, words, emotions and feelings, and is a very natural way for you to hook up with your animals feelings and understand them in detail. An animal communicator, also called an interspecies communicator or pet psychic, has the ability to telepathically connect to another species to send and receive messages and info.

The most fantastic part of animal communication is that we all hold this ability. Practitioners say animal communication is a talent anybody can learn, while remaining all of the while a talent that not all understand or except. The secret to animal communication is truly quite straightforward and extremely basic. Animal communication is simply intuitive thinking. Although many humans have lost touch with this ability, there are some words in our language that apply to animal communication,eg’intuition’ and’telepathy’, and we are able to use them as a start line by describing what animal communication is and how it works. An animal communicator has deepened these talents so they could be of service to the clients – both animal and human.  Read more...

by Kuki Mendoza

Humor is a way for people to interact in a playful manner; it enhances group identity and enforces social norms. Yet it can have the opposite affect- what makes one person laugh makes another person groan. What is funny to one person may be insulting to another.

Have you ever considered whether your humor helps or hinders your relationships? We’ve all probably lost a few points over the years by joking around at the wrong time or in the wrong way.

Consider the different types of humor in your analysis…

Psychologists Debra Long and Arthur Grasser (1988) recorded a number of episodes of the Tonight Show and found the following Types of Humor (more exist but these are some of the main ones)

What type of humor do you use most?

Overstatement and Understatement- Changing the meaning of something by changing it with a different emphasis

Irony- The literal meaning is opposite to the intended meaning

Satire- Aggressive humor that pokes fun at social institutions, politicians or lawyers

Sarcasm and Put Downs- Aggressive humor that targets an individual

Self Deprecation- Humorous Remarks targeted at yourself. This may put the audience at ease or demonstrate modesty.

Puns- the Humorous use of a word that evokes a second meaning.
(i.e. – I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me)

A practical joke is a joke put into action. (i.e. – A bucket spilling when a door is opened)

Black Humor- Humor based on easily offensive subjects like making love, body parts, and bodily functions.

What type of humor are the following?

May I have a glass of water?
Why, are you thirsty?
No I want to see if my neck leaks.  Read more...