Laughter can solve pretty much anything both in business and in life, says Lord Kirkham

With rising unemployment and falling house prices at home, currency collapse and civil unrest on the Continent, and draconian spending cuts and a VAT increase zooming down the track, it would be easy to get a bit negative. Don’t do it. We are taller, healthier, cleverer, richer and live longer than ever. And if you think I am having a laugh, I am. Because laughter is the key to progress and success in business and in life.

Do you want a happy and more productive workforce? If the answer is no, tear out this article, pierce the corner and hang it on a silken cord in your loo. Alternatively, if cheerful staff, delighted customers and strong business performance has attraction, read on.

I can’t read a balance sheet, but with the help of humour I have achieved a measure of success. By ‘joking seriously’, I have communicated difficult and embarrassing messages successfully, without ambiguity or offence, on innumerable occasions.

When did you last buy anything from a glum, miserable salesman, be inspired by a joyless marketing message or feel motivated by a grumpy and self-righteous boss? My guess is never.

Laughter, a powerful antidote to pain, stress and conflict, binds people together - like a salesman and a customer, for example. It improves mood, strengthens relationships and attracts others to us. What more could you wish for if you have something to sell?

Our media constantly pollute us with hyped information and conflicting facts. One day red wine and coffee are the key to long life; the next they are killers. A prominent building society’s in-depth research shows house prices clearly on the rise; an equally credible source’s same-day report confirms a serious and continuing price decline. Interest rates are confidently predicted to double in the next months or be stable for at least five years, depending on what you read.

How do we avoid feeling confused and overwhelmed? Let us have a laugh about it, because humour does shift perspective and helps us to see situations in a more realistic, less threatening light.

In fact, laughter is no joke. It is the finest medicine for you and your business, whether you sell services, products, information or ideas.

So develop a philosophy of humour, use it to enhance your communication skills and persuasive abilities, employ some fun people and don’t take yourself or anything else too seriously.

I am lucky. I frequently rock with laughter almost to the point of incontinence. If you are not blessed in that way at least attempt a smile or a snigger. And if those seem expressions too far, invest in some happy pills. Or, if your budget is tight, snort a helium balloon. In a squeaky voice things will sound so much funnier and that whiff of laughing gas might just bring on a spurt of optimism.

So let George Osborne and that Greek chancellor bloke shoulder the burdensome worry of VAT, interest rates and sovereign default. You just chuckle and concentrate on the melodious ringing of those busy tills - what a laugh.

Lord Kirkham is the founder of DFS

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