WHERE IS YOUR SENSE OF HUMOR?

Don’t ever hide your sense of humor!

Some lawyers think that everything is serious and some lawyers think nothing is serious.  Of course, what is obvious is that neither of these lawyers are correct.

Using humor can be a great asset to an attorney.  How many of you looked at my Fun on Friday post that was really funny ?  How many of you laughed?  More importantly how many of you sent it along to other friends so that they could enjoy themselves for a minute?

A sense of play or fun is also a good tool for an attorney to use when appropriate.  To approach a project by making it fun is an exceptional gift.  You ask, How could a Summary Judgement be fun?  Sometimes making a game out of a tough project can make it fun. Race against the clock to see how fast you can get it done or make some of it rhyme or picture parts of it in a fun way.  See it as a game of dungeon and dragons or David and Goliath.  I have used all of these to make life more fun when faced with a tiresome project.  You can too.

In my book, BE A BETTER LAWYER: A Short Guide to a Long Career, I suggest that you gather together a humor file to keep in your desk.  When you are feeling a little down, just open it up and look at all the funny cartoons or sayings or other humorous items you have amassed.

Work humor into your mediation when it becomes tense.  Use humor with a jury and/or judge when it is appropriate.  But don’t be a dunce and tell jokes just for the sake of the joke.  Also using humor correctly when giving a talk. Do NOT feel obliged to always tell a joke up front. That is really old and not the way to entice your audience to listen to what you say.

So, your job this week is to find 3 events, stories, or situations that you see as humorous.  Then take one of those events and write it up and put it in your OFFICE HUMOR FILE, so you can look at it later. Last you need to share it with someone.  Maybe you can cleverly work it into a conversation or just send it to someone with a note that you thought they might enjoy it.  Brighten someone’s day and yours will be brighter too!