Humor's effectiveness will always ride the emotional tides of your audience members. How well a joke goes over may depend on whose company your prospects are in, whether they are winding down for the day or still up against deadlines or other workplace pressures, whether they are awake and alert or feeling drowsy, whether they have a headache, etc. Always be in tune with how your audience is feeling and always assess the atmosphere you're in to determine whether it is conducive to humor.

Everyone persuades for a living. There's no way around it. Whether you're a sales professional, an entrepreneur, or even a stay at home parent, if you are unable to convince others to your way of thinking, you will be constantly left behind. Get your free reports at Magnetic Persuasion to make sure that you are not left watching others pass you on the road to success. Donald Trump said it best, "Study the art of persuasion. Practice it. Develop an understanding of its profound value across all aspects of life."

There are a lot of factors that contribute to whether or not humor will be effective in persuading someone. Often, it will simply be the mood or situation that makes it obvious whether humor is appropriate or not. For example, if someone has just learned of a death in her family, you probably shouldn't start cracking jokes. Another example would be if you were speaking in a religious setting where there was an expectation that a certain degree of reverence always be maintained. You probably wouldn't go wild with the humor in this kind of setting. The appropriateness of humor for a particular setting or mood is usually not too difficult to discern. You just have to be observant. What may be funny to one person one day will not be funny the next, even if it's the exact same joke told in the exact same way.

There are many other less apparent factors that influence humor. Have you ever considered factors such as what time of day it is, the number of people in your audience or even the layout and lighting of the room? All of these things can influence how your humor will come across. As far as time of day, mornings are typically more stressful, since it is then when most people are confronted with all the demands that await them. Under certain circumstances, this stressfulness may be precisely the type of mood you're looking for. Other times, you may want an audience that's a little more relaxed. When people are on a lunch break or winding down for the day and readying themselves to leave work, you may find that they are more receptive to a good joke.

When considering the size of your audience, the general rule of thumb is "the bigger, the better." That is, the bigger your audience, the more laughter you will typically get. Why is this? It's because laughter is contagious. The more people involved, the more we laugh. For example, when a movie theater is packed, the laughter tends to be greater and last longer than when there are only four people in the audience. This is one of the reasons why TV producers use canned laughter in their programming. Often the scenario being acted out really isn't even that funny, but studies show that the use of laugh tracks actually gets us to laugh more. Whether the material even registered as being funny or not, we are more inclined to laugh along if we hear others laughing.

Knowledge of this tendency can give you a real advantage when considering the layout of the room you'll be speaking in. Notice the seating arrangement. How many people are expected to show up compared to how many chairs are set up? Always make sure there are less chairs set up than there are people expected. If audience members sit closer together, it will be easier to get the energy going and evoke more laughter than it would be if they were spread out all over the room. A seemingly sparse audience will surely dampen humor's designed effect. A more compact seating arrangement will not only help people laugh more freely and more often, but it will also give off the illusion of greater attendance. Another consideration is the lighting of your speaking area. The audience's ability to see your facial expressions and body language is of prime importance.

Summary

Persuasion is the missing puzzle piece that will crack the code to dramatically increase your income, improve your relationships, and help you get what you want, when you want, and win friends for life. Ask yourself how much money and income you have lost because of your inability to persuade and influence. Think about it. Sure you've seen some success, but think of the times you couldn't get it done. Has there ever been a time when you did not get your point across? Were you unable to convince someone to do something? Have you reached your full potential? Are you able to motivate yourself and others to achieve more and accomplish their goals? What about your relationships? Imagine being able to overcome objections before they happen, know what your prospect is thinking and feeling, feel more confident in your ability to persuade. Professional success, personal happiness, leadership potential, and income depend on the ability to persuade, influence, and motivate others.

Kurt Mortensen

Kurt W. Mortensen is one of America's leading authorities on persuasion, motivation and influence. Kurt spent 15 years researching personal development and motivational psychology and is currently a professor on the university level. He offers his speaking, training, and consulting programs nationwide, helping thousands achieve unprecedented success in business and personal endeavors. Kurt is author of Maximum Influence, an Amazon.com bestseller and is endorsed by Stephen R. Covey, Brian Tracy, Robert Allen, and Mark Victor Hansen.

?This is truly remarkable information,? said Dr. Stephen R. Covey, Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. ?It is based on solid scientific research and extensive field experience. It contains unbelievably comprehensive and fresh new angles and insights to persuasion, using immensely practical examples.?

"This is a great,? said Brian Tracy, Author of Advanced Selling Techniques. ?Magnetic Persuasion shows you how to immediately influence and persuade other people in every area of your life."

Mortensen received a bachelor?s degree in Communications/Advertising from Brigham Young University in 1992 and an MBA in Marketing and Consumer Behavior from the University of Pittsburg in 1993. He presented on the speaking circuit with Brian Tracy, Dennis Waitley, and Les Brown.

He teaches that success in every aspect of life depends on the ability to persuade, motivate, and influence others. He combines scientific research with real-world studies to provide the most authoritative and effective arsenal of proven techniques for persuading, influencing, and motivating others.

?Kurt has provided the most complete work on persuasion and influence I have ever read,? said Robert G. Allen, Author of Nothing Down, Multiple Streams of Income, and The One Minute Millionaire. ?Nowhere in persuasion literature have I ever seen the art and science broken down into such thorough and easy-to-understand concepts, covering every aspect of persuasion imaginable.?