Manual Humor at Work
Manual Humor at Work
A reader recently passed along a great example of humor at work.
T-Mobile’s Quick Start guide to its G1 “Google Phone” is not
only highly useful (what a concept!), they use humor so that
you actually WANT to read the sucker (what a concept!). Here’s a
few excerpts:
- Use only batteries from the original manufacturer. Hint: If
it’s being sold out of someone’s car trunk, walk away.
- Keep your phone close. If it rings and you discover it’s in the
back seat, do NOT crawl over the seat to answer it while driving.
- Phones aren’t cheap, so keep it in a safe place – away from
children who may find it fun to see if the phone sinks or floats,
and away from dogs that find plastic-coated products to be
irresistible chew toys.
Now this isn’t necessarily laugh-out-loud stuff, but when you’re
trying to turn an otherwise boring piece of corporate double-speak
into a more user-friendly, humane reading experience you don’t need to.
Just adding a few funny thoughts and writing in simple, conversational language
puts a human face on a faceless company, makes the material
more accessible and more memorable.
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2. Mike’s Fun at Work Tip
Everyone’s ego needs a good massage now and then, so offer ego
massages for your team once a month. Set up a comfy chair and
then everyone gets a five minute ego massage by a fellow teammate.
For example, Bob plunks himself down with his favorite cup of
java, and then the ego massage begins: “You know what’s so great
about you Bob. Everything.” (Okay, so a bit of exaggeration will
be required to make this work properly.)
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3. Quote of the Week
“When fun is organic, it becomes the way we live and the way we
think, and therefore the way we act.” Chip Bell, Performance Research
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4. It’s a Wacky, Wacky, World
Contests are a great way to add some fun into any workplace. And
as further proof that you can hold a contest for darn near anything,
Montpelier, Vermont recently held its 34th annual rotten sneaker
contest. The event, sponsored by Odor-Eaters, features a $2500
prize, trophy, and a trip to New York city for the owner of the
rottenest of all sneakers.
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