An Ideas Into Action Guidebook: Communicating Across Cultures

Using Humor Appropriately

Humor can be an effective communications device, but it's a potential disaster when it crosses cultural lines. The punch line of a joke or story often relies on an inflection, a tone of voice, or a reference to a particular piece of cultural knowledge that is unknown outside of that sphere.

Even members of the same cultural group vary greatly on what strikes them as funny. Some people are amused by irony and parody, others enjoy slapstick and practical jokes. Good-natured ribbing about someone's gender, ethnic background, age, appearance, or occupation is tricky) and unwise (even in the most culturally homogenized situations—you can get a smile, a laugh, or a lawsuit. The safest object of your humor is yourself.

If ...