The Olympics are going down this week and everyone who hasn’t watched a siiiingle sport all year is ZONED IN.
Not sure why, but let’s use it to our advantage and whip out a fitness analogy to explain…
Humor ≠ comedy.
It’s the trickiest myth I address on a DAILY basis.
When we think humor, we picture BIG personality extroverts on stage with witty comebacks and jabs.
But humor is simply having a mindset of levity.
The difference between levity, humor and comedy is best explained with the difference between movement and exercise.
MOVEMENT is when you use your body to engage with life.
EXERCISE is the choice to move for a purpose.
We can look at levity and humor this way.
LEVITY is a mindset. It’s our analogy’s MOVEMENT.
It’s simply your receptiveness of joy. Happiness. Whatever.
It how you navigate the world, and in our case – your brand.
Levity should be your default state and how you experience your work without thinking. This could look like:
- Laughing off a coffee spill during an important Zoom call, turning it into a light-hearted moment.
- Facing a technology meltdown with humor, sharing the mishap on social for a shared tragedy.
- Embracing your cluttered workspace with 4+ cups, instead of beating yourself up because you don’t have an aesthetic, organized office.
All of this has a major impact on how you feel and how people interact with you.
My BIGGEST goal is to adopt a mindset of levity so that it becomes a natural part of your brand.
Now, HUMOR is more intentional.
Yes, it taps into levity just like exercise channels movement – towards a certain goal.
I’m indoorsy so these might be shit examples, but you might prefer pickle ball or yoga or running.
Just as someone might be drawn to certain types of humor: dad jokes, impersonations, practical gags, etc.
Humor, like exercise, is something you can hone in on. It requires skill and effort.
Also, like exercise – it feels good, it’s good for us, buuuuut it can take some work.
Let’s take it one step further. (How on-brand for me.)
COMEDY is the practice of humor.
This is when humor GOES PRO! When humor becomes a structured disciple and makes it to the Olympics.
An example of comedy in a brand is going to be a brand like mine.
I literally write satire content, intentionally writing comedic content.
It requires more technique and training and it’s not for everyone and that’s okay!
My goal isn’t to turn you into a comedy brand.
Instead, I’m going to teach you to navigate your brand with levity and flex your humor throughout your copy.
So no, I don’t expect you to be fall-down funny.
I want you to embrace your natural tendency towards levity and make some bank.
