To Fool or Be Fooled, that is the Agenda on April Fool’s Day

The key to a fun day of tricking one another is to use careful consideration when plotting your pranks. Jokes and gags must be in good taste so you will not hurt someone’s feelings, cause panic or do harm.

The best pranks require that you are believable. Look for the “soft spot” in each person you want to fool. Some suggestion would be – parents and grandparents fall for hearing about special achievements or promotions about their family. Tell someone about a big shake-up with their favorite sports team. Spouses or partners believe each other that something broke down. Make up a story about a phone call you received or give someone an unusual phone message. Catch people off-guard by April fooling early in the day.

Also, be on the look-out for opportunities to turn the gag around when someone tries to fool you. You can do this by over-reacting, pretending you don’t care, or not “getting it” and asking them to explain. Be a good sport when someone pulls a trick on you. Take a few risks and have some fun!

April Fool’s Humor Insights and Tips

April Fool’s Day is a prankster’s paradise. For some, April 1st means that no one is off limits and no rules apply when it comes to pulling practical jokes. When they offend someone with their tricks, they are quick to add insult to injury by saying, “Where’s your sense of humor?”

Having a good sense of humor doesn’t require that you must be a good sport when someone makes fun of you or embarrasses you with hurtful humor. Nor do you need to feel you must laugh if you don’t think someone is funny. One way to respond to someone who has offended you with their style of humor is to be direct, and honest, “I don’t find your comments to be funny.” Or use the opportunity to educate, “I take offense to your remark, because …”

All humor is not created equal. Lighthearted humor creates an atmosphere of fun and draws us closer to one another. But, humor that is distasteful or mean-spirited causes offense, isolates and destroys relationships.

Workers take heed and proceed with caution if you plan to flex your funny bone on the job. What is viewed as light-hearted fun in one work environment may cause damage to your professional reputation or get you into trouble in another.

Learning how to expertly use humor isn’t something that you acquire just by reading about it or watching others. In order for you to become an expert on using humor, you must take risks and experiment with different approaches. A good rule of thumb is, “when in doubt, leave it out.”

Don’t get discouraged. Developing your humor habit is a hit and miss process. What seems funny to one person doesn’t guarantee a laugh from another. If your humor is not well received, it offers you an opportunity to learn something about that person, or gain valuable experience of what not to do. If you unintentionally offend someone, make a sincere apology.

Self-effacing humor is always the safest bet. Fool someone by telling a tall-tale about yourself.

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