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This Exists: Microsoft’s Official Humor Guide

by Robert Quigley | 9:13 am, April 30th, 2010

Microsoft has turned its problem-solving prowess towards solving that most vexing of engineering problems: How to be funny. Microsoft’s education competency guide to humor points out what we already know: That humor is appropriate at some times, but not at others. That “Misers, bad drivers, and absent-minded people” are considered near-universally humorous. That there are four levels of humor competence, and that whereas level 1 (“basic”) deployers of humor merely use humor in a generally positive way, level 3 (“advanced”) deployers of humor know “exactly when and where a joke or story will be effective” and level 4 (“expert”) deployers of humor “can see humor in almost everything.”

And there’s a lot more:

The humor guide is part of a broader series by Microsoft covering education competencies: “many of the attributes, behaviors, areas of knowledge, skills, and abilities required for successful job performance.” Some are straightforward enough business skills (time management) some are a little more abstract (managing vision and purpose). Oddly enough, humor does not appear on the many-spoked education competency wheel (warning: PDF), suggesting that this article is either a newer addition or a tongue-in-cheek joke on Microsoft’s part. We hope.

It certainly is … comprehensive. Among the suggestions made by the humor guide:

  • Learn how to juggle, square-dance, shoot skeet, and even play video games.
  • “[Use] humor as a uniting dynamic across a range of situations.”
  • If you are interested in learning how to use humor and other professional techniques to create alarmingly good business presentations, you may want to read Tom Anton’s Wake ’Em Up: How to Use Humor and Other Professional Techniques to Create Alarmingly Good Business Presentations.
  • Ask yourself, “Could I start my next meeting, presentation, or conversation by telling a funny story?”
  • Misers and bad drivers, what’s with those guys?

Hopefully, no one at M’Soft is making hiring or payroll decisions based on whether you are a level one or level three Tense Situation Diffuser, but intentionally or not, there’s a good deal of humor to Microsoft’s humor guide.

(Hacker News via MetaFilter)

  • bob@humorq.com

    Dear Mr Gates. With the help of your operating system, or whatever operating system I run, and Mr Gore’s internet, and the motivation of oppressive older brothers, I created a website that will no doubt help you in your quest to make your army of great Gatesby’s even more humorous. It occured to me that although I would often be thoroughly whooped in an IQ contest, that I would fair well in a humorq contest. That’s the inspiration behind humorq.com where members participate in both judging and submitting to a daily cartoon caption contest. A member’s humorq is calculated by the eventual popularity of their caption as well as how they do picking the most popular caption when they are voting. Thereby awarding both their abilities to create and recognize humor.

    Think about it. You could actually make one’s humorq part of their employee record. You could have a minimum humorq requirement for different positions. You could ban sub 100 humorq employess to accounting. This is exciting. You should call me.

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