My Ideal Clients All Have This Disease!

What follows are my shamelessly (and un-apologetically), biased thoughts on the topic of my ideal client and a disease that I feel ALL should be afflicted with…

Humor!

When screening potential clients (PCs), I have noticed that some tend to avoid seeing the humor in life or work – like humor is a disease to be avoided at all costs. They are “humor challenged” – the politically correct description of this disease, by yours truly. Consequently, they fail to see the humor in situations that might send we that aren’t as “humor challenged” from anything between a chuckle or two, to a gale of full-blown, side-splitting, wee-your-pants laughter. In other words, they wouldn’t let humor in without a full body search!

So, how do you spot the humor challenged Potential Client (PC)?

Here are 5 tips:

1. There will be no “Mona Lisa” hint of a smile in their voice, actions, nor on their face.
2. No eye-crinkling grin as a clue that maybe, just maybe, there is some humor dwelling within.
3. No silent “shoulder-shaking” (you know…when you try to stifle a laugh and only your shoulders shake?) laugh providing a more pronounced clue that, “Yes, they are laughing!”
4. Definitely no “Muttley” laugh; that trademark snicker – an asthmatic-sounding, "wheezing" laugh passing their lips. NOTE: I do this one a lot. I even add a small snort or two on occasion just for good measure.
5. You will never, ever see boisterous, unrestrained, full-tilt laughing that leads to tears…or worse (okay, I’ll say it – wee-in-your-pants) laughing! I admit it; I’m guilty of this one, too. The boisterous laughing, not the wee-in-your-pants part…well…maybe once.

How do you weed out these potential non-ideal clients? Simple! Ask them, on a scale of 1 to 10, how important humor is in their work and/or life. If you like their answer, proceed.

As one that possesses a somewhat enthusiastic sense of humor, I make no apologies. I accept my fate. I live each day with this “disease” knowing that at any moment I may be overtaken by an outbreak of laughter at something that humor challenged PCs might find utterly ridiculous and so not funny. As a result, I am prepared to live my life with this disease and hope it never goes into remission.

Also, this disease has totally biased my opinion and the way I interact in life. I can’t escape the fact that right up there with kindness, a love for animals, and loyalty, I feel that humor is one of the finest attributes an individual or potential client can possess.


5 reasons to inject humor into your business relationships:

1. Because of the nature of our businesses, and virtually connecting with clients, we don’t have the “traditional” office setting with in-person, face-to-face interaction. One of the most engaging things you can do as a Virtual Assistant when interacting with your ideal client is to put your sense of humor out there – it makes you more “human” and approachable.
2. This is priceless: One VA that I sub for has it stated in her contract [words to the effect] that a sense of humor is a prerequisite to work with her. I love this and I have added it, using my own words, to my contracts too.
3. Humor helps you see the funny side of awkward, stressful, or embarrassing situations. It helps alleviate anxiety, fear, and cut-it-with-a-knife tension that can sometimes rear its ugly head when you are stressed, overworked, or have deadlines staring you in the face. If you inject a little lighthearted humor into such circumstances, you will find a much more receptive audience when trying to communicate an important idea or concept.
4. Humor is refreshing – and liberating – and helps to diffuse stressful situations like magic! It also puts you in a better frame of mind to tackle those tasks and meet those deadlines – with a better outlook and maybe even a smile.
5. Humor and laughter really are the best medicine: http://helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm

Think of it this way: Humor, as a disease, is pretty unique in that IT is its own best medicine! Amazing, eh? Give me a spoonful of laughter any day!

Oh my…could it be?! Yes, there are times you should not let your humor fly no matter how difficult it is to contain your disease. Following are my top 3 reasons not to tickle your funny bone.

When humor is NOT appropriate:

1. You should not infuse humor into circumstances that are of a sensitive or sad nature – situations that call for understanding and empathy – you must use common sense and discretion. If you’re like me, I feel their pain and bawl right along with them.
2. Never use “biting” humor or insult someone in a humorous way.
3. When unsure, you may want to follow your client’s lead in business situations.

Whether you are a “Mona Lisa,” “Mutley,” “shoulders shaking,” or “wee-your-pants” type of person, I hope you have taken away a little food for thought and enjoyed this post in some small measure. I wish each of you a very happy and humorous new year!

Well, that brings this, my very first blog post, to a close. I’ll tell you what, I hope this gets easier the more I do it! I have changed this post “nine ways to Sunday” to present it in something resembling more than just the incoherent ramblings of a madwoman. LOL! Hey, I kept it to two pages – no easy feat for me! Truth be told, this was a lot of fun, and I’m going to do it again!