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If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge its truth.
John Cleese
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Laughter creates connection and openness, making it easier to share ideas.

John Cleese emphasizes the power of humor in communication. When someone laughs with us, it builds a bond and increases their receptivity to our ideas, while laughing at a specific point can signify an acknowledgment of its validity. This illustrates how humor can be a persuasive tool in discussions and presentations.

Themes

LaughterHumorCommunicationConnectionPersuasion

In practice

Example use cases

During a presentation to engage the audience.

More from John Cleese

If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you open to my ideas
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Because, as we all know, it’s easier to do trivial things that are urgent than it is to do important things that are not urgent, like thinking. And it’s also easier to do little things we know we can do than to start on big things that we’re not so sure about.
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If you are leaping a ravine, the moment of takeoff is a bad time to be considering alternative strategies.
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In Britain, girls seem to be either bright or attractive. In America, that's not the case. They're both.
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I used to desire many, many things, but now I have just one desire, and that's to get rid of all my other desires.
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When the target audience is American teenage kids, you can have problems. My generation prized really fine acting and writing. Sometimes you have to go back to the basic principles which underpin great visual comedy.
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