How can you use humor to reduce stress during an interview?

1 Why humor works

Humor is a natural and effective way to cope with stress, because it helps you relax, release tension, and activate positive emotions. Humor can also enhance your communication skills, as it shows your personality, creativity, and emotional intelligence. By using humor, you can demonstrate that you are confident, flexible, and adaptable, and that you can handle challenging situations with grace and ease. Humor can also help you connect with your interviewer, as it builds trust, rapport, and empathy.

2 How to prepare humor

Humor is not something that you can force or fake, but you can prepare some humorous anecdotes or observations that are relevant to the job or the company. For example, you can share a funny story about how you solved a problem, learned a skill, or handled a mistake. You can also comment on something that you noticed or researched about the company, such as its culture, values, or history. However, make sure that your humor is appropriate, respectful, and positive, and that it does not offend, criticize, or mock anyone or anything.

3 How to deliver humor

Humor is not only about what you say, but also how you say it. To deliver humor effectively, you need to pay attention to your timing, tone, and body language. Timing is crucial, as you want to use humor when it is natural and relevant, and not when it is awkward or intrusive. Tone is important, as you want to convey humor with a smile, a laugh, or a playful voice, and not with sarcasm, irony, or bitterness. Body language is essential, as you want to show humor with your eyes, facial expressions, and gestures, and not with stiffness, nervousness, or aggression.

4 How to balance humor

Humor is a great way to reduce stress during an interview, but it is not the only way. You also need to balance humor with seriousness, professionalism, and competence. Humor should not distract from your main message, goals, and qualifications, but rather enhance them. Humor should not dominate the conversation, but rather complement it. Humor should not be used too often, too much, or too randomly, but rather strategically, moderately, and purposefully.

5 How to handle humor

Humor is a two-way street, and you need to be prepared to handle humor from your interviewer as well. If your interviewer uses humor, you can respond with humor, as long as it is appropriate and respectful. You can also show appreciation, interest, and curiosity for their humor, by laughing, smiling, or asking questions. However, if your interviewer does not use humor, or if their humor is different from yours, you can still be polite, respectful, and attentive, without forcing or faking humor. You can also use other ways to reduce stress and create rapport, such as listening, nodding, or mirroring.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?