Monday, April 20, 2009

Sarcasm at Work By Cedric Cummings


Sarcasm is a very dangerous tool to have in your arsenal, especially when your in a professional setting. Sarcasm can not only lighten the mood with humor and laughter, it can also hurt feelings and offend people. I searched and searched for websites with a positive view on sarcasm in the workplace and was sadly disappointed. I finally came upon a few sites and articles that did not frown upon sarcasm. They believe as do I that it is great and humorous; to an extent. Here are a few tips on using sarcasm in the workplace without ruffling feathers:

Know who your audience is: You have to be aware who is around and what kind of sense of humor they have. If you are in a room full of people that you are not familiar with, your sarcasm may come off as offensive and they may not approve of you too much.

Edit your remarks: If you are like me and can make a sarcastic remark without having a thought, we need not forget this tip. Always edit your sarcastic comments because some talk is better off left outside.

Those are a couple of tips that should keep you out of too much trouble when walking that fine line of sarcasm. Here is a video to follow up with my tips:





Work Cited: Mook, Bob. "In defense of Sarcasm at the Workplace." Bizjournals. 16 Nov. 2001. 20 Apr. 2009 .

3 comments:

  1. Sarcasm is a very dangerous tool to use in the workplace and in my opinion should be avoided, however I agree that sometimes it is necessary to make your day that little bit more enjoyable. I agree with the knowing your audience section as it would be catastrophic in my opinion to come off sarcastic to people you have not met before. I like how your voice comes out in this post and the video at the end was entertaining.

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  2. I have a very open and sarcastic personality and it has gotten me into some trouble in the past.lol People need to know that not everybody has the same sense of humor. Whats funny to one, is not funny to another. regretfully, if you cross that thin line; termination can be the only option. Great post. It's been a pleasure working with you. Enjoy your summer.

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