In one study, some of our colleagues from the Second city retreat-Brad Bitterly, Maurice Schweitzer, and Alison Wood Brooks-recruited participants to write and present testimonials for Visit Switzerland, a fictional travel company. What the group didn’t know is that the first two* “participants” who read their testimonials were research assistants. Half of their prewritten testimonials were serious, the other half were funny (eg., serious testimonial “The mountains are great for skiing and hiking. It’s amazing!” vs. humorous testimonial “The mountains are great for skiing and hiking, and the flag is a big plus!”). …*
When participants were asked to rate the presenters on a handful of qualities, those presenting the humorous testimonial were perceived as 5 percent more competent, 11 percent more confident, and 37 percent higher in status.
In other words, a six-word throwaway pun at the end of a testimonial meaningfully swung opinions.
