It might sound a bit weird, but studies have shown that faking laughter – for at least 60 seconds, can really cheer you up.
Now, what’s all that got to do with sales and selling? Fair question.
If you are in sales, you know how hard it can be – we’ve all had those days – you get stuck in traffic, the tech doesn’t work, everyone you call doesn’t pick up, that deal you were relying on doesn’t come in and then your boss starts giving you grief. We’ve all had some version of that.
And when that is happening, you can really struggle to get going again.
So some time ago I heard of this technique to cheer you up. Obviously it isn’t just for sales people, but in a profession where remaining positive can make the difference between someone speaking with you and not, it’s can be a huge deal.
So what is the technique?
Step One
Fake laugh for 15 minutes (it will feel horrible, unnatural and cringey)
Step Two
Continue fake laughing for another 15 minutes (it becomes less horrible, more natural and actually OK)
Step Three
Fake laugh for another 30 seconds (it feels nice, you feel happy and you realise that you are no longer faking it – you are actually laughing)
Why?
Well the body doesn’t know the difference between real laughter and fake laugher!
It is something known as biofeedback – in simple terms if your body is doing it, your brain kind of believes it.
Laughter involves the whole body and has been said to ease chronic pain because it stimulates endorphins to circulate through our system. That releases tension and enables more oxygen to flow through our bloodstream and also helps us to feel relieved and relaxed.
If you are interested to read about this in more detail, here is a link to Medium.com which tells you more about how the body doesn’t know the difference between real and fake laughter.
The only thing I would recommend, is that you probably should try this exercise on your own! I do it in training sessions sometimes and, although it works super well, it can be a challenge to get people to start! It’s good fun though!
Have you ever tried this?
How did it work for you?