The Art of the Humorbrag

A research-backed way to brag without the cringe.

Sometimes you stumble on a piece of research that goes in the face of everything you thought you knew (like basically every study in the fantastic book, Predictably Irrational).

Other times you find a study that re-affirms something you already believed but couldn’t prove (like eating ice cream for breakfast can improve performance).

Zach Camp, Unsplash

Recently, I came across research that did the latter. It confirmed one of the humor techniques I have been teaching to clients for years has some seriously powerful benefits, way more than I even realized.

It’s called the humorbrag.

What is a Humorbrag?

Self-promotion is a double-edged sword.

If you talk about your accomplishments, you risk sounding arrogant. If you don’t, you risk sounding unqualified. Darned if you do, darned if you don’t.

Researchers call this the self-promotion paradox.

One study suggests that an incredibly powerful solution is the humorbrag, or what I sometimes call the Fumble Brag. It’s bragging but with a twist that gets a laugh.

The authors of the paper defined Humorbragging as self-promotion combined with self-enhancing humor. It’s when you combine an accomplishment with a humorous twist, so you come across as both competent and likable.

For example, my bio and speaker intro includes the line: My TEDx talk has over 15 million views... only half of which were from my mom.

Whenever the person introducing me reads that line, it gets a laugh… while still boosting my credibility as a speaker.

The Research Behind It

A team of researchers ran multiple studies to test humorbragging.

For example, in one study they tweaked the “career objectives” section at the top of a resume. In the control sample, the objective read:

I am a highly motivated and detail-oriented sales representative with experience and a proven track record of people skills. I look forward to supporting your company’s goals dedicatedly.

For the humorbrag, they said:

I am a driven sales representative who is detail-oriented and passionate about serving your company’s goals. I have a proven track record of turning caffeine input into productivity output. The more coffee you can provide, the more output I will produce.

The message is the same (I get stuff done), but the humorbrag got 3x more clicks and ~1.5x more recruiter contacts than the straightforward resumes.

Nothing says funny like some good old bar graphs…

In related studies, they found that:

• Job candidates who humorbragged were rated as both warmer and more competent, and were more likely to be hired.

• Entrepreneurs who humorbragged on Shark Tank were 3-5x more likely to get offers from investors than those who used other humor styles.

• Across 1,000+ participants, humorbragging consistently increased hiring intentions more than other humor types.

In short, humorbragging works, most likely because it solves the warmth versus competence tradeoff of self-promotion.

How to Use Humorbragging

How can you get in on this sweet non-salesy self-promotion? In our humor workshops, we share a simple 3-step process for coming up with ideas:

1. Pick something you want to “brag” about (e.g., awards, views, clients, appearances).

2. Write a short, factual statement that communicates that success.

3. Add a humorous line that builds warmth while reinforcing confidence. The humor should be light, clever, or slightly playful.

Here are a few examples:

• In your bio: Instead of “Experienced keynote speaker,” I say “I’ve spoken in all 50 states, 35 countries, and one planet (Earth).”

• In an interview: Instead of “I work well under pressure,” try “I do my best work under pressure, mostly because that’s when the deadline panic kicks in.”

• In casual conversation: Instead of “I ran a marathon,” you could say “I ran a marathon, which was the longest four Netflix episodes of my life.”

Feel free to share some of your own in the comments.

The key is to highlight something you’re proud of while packaging it in a way that makes people laugh.

So, the next time you need to share an accomplishment, try a humorbrag. Because if you can make people laugh and respect you at the same time, you’ve already won.

Want More?

Next week I’m hosting a workshop that will cover humorbragging and other comedic devices you can use to be more engaging and effective. If you want to learn how to make your communication both credible and entertaining, you can sign up here:

If you attended our workshop last week, this new program is going to be a deeper dive into the Creation competency.

Until then, go forth and be funny. Now, hopefully it’s not too late to enjoy some ice cream…

-Andrew

PS. Here’s a preview of some of the techniques we’ll touch on next week: comic triple, observation, planned spontaneity, humornym, association, and, of course, the humorbrag. I hope you’ll join us.