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Here are a few universal principles of comedy as used by professional comedians, followed by a multi-purpose example of how many of them might be incorporated into a brief example of business humour

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Comedy tips for use in business

* Connect with your audience - find something you have in common with them, and work from that

* Use exaggeration of a situation that already exists, and carry it further till it becomes funny

* Incorporate a twist - most comedy depends on an element of surprise, or on putting something familiar into an unusual context

* Good comedy also contains an element of truth about reality, and brings a sense of recognition for the audience

* For some reason, things in threes tend to be funny. Nobody knows why.

* Place a punchline or punch-word at the end of an item rather than following it with extra words that would diminish the effect

* And keep things succinct - don't ramble or waffle

So let's say you're at a big gala dinner for your company, and you've been picked to introduce the main speaker from your organisation. It's an informal occasion, and everyone is longing to be put at ease; you need to release communal tension with a laugh. So you could come in with something like this:

"Good evening, ladies and gentleman. It's the moment you've all been waiting for, and I'd really like now to introduce the one individual who has made this company what it is today - the person who pulls all the strings - the real power behind Acme Buttons plc! Unfortunately however, Maisy Stiffley couldn't be here tonight, so let's welcome instead her husband, our CEO, Bill Stiffley…"(followed by some genuine appreciation, because deprecatory humour needs balancing and you want to keep your job.)

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