When you apply this to marketing and sales you realize that the use of humor not only gets your customer’s attention, but also helps them recall you and your message long after you have left the scene.

A happy, humorous, smiling company representative is a powerful promotional and selling agent. So hire people with these qualities and train those working for you who don’t. Remember a sense of humor is a learned response, it isn’t genetic. People are attracted to those with a great sense of humor and a cheerful disposition.

Perhaps you enjoy a good joke every now and then, or you find yourself seeing the funny side of things. Did you ever think that you could use humor to make money? Many people use humor as a marketing tool to make money, and not just stand-up comedians and television writers.

If you are an exceptional observer and commentator, if you spend time analyzing jokes and why they are funny, if you want to spend many years working hard to make it, then you very well may have what it takes to be a successful stand-up comedian.

For most of us, however, getting on stage and speaking in front of people is not something we want to do. Some people are terrified of speaking in front of a group; it’s the number one phobia world-wide.

There are many other ways to make a good living using humor. Try to think of commercials that are particularly effective. Chances are the commercials you thought about were funny. This is because a good joke is memorable. Advertisers have understood this for decades.

Behind every great funny commercial, there is an ad writer. The ability to find the funny side of things is a hot commodity in the advertising business. Talented ad writers make a good living. Even in political campaigns, humor is used to make a point, or get folks to pay attention to a person or issue.

Humor is one of the most powerful forms of persuasion. For centuries, humor has been an effective way to sway people’s emotions or opinions. If you have a good sense of humor, you could even be a public relations representative for a firm or celebrity.

The ability to make people laugh helps them to see you or your company as approachable and friendly. This is why humor is such a powerful tool to persuade people.  It’s also why most speeches begin with a funny anecdote or joke. It “warms up” the audience.

Every year, funny books, stories, and memoirs reach the top of the bestseller lists. This is another way to make money with your sense of humor. Some of the most famous and popular columns in national newspapers are based on humorous observations of everyday life.

Do you run some kind of business? Try using a little humor in your marketing plan with your print, television, and online advertisements. Do not be so “professional” that you never smile at your customers. Chances are that you have a competitor in your area. Give your customers a unique and pleasant experience and you’ll have the edge on your competition.

Humor unites people. Humor persuades. It helps us through tough situations. It makes pleasant situations more enjoyable. For these reasons, and many others, humor will never go out of style and will always be in demand. Why not capitalize on this demand and make a little extra profit by making people laugh?

In more recent years a certain Nick Parks reinvigorated 3d animation with his Wallace and Gromit characters. This form of 3D animation is often referred to as Claymation or Clay Animation. While Nick was not the first by any means to introduce claymation it certainly brought in back in to mainstream entertainment. In 1912 one of the first claymation movies using stop motion was released to great critical acclaim. It was called “Modeling Extraordinary”. In 1916, the first female animator, Helena Smith Dayton, began experimenting with clay stop motion. She released her first film in 1917, Romeo and Juliet.

Claymation in School

The introduction of computers to schools at all levels has brought the art of stop motion animation and claymation software within reach of all students. The prevalence of inexpensive stop motion animation software allows the student and teacher to become active participants in ICT that is both creative and more alive than ever before.

In general while students have good basic ICT skills and an interest in technology. ICT is not as integrated a component of a school curriculum as it should be. ICT is often judged as having a narrow focus, emphasising the tool rather than the curriculum or learning outcomes.

With 3D stop motion animation claymation and the right stop motion software activities can combine a number of ICT methodologies. For example “audio documentary creation”, “storyboarding” and “audio soundtrack creation” are all used with animation to create a coherent end result. Evidence from a wide range of schools participating in claymation animation projects observe students successfully bringing a numberous aspects of ICT together to complete projects.

The projects require students to cooperate in small teams.

From a teachers perspective they acknowledge their own skills and confidence improves in ICT in general. Teachers also recognise a significant increased student engagement throughout the animation project.

What were the outcomes and what have students learned from such animation projects? Among a number of key outcomes were an increased level of ICT skills and appreciation of integrating a number of tools to complete a task. Also students gained a deeper understanding of the ways in which ICT and creative thinking can be integrated in to the broader curriculum. No longer were computers seen as a dormant tool but more a means to creating, collaborating and expanding horizons.