AI Can Do a Lot. It Can't Do This

AI is extraordinary. It can write, research, analyse, summarise and translate faster than any of us can, and most of us are using it already.

And yet.

When you’re in a pitch and the audience goes cold, no algorithm is coming to help you. When a client needs reassuring, a moment of warmth does more than a well-formatted deck. When your team is stuck and quietly losing faith in the project, it takes a person to shift the atmosphere.

AI can say things. A person can make other people feel something, and that is where trust starts.

Being funny is a strategy as much as a personality trait.

Humour at work is presence: the kind that makes people want to listen to you and remember you. Nobody wants a stand-up routine in the boardroom or during a quarterly review.

A light touch at the right moment shows an audience you are comfortable and in command of what you are saying. It also shows you are a person, which a slide deck cannot do on its own.

Not everyone is naturally funny. But everyone can learn to be funnier.

You do not have to be the funny one. Laughing properly at someone else’s observation does your standing no harm either.

Consider two people sending an out-of-office reply. One says: "I am on annual leave until the 24th. I will respond to your email on my return." The other says: "Currently off-grid. Summer recovery time, though I suspect I'll spend more of it keeping my kids away from cliffs and bungee jumps than actually applying sun lotion. Back on the 24th, probably with more emails than wisdom. Wish me luck."

Same information. Completely different impression. The second person feels warmer, more approachable and more memorable. Nobody’s asking you to write a sitcom. One line with a bit of personality in it can do more for a working relationship than months of formal correspondence.

A playful email sign-off, a turn of phrase in a presentation, an honest admission that something didn’t go to plan: these show more of you than a polished LinkedIn bio ever could. People warm to anyone who makes them smile, even at work.

Film-makers worked out long ago what many business communicators haven’t: people remember stories, not bullet points. The hero faces an obstacle. Things get worse before they get better. By the end, the resolution feels earned.

You already have stories like this. Every project, every client relationship, every campaign that nearly went sideways before it came good. The question is whether you're using them, or presenting the cleaned-up version that strips out all the tension and, with it, all the interest.

Instead of waiting for someone to challenge your approach in a pitch, try weaving the answer into the narrative before they ask. "You might be wondering why we went this route. Let me tell you what happened when we tried the other one."

Say it first and you control the story, instead of defending it.

Ideas start in a similar place. Much of the best stand-up comes from noticing the gap between how things are supposed to work and how they actually do.

That instinct, spotting the wonky pattern and questioning the assumption everyone else has quietly accepted, is what makes a pitch sharper.

AI is not very good at this, because it reflects patterns back. Humans are better at breaking them.

There is a skill AI does not have: reading the room.

Knowing when a client's energy has shifted. Catching the moment someone disengages and pulling them back. Sensing that the atmosphere needs lightening before the conversation goes somewhere unhelpful.

These skills are learnable. Stand-up comedians develop them out of necessity. Perform enough gigs and you become very good, very fast, at understanding what a group of people needs at any moment and adjusting to it. It is communication at its sharpest, and it carries straight into client meetings, team sessions and leadership conversations.

The most effective communicators in any organisation can hold an audience rather than just fill a room. They don’t rely on slides to carry the message. They read who’s in front of them and adapt.

AI is zigging, and a lot of people are zigging right along with it, which is fine. The Zaggers, people who also invest in their human communication skills are the ones who will truly stand out.

Your ability to connect, persuade and disarm is not going to be automated. A leader who can hold an audience is worth more than one who sends excellent emails. A team that laughs together will outlast a team with better software.

Warmth, charm and a good eye for an observation.

You cannot download any of them.

Can AI replace human communication skills at work?
No. AI can write, research, summarise and produce at speed, but it can't read a room, sense when a client's energy has shifted, or make someone feel reassured in a tense moment. Those moments still need a person.

Why does humour matter in a professional environment?
Humour at the right moment shows confidence and control. Leaders who use it well are seen as more respected and more pleasant by their teams, and it makes them easier to trust than a slide deck ever could.

Do you have to be naturally funny for this to work?
Not at all. Funnier is something anyone can learn. Laughing properly at someone else’s observation helps too, because people notice who enjoyed it.

How does storytelling help in a business pitch?
People remember stories more readily than bullet points. Mention the moment something nearly went wrong, and how you fixed it, before anyone asks. It gives the pitch the shape of a story, and a story earns more trust than a list of facts.

What does "reading the room" actually mean in a work setting?
It means noticing when a client’s energy has shifted and catching the moment someone starts to switch off. Experience builds it, and stand-up gives you a lot of experience quickly. It carries straight into meetings and leadership.