In the era of Reels, TikToks and YouTube, the amount of video content we all consume is through the roof.

And one of the things I’ve noticed over the last few years is how often online content comes up in everyday, in-person conversation.

Not just that, but when you’ve enjoyed a video enough to bring up with your friends, and you decide you want to share it, the stakes are high.

You found it funny, but will they?

I found myself on the wrong side of one of those scenarios the other day, when I was waxing lyrical about one of my favourite scenes from the US version of The Office.

I remember watching it with Grace and we were howling with laughter, so one day when I was chatting to a friend of ours, I logged onto YouTube, found the clip, and played it to her.

Silence.  Crickets.  Tumbleweed.

While I cackled in the background, she sat stony-faced, waiting it for it to end.

And it was only then I realised, you have to KNOW the people in the scene to find it even slightly amusing; if you’ve got no relationship with them, it loses ALL its power, and most of its humour.

That’s how powerful relationship is – if you have a strong one with your audience, everything changes; your communication resonates with them, they sit up, they take notice, and they digest what you send them.

And of course, getting them to consume what you send is half the battle.

Recalling that somewhat embarrassing incident is a useful reminder to me of the importance of cultivating and working on relationship, and hopefully it is for you too.

Seb

P.S. And if you are a US Office fan, click here to check out the video.

If you’re not, I wouldn’t recommend it!