Yawn…

Do you yawn just when you hear the word yawn? Or do you yawn when someone else does? Until yesterday I thought yawning was merely a thing our body involuntarily does and it helps us feel nice and is a great exercise for jaws. Or as a popular theory goes – we yawn because of reduction in oxygen levels reaching our brain. But yesterday discovered that yawning could actually help us win!

What on earth am I talking about?!

Well, last evening we had a critical meeting where our agency was pitching for a high profile account. We were meeting CEO’s and the likes of this company. We had a presentation ready and were hoping that the client would sign on the dotted line.

There were four people on the client’s side and two of us from my agency. I really don’t know who started the yawn fest. The person next to me was yawning away and I’m so susceptible to yawns (just the mention of the word gets me yawning!) so I was having a tough time suppressing it. This really was too critical a meeting for us and I could not afford to yawn for God’s sake!! My boss was presenting and it was going well when suddenly the CEO yawned loudly. In the stunned silence that followed he grinned sheepishly. “You see I have an allergy problem, so I’m taking anti histamines. They make me feel sleepy.” He mumbled, his face turning red with embarrassment. Even as he finished talking, the GM followed suit and yawned loudly. The CEO glared at the GM who I’m sure would have loved for the earth to open up and swallow him. (In the meanwhile I thought I would die devoid of oxygen if I didn’t stop suppressing my yawns. I pretended to drop a pen, below the table and quickly did the needful. Whew!) My boss too felt the same, I think, he bent low and fiddled with his laptop and quietly yawned.

I’m not kidding here, but soon everyone in the room was yawning and it was getting awkward really!

Finally, much to everyone’s relief, the CEO did a smart thing. He adjourned the meeting saying, “You guys are on! Send me the formal agreement, we will sign and let’s start working. Deadlines are tight you know.”

So everyone shook hands and sheepishly went “heh heh hoh hoh”. Then we left.

What a relief it was to get out of there and into fresh air! My boss and I laughed so much we had tears in our eyes. He was like “in my 50 years of experience this is the weirdest meeting I’ve ever attended!”

Trust me it ain’t funny when you are actually there and trying so hard not to yawn. But right now – we’re walking around with a big smirk. What a way to clinch a deal!