The Seven Jestures: how to gain your Fool's Charter

 

Further to friend Wamba from Ivanhoe, the clown, the Fool and the jester have had a chequered history in art and literature. In the days when monarchs actually ruled, the court jester played - literally - a significant role in the decision making of his overlord. The jester dressed traditionally in bright colours. He had at his command a store of rhymed wit and the ability to perform. Through singing, dancing and clowning around, he knocked upon the modes of thought of his 'superiors'. He had the ability to lighten any occasion with a chance remark, pave the way towards solving thorny problems and blow old ways of thinking out of the box. From that point of view, who would not be a jester? I say that we are all jesters - and ready to receive the following "jestures".

First, don't forget your jester's hat. I mean this quite literally. What you carry on top of your head has a profound effect on the way that people see you. It is not for nothing that the judge wears a wig, the don wears a mortarboard and the official wears a peaked hat.

Second, wear rose-coloured, jester spectacles. When faced with a problem, remember the old adage "Two men looked out through prison bars. One saw mud, the other saw stars." If you have a fridge busting with food, throw a party, coffee-morning, beer-bash, whatever. Dub it a business-networking event - and you never know who might turn up.

Third, turn your jester's coat routinely. In other words, don't be afraid to switch your point of view, either literally or metaphorically. If you get into a disagreement, try to see what really happened. Maybe you were lazy, indifferent or under-performing in some other way, on the project.

Fourth: always carry your marotte, the baton or stick with the carved effigy of the jester speared on the end. The origin of the marotte is uncertain, but historians believed that it lampooned the Emperor's sceptre, the magician's wand, and so on. Your marotte can be a mascot, calling card or business card. Use whatever works for you, and make it memorable.

Fifth, remember the power of words. Words are the ultimate weapon, and it is not for nothing that 'word' is just one letter short of 'sword'. Always have a good dictionary within reach. Learn a new word every day, and use it. Join a poetry class. Identify a playwright and plough through his or her entire output. It is time-consuming but possible - mine is Shakespeare. Record and learn quotes and anecdotes. Your erudition will wow everyone.

Sixth, be aware of timing. Know when to speak and when to stay silent. A funeral is not a good place to crack a joke about the deceased. You do not plonk a cream gateau in front of a friend who is earnestly trying to lose weight.

Finally, learn a sense of humour. The true Fool knows the difference between humour, and bigotry and ignorance. Above all, learn to laugh at yourself. So, with your jester's coat, glasses and cap, your marotte and extraordinary command of words, your impeccable sense of timing and sophisticated sense of humour, you are ready to receive the Fool's Charter. I leave the final words to William Shakespeare's Fool, the fictional jester from King Lear: "Have more than thou showest, Speak less than thou knowest, Lend less than thou owest....