Laughter is a powerful shrinking agent.  When a problem appears to be too big, joking about the situation makes the problem seem smaller.  When people are uptight, finding something silly to laugh about reduces the tension.  Unfortunately, laughing at a person (or group of people) also makes him look smaller. That not only hurts the person who is belittled, it poisons the atmosphere for everyone within hearing range.

A really powerful person has no need to act like a bully.  A person who is confident in his/her strength will be in control of the situation enough to act gently.  That gentleness invites cooperation.

Bullying behavior is a sign of insecurity; it makes it look like the person is trying to make it look like he is stronger than he feels.  Also, the use of brute force invites resistance and thoughts of revenge.

Whenever we are pretending to be somebody we’re not, we are acting out a lie.  That invariably creates stress.  The internal fear of being found out will drive us toward protecting our image, instead of enjoying our company.  Putting on a false front will either turn us into bullies, or make us easy targets for other bullies.