How Does A Humorist Market Themselves To Meeting Planners, Executives, And Organizations On The Value Of Fun And Humor?

by Roz Trieber, MS, CHES

Humor has no place in a serious leadership meeting.  NOT!!  Why is it that an organization will pay high fees for someone to speak on the qualities of leadership and perhaps only pay a bit more than a handful for a person perceived to be a “comedian?”  Doesn’t a humorist add content value to meetings and seminars focusing on serious and challenging issues?

Look no further; here is the rest of the story you need to tell meeting planners why they need to include a humorist as part of any serious program.  You have the secret weapon for a successful meeting. Your presentations model multiple ways of using humor to enhance your message as well as how to use it effectively.  You provide the glue that makes the rest of the information presented…STICK!  The only problem is the meeting planner doesn’t know it.   

Put on your ‘nerdy’ glasses and confirm how you can relieve a meeting planner’s pain adding incredible value to their need to provide expertise that gets remembered.  Go for the Science! Research demonstrates there is a significant correlation between humor and leadership effectiveness (Priest and Swain, 2002).  Organizational culture, in the military and elsewhere, supports the use of humor by leaders in appropriate ways.  The United States Army leadership manual describes, “Having a good sense of humor” as a valuable character trait for leaders (Department of Army, 1983). It was found that cadets at the United States Military Academy who use humor as a coping strategy were less likely to quit or make mistakes.  In addition, humor employed by managers and leaders achieve three specific ends: 1) stress reduction in the workplace, 2) helping employees understand management concerns by enhancing communication patterns, and 3) motivating followers (Davis and Kleiner, 1989).  Good leaders who use good-natured jest put others at ease.  Those who cannot laugh or joke about their imperfections or personal failings are correlated with other characteristics of “bad leaders,”   A majority of good leaders are shown to have quick wit, see the point of jokes, maintain group morale through extraverted humor vs. mean spirited humor, have infectious laughs, and tell humorous satires in dialect (Priest and Swain, 2002).

What this really means is that there is improved communication with less misunderstanding, and increased desire to come to work, and an increase in creativity and productivity (Decker and Rotondo, 2001).  In summary, humor in the workplace promotes physical and mental health, fosters mental flexibility, and acts as a social lubricant (Morreall, 1983). 

Bibliography:

Davis, A. & Kleiner, B. H. The Value of Humor in Effective Leadership. Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, 10(1), 1-3.

Decker, W.H., & Rotondo, D. M. ((2001). Relationships Among Gender, Type of Humor, And Perceived Leadership Effectiveness. Journal of Managerial Issues,  (Winter)13(4).

Department of the Army (1983).  FM22-100: Military Leadership, 124

Morreall, J. (1983). Taking Humor Seriously. Albany State University of New York Press.

Priest, R. & Swain, J. E. (2002), Humor and Leadership Effectiveness. HUMOR: International Journal of Humor Research. 15(2), 169-189.

 

Roz Trieber works with organizations to reduce stress and increase productivity using humor and improvisation. For more information on Roz ’s speaking programs, books, cd's and learning programs contact HUMORFUSION at 410.998.9585 or Roz@humorfusion.com. (www.humorfusion.com)

© 2004 Copyright by Roz Trieber and Trieber Associates, Inc.


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