Humor In Practice - Meetings

It's been reported that 85% of people in meetings don't want to be there. Most meetings are tolerable at best. However, knowing that you are at a disadvantage from the beginning (i.e. having to win over every 8.5 people out of 10), what can you do to liven up the meetings in your organization? Consider the following as ways to create an atmosphere in which people want to be there.

• Assign one member of the team or committee the role of VP for Humor. His/her job is to bring something fun to each meeting like a joke, a story, a cartoon or a FUN activity.
• Have FUN with agenda items. Rather than listing Board Members, list them as Bored Members. Or include the "Approval of the Hours" instead of the "minutes." A lively agenda will keep the group interested.
• Make the minutes of meetings FUN to read. Hide quotes, jokes or FUNny phrases to encourage people to read them.
• Include an "Enforcer" in the group to make sure the ground rules or the time schedule is followed. This person, armed with a Nerf gun, can shoot violators as a way to humorously move the meeting along.
• Jazz up your reports and presentations with humorous illustrations. Consider turning a report into a game or song rather than simply reading it. The group will remember an "experience" far longer than a report.
• Change the location of your meeting. Many restaurants will let you use a private room for the price of a pot of coffee. Changing locations can change the mood of the meeting.
• Improve the rooms in which you meet. Decorate your meeting rooms with FUN and lively art, posters, cartoons, etc. If you change the environment, you change the atmosphere.
• Switch roles. When problem solving or brainstorming, have members change roles to help them see things from another perspective. It also makes for a lively discussion!
• Instead of just asking for "ideas", create FUN games to generate ideas. Research shows that humor and creativity are closely linked. Charades, debates and skits can produce a creative atmosphere in which ideas will flourish.
• Create FUN awards for your team or group when they achieve their goals. Offer to bake cookies, wash a car or provide other low cost rewards for your team.

Whatever you do in your meetings, remember that it is up to you to make the meeting more successful.

Humor Resources

For more information on FUN things for communications, check out these resources:

Games Trainers Play, More Games Trainers Play, Still More Games Trainers Play, Even More Games Trainers Play by Edward Scannell and John Newstrom. Published by McGraw Hill.

Fun Games For Great Parties by Maralys Wils. Published by Price Stern Sloan.

1001 Ways to Reward Employees by Bob Nelson. Published by Workman.

The FUN Factor by Carolyn Greenwich. Published by McGraw Hill.

Whack Pack idea generating cards by Roger von Oech.

Humor In Real Life

I once attended a meeting that would drag on for 2-3 hours. Most of us were exhausted by the length of the meeting and would do anything to shorten them. So one day, I came up with an idea. I offered the team leader 1 dozen roses if she could end the meeting in 1 hour or less. The entire meeting changed! Now everyone in the room was determined to get those roses for our leader. Week after week we finished in less and less time. Then one day, the meeting finished in 56 minutes. As promised, I brought the team leader a dozen roses the following week to the cheers of the group. It was a FUN way to keep us focused.                -Ron Culberson

Just Humor

A friend sent the following to me. The original source is unknown.

New Years' Resolutions for Dogs:

• Remember, the garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.
• I will not roll my toys behind the fridge.
• I do not need to suddenly stand up when I'm lying under the coffee table.
• The diaper pail is not a cookie jar.
• I will not roll on dead animals.

Humor In The News

A new 5-year study will partner Comedy Central and the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center to see if laughter really is the best medicine. As part of the Network's program, Comedy Rx, Comedy Central "has provided a $75,000 research grant to UCLA to study how to most effectively use humor to reduce pain and to prevent and treat disease." The 5-year study is called Rx Laughter. While the study will include all ages, it will focus on children and adolescents who are seriously ill. The goal is to explore further the relationship between humor and health and to use that knowledge in patient care. (Business Wire, 2/1)

 

©2000 FUNsulting, etc. Permission is granted to copy this newsletter as long as the following information is included:

Ron Culberson, Director of Everything! at FUNsulting, etc., helps people and organizations find and enjoy humor to achieve a healthier perspective in life or work.  He is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), the highest earned award from the National Speakers Association, and is one of only 421 individuals worldwide who have received this designation.  He has provided entertaining and informative programs to over 40,000 people in more than 500 associations, government agencies, non-profit organizations and Fortune 500 companies. To find our more about programs, services and products visit his website at www.funsulting.com or call (703) 742-8812.