Not a Comedian? Try These Humor Techniques for Group Facilitation
Any facilitator knows the struggle of sparking that first true connection with an audience. Humor can be a powerful tool to speed up building connections and rapport during group facilitations. But, what if it doesn’t come naturally?
We’ve compiled our best techniques for incorporating humor into workshops and developing that deeper connection with your attendees right out of the gate. Learn a little background about the science and stats behind humor in professional settings or jump right into the techniques in the “So You’re Not a Comedian? Try This!” section below for some actionable techniques to try.
Where’s the Humor at Work?
Among adults, especially in professional settings, humor can often be seen as childish, frivolous, and a distraction from serious work. Unfortunately, this view fails to consider the science behind humor and its benefits in social interactions.
During group facilitation, we often encounter professional audiences who are hesitant to drop their workplace personas and let their guards down. That’s why humor can be so immensely powerful. It can assist with creating an atmosphere that allows for some silliness and accepts our humanity – flaws and all.
In fact, “a workplace that embraces laughter is likely one that also encourages the kind of creativity, authenticity and psychological safety that allows people to perform their best” according to Corrine Purtill based on her discussions with Stanford humor professors and authors Ms. Aaker and Ms. Bagdonas for Purtill’s New York Times article How to Laugh at Work.
The Science of Laughing
So what’s going on in the brain when you laugh? According to Mallori DeSalle, Mental Health Therapist and Therapeutic Humorist, “the pleasure neurotransmitter dopamine is one of many of the body’s chemicals released in the brain when experiencing humor or laughing.” Dopamine also provides several benefits to the brain including improved memory, attention, learning, and motivation. If dopamine is so powerful, how might we use it in group facilitation?
So, You’re Not a Comedian? Try This!
A little curiosity, practice, and persistence are all you’ll need to lighten up your facilitations and encourage laughter. Try some or all of the techniques below and remember that it’s not about being a comedian. In fact, laughter research shows that jokes only generate about 10-15% of the laughter we express. As you explore these techniques, think about how you can open up to your audience and encourage them to do the same.
Add Jokes to Your Script - Although we’re not all comedians, there are standard joke formats that can be learned and used to add that spark of humor you need. Most jokes follow the standard format of a setup followed by a punchline. Search for topical puns and jokes online or take a stab at writing your own. You could even use this AI tool to write a joke for you.
Seek Out a New Perspective - When planning your workshop, it can help to draw inspiration from a new source. Try using ChatGPT to change the style of an activity or a section of your workshop. For example, prompt ChatGPT to re-write your introduction in the style of Shakespearean English or texting language and switch to the new style unexpectedly to shake things up.
Make Humor a Game - Take boring activities and moments and turn them into something fun! For example, instead of asking everyone to introduce themselves with traditional questions, ask them to tell two truths and a lie then have the other participants guess what the lie is.
Remember to use your best judgment when adding humor to your facilitations. Maintain a positive intention and lift participants up. There is a fine line between helpful and harmful humor. Although self-deprecating humor can be effective, never tell a joke at the expense of someone else.
We hope these techniques help you encourage vulnerability and build psychological safety during your facilitations. If they do, contact us or let us know on social media!
Learn More!
Watch our webinar, “Chemicals, Post-it’s and Laughter” to learn more about comedy versus therapeutic humor and how to incorporate humor to create safe spaces for vulnerability.