I’ve been reflecting on an extraordinary 2016 – yes I’m a little late, maybe this really should have been a pre xmas blog. It’s true, it should have been but for my self imposed work ban in December. Having worked as much work as I could throughout Jan to November, I planned into my diary a work embargo for December – it seemed fitting to down tools in a month which offered the opportunity to get ahead on all things festive and enjoy the bliss of not working with a hangover from all the parties.

If I had a crystal ball in my employed days, that told me one day I would be able to sanction such indulgencies, I don’t think I could have coped with the sheer anticipation and joy, and it is true that I made the most of the month, but what I wasn’t prepared for, mid way through December was a longing, even an aching to just get back to work – it had been too long.

So what’s that all about? Yearning to lay off the pace and slow everything down, only to want to speed it all up again? You see, there’s something very paradoxical about time and happiness. I convince myself that I need to slow down, work a little less, savour the moment a little more, give myself time to make considered choices rather than making them under pressure, yet given this opportunity, particularly in December, this additional time felt more like a void that needed to be filled with pace, excitement, creativity, work!

There’s a lot of thought out there currently that suggests being busy just isn’t cool anymore, that workaholics belong in a previous century, certainly not this one – And it’s not just current thought leaders suggesting we need to lay off the pace, Socrates himself prophesized this with “beware the baronness of a busy life” and this is supported by scientific research that suggests multitasking can reduce our productivity by upto 25%.

I must add, I have never been a workaholic, but being busy – that I do love. The feeling of just making it in time to the school run because I’ve managed to cram so much into the day upto that point seems like the perfect balance to me. But is it really?

Researchers from the University of Chicago can help. They found that the belief that busyness is a sign of success and hard work is so prevalent that we actually fear inactivity. A recent study there coined the term idleness aversion to describe how people are drawn to being busy regardless of how busyness harms their productivity.

Alas, I don’t think I’ll ever really lay of the pace too much, I want to collapse on my sofa at the end of the day and feel I have squeezed out every last drop the day can offer, but reflecting on December, where I had the opportunity to slow down, I maybe missed an opportunity of holding just one thing in my head at a time – maybe squeezing out every last drop that one thought can offer is more powerful, more productive than squeezing the life out of a day?

I’ll give it a go, just as soon as I’ve put these juggling balls down….

Rothley Primary School in Leicestershire is this year within the top 5% of Primary Schools within the UK according to the Government’s Education Secretary. Hear how a recent Team Effectiveness Workshop I ran for them helped.

I do love to laugh.

Laughing lifts me and makes me feel alive and I realise I have to nurture the relationships, both personal and professional, that create the opportunity to laugh.

Even hearing others laugh sets me off, and as I write this I’m thinking of my daughter (and laughing as I do so), who has acquired a sort of Sid James in Carry On Camping uncontrollable giggle which never fails to get me started.

It’s also fair to say that there are times when I don’t want to laugh anymore.  Maybe it’s the way I am feeling personally or the timing and context of what’s being shared.

So I know there’s a balance to be had, and that when that balance is right, it’s awesome. We feel nourished, energised and even more connected to the people we’re with.

Which suggests that surely there’s no place better than a training room to bring laughter to life and see it play-out in increased learning and engagement?

Much research has been done around the relative merits of bringing laughter into the classroom. LA Garner discussed this in his 2006 book, ‘How Ha Ha Can Lead To Aha!’

He conducted a study on a group of students, asking them to watch 3 different 40-minute recorded lectures on research methods and statistics. Within each lecture were 3 humorous stories or metaphors.

There was a control group and an experimental group and both watched the same 3 lectures, but the control group’s lectures had the humorous stories and metaphors seamlessly edited out.

After the lectures the students were assessed on their retention of the information as well as being asked to rate the presentations. What resulted was a clear link between the retention of information and the humorous lectures for the experimental group. They also rated the presenter higher than in the control group who had the humorous stories removed.

There are many other studies which Garner cites which demonstrate that when laughter occurs in the classroom, there is a lowering of defences – so much so that we’re able to focus more on the topic being discussed and our increased interest follows.

But as we know, an overplayed strength becomes our weakness and so how can we as facilitators and trainers ensure that this doesn’t become the case? How can we avoid our delegates becoming disengaged?

Garner guides us towards some underlying criteria which humour needs to meet if it’s to be effective:

1. It should be specific to the teaching topic:

For me the use of humorous metaphor is a great tool.

When delivering sessions on effective communication, Albert Mehrabian’s pie chart which highlights that communication is made up of words; tone and inflection and body language can result in some yawns from participants less inspired by pie charts and statistics. When discussing the impact of the words we choose I love the story of the North American manager who asked his team leader in Chile to generate “a list of all employees; broken down by sex”. The Chilean team leader sent back an email explaining that “we have 250 in the warehouse; non broken down by sex, if you must know, our problem here is with alcohol”. Scroll down to point 3 if you cringed a little there.

2. Targeted to enhance learning:

Humour is either targeted towards the teaching topic or used to help lower defences and create rapport – sometimes it will do both.

So it might not need to be about the topic above – it might be an insight into the facilitator, which provides an opportunity for others to connect with their human, self effacing side.

I often use the example of my first job as a sales consultant within the fitness industry. Suffice to say it was peppered with marketing blunders and customer facing disasters – especially the time when I accused a customer of using someone else’s membership card as they were female and the photo was of a man. Just minimal exploration on my part (showing her the photo I was so appalled by) proved very swiftly that it was her card and her photo. Ouch!

3. Appropriate for the audience:

This is about using it at the right time and for the right audience. One man’s punch line is another man considering how much he’d like to punch you for saying it. As facilitators, we use our observation and listening skills with a valuing mindset to assess when the time is right to use humour.

To support this, I would also add that high levels of self-awareness are critical to using humour to maximise learning. This means seeking every opportunity possible to gain feedback on our performance, not just from end of workshop evaluation forms but also from our peers and colleagues. Asking for specific feedback around authenticity, delivery and impact of humour means we can start, stop or keep doing what’s working.

“But I’m not funny!”

Should this be your current contemplation regarding all things humorous in the training room, it’s worth remembering that humour doesn’t have to originate from the facilitator or trainer.

How many times have delegates themselves brought unique insights and funny experiences to the room?

Laughter can originate within the room when we create an environment of trust, openness and of valuing others and when we remember to build ‘having fun’ into our contract at the start of the day.

In a corporate climate that so often feels incredibly serious (and for which I don’t argue there isn’t a place) as facilitators and trainers it is crucial to our own personal resilience, as well as those we help to learn, that we bring light, laughter and (I can’t help this bit) a bit of love wherever we go. The unique way in which we do this can make a significant impact on what is taken away, long after the training session ends.

So in my very best Sid James voice “Carry on laughing…”

A little bit of me and the amazing people I get to work with.  This was a group of business owners exploring their personal style and it’s impact on others.

For me, this video demonstrates how the simple, yet impactful language of Insights Discovery can help to break through some of the most complex and deep rooted challenges we face as organizations and people.