research

Sparking Creativity in Teams: A Humorist’s Guide

By on January 17, 2012 in Humor Benefits

The McKinsey Quarterly recently released their Top 10 Articles of 2011. You can read them here (note: free registration is required).

One of the articles in particular caught my eye because it speaks directly to humor (though sadly doesn’t mention it directly). The article?

#9 Sparking creativity in teams: An executive’s guide

The article talks about creativity and how it’s not something you are either born with or not:

Although creativity is often considered a trait of the privileged few, any individual or team can become more creative—better able to generate the breakthroughs that stimulate growth and performance.

It goes on to suggest some of the neuroscience to back up this claim:

The key is to focus on perception, which leading neuroscientists, such as Emory University’s Gregory Berns, find is intrinsically linked to creativity in the human brain. To perceive things differently, Berns maintains, we must bombard our brains with things it has never encountered….

Only by forcing our brains to recategorize information and move beyond our habitual thinking patterns can we begin to imagine truly novel alternatives.

Hmm. “Perceive things differently.” “Recategorize information.” “Brains.” All of this sounds like humor. One of the keys to humor is incongruity–the surprise, the difference, the “wait a sec” feeling.

Using humor is a great way to get people thinking differently, outside of their normal perspective. And this doesn’t mean you have to get your team to tell jokes (though it could help, check out Funny Cuz It’s True). Instead it could be as simple as creating an environment that is incongruous to what they expect.

Don’t hold the brainstorming session in the same room every other meeting is in, or play music in the background so you don’t have the same bland white noise in the background. Studies show that getting out of the office (mentally and physically) can remove creative roadblocks.

Humor also helps with creating new connections as much of humor is connecting two things together in an uncommon or new way. As the article says,

The most powerful overall driver of innovation was associating—making connections across “seemingly unrelated questions, problems, or ideas.”

Humor can do that. And it all becomes easier when you follow the tenets of improvisation: treat your fellow peers like geniuses and poets and Yes And.

If you’re interested in learning how humor can help your creativity, check out our problem-solving workshops.

PS. Two other articles stuck out to be from the Top 10 that are worth reading: #2 Seven steps to better brainstorming and #10 Three steps to building a better top team.

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Anticipating a Laugh Reduces Stress

By on September 11, 2009 in Humor Benefits

Research at a university in California suggests that just anticipating a humorous experience can help boost immunity and reduce stress.  The scientific study measured various hormone levels of two groups; one group anticipated watching a humorous video, and the other did not.

Some of the highlights from the study include:

  • The anticipation of mirthful laughter increased two hormones associated with alleviating depression and improving immunity by an average of 57%.
  • Three stress hormones were also reduced by an average of 49% when anticipating laughter
  • As the lead researcher stated, “Our findings lead us to believe that by seeking out positive experiences that make us laugh we can do a lot with our physiology to stay well.”

Ready to laugh for better health? Just take a second to anticipate watching some great office humor videos, then click on through and actually reap the benefits of laughter.

Source: Anticipating a Laugh Reduces Our Stress Hormones, Study Shows, American Physiological Study.  Science Daily, April 2008.

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The Difference Between Smiling and Laughing

By on August 21, 2009 in Learn with Humor
photo by ba1969

photo by ba1969

Smiling and laughing are often associated together, and while they often occur together, there is a distinct difference between the two.  Research by Alleen Pace Nilsen and Don L.F. Nilsen explores the difference in more detail:

“Smiles are more likely to express feelings of satisfaction or good will, while laughter comes from surprise or a recognition of an incongruity.” (page 184)

Smiles are most often connected to a positive experience, while laughing is related to something unexpected, but not necessarily positive.  And while both can be faked, they’re most natural cause comes from humor.

In fact, the difference between smiling and laughing is similar to the difference between humor and comedy.  Laughing is generally evoked by something being funny (aka comedy)–a joke or story that sets an expectation and then breaks it.  Humor, which can be funny, can also just elicit positive emotions–often signaled by smiling.

But perhaps the biggest difference between the two is that smiling is personal and laughing is public:

“Laughter is a social phenomenon. That’s why ‘getting the giggles’ never happens when we are alone.  In contrast, people often smile when they are reading or even when they are having private thoughts.” (page 185)

What’s the point? The point is that when working to incorporate humor into the workplace, you are more likely to elicit smiles than laughter.  Why? Because there is a fear of laughing in the office, and rather than publicly express that an employee finds something funny, they’re more likely to privately enjoy the moment.

So as you attempt humor in the office, don’t worry about not hearing any laughter–instead look for the smiles on your co-workers faces as they enjoy the benefits of humor.

Source: Encyclopedia of 20th-Century American Humor by Alleen Nilsen and Don L.F. Nilsen. Westport, CT, 2000.

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