It’s no secret that we humans are drawn to those with a sense of humor. We enjoy being around pleasant people; being "entertained" and uplifted. But research is showing that humor may be vital to survival in the modern work environment. as the world moves faster and faster, we’re faced with more stress -- pressure to get things done.

With the increased tempo, the demands of the Information Age can no longer be met by logic alone. what’s needed is an environment where imagination, flexibility, and risk-taking can flourish, creating action and growth.

Humor provides an effective antidote. It stimulates creativity and productivity; helps the over-stressed gain perspective; and opens lines of communication.

Using Humor
Most meetings can be looked at as the modern world in microcosm. The goals are ambitious: to generate and evaluate ideas and produce plans of action in a short period of time. You know that it’s crucial that those attending the meeting communicate well, produce their most innovative ideas, and be flexible and open to new ways of thinking.

Imagine you’re running an important, six-hour strategic planning meeting. Around the room, tension swirls and gathers as the participants argue. Everyone thinks only his or her own ideas are right. But no one has been able to get an entire, well-developed idea out because minds are closed and mouths are open. Meanwhile, your time ticks away as nothing gets accomplished. So how do you get your group onto the fast track? One way is through the strategic use of humor.

Strategic humor requires pre-meeting preparation, quick thinking, and a good sense of judgment. Suppose you had begun the meeting with the above group by donning Donald Duck glasses? Suppose you had then passed out pairs of these glasses to the participants and seriously announced that the glasses would enhance their vision so they could project themselves into the year 2010? Ridiculous? This tactic helped an organization’s Board of Directors succeed in putting together solid ideas for their strategic plan. The glasses served as a visual stimulus. As people looked around the room and broke into laughter, the old ways of thinking were broken and participants were able to think of their organization from a different perspective -- with new vision.

The Donald Duck glasses served as a catalyst for the attendees at the meeting to let their childlike selves emerge, accepting the childlike qualities of everyone else in the room. The humor, laughter and fun produced by the glasses resulted in open minds and free thought processes; the meeting became a productive give-and-take session. Best of all, the participants left congratulating themselves and each other for a job well-done.

To effectively facilitate a meeting using strategic humor, begin by "reading" the group’s collective mind. Analyze the needs of this group and determine how you can best use humor. Then, build a strong, humorous theme, such as "Enhancing Our Vision with Donald Duck Glasses," that reflects the meeting’s purpose. The theme should provide a framework in which the group can throw caution to the wind and generate ideas. Linking purpose to theme will result in the group’s ability to achieve outcomes that are effective, meaningful, and on target.

A Shot of Humor
You, as facilitator, motivate your group to work together. You want he participants to be involved, to generate their own fun, and to accept the process so they move toward accomplishing the task at hand.

Get you motor running. To establish a new group mind set, you need the participants to step outside themselves and see the situation from a new perspective. Whether you begin by having each participant tell a "fantasy" about themselves, or have them draw pictures of their own brains, it’s important to use a techniques that will bring out the uniqueness of each member of the group. This starts building the momentum by focusing on the strengths of each person in the room.

Suspending judgment. One of the best ways to achieve the goals of a meeting is to introduce suspended judgment: During the brainstorming, no one may judge the relevance, validity, or correctness of an idea -- no matter how outrageous. It’s helpful for the group to identify ego bashing phrases at the beginning of the meeting. Each person calls out all the negative responses he or she can think of; you post them in a prominent place. These phrases serve a s reminders for the participants and to help ward off nipping the idea in the bud.

Suspending judgment results in three important ends. First, ideas flow freely and abundantly. Participants contribute new ideas stimulated by the ideas of their colleagues (a process called "hitch-hiking"). Second, there is an opportunity for the group to generate its own humor by suggesting anything and everything. Third, it allows an "incubation" period to occur. so the group can subconsciously develop and expand the idea.

Cross-pollinate ideas. Lateral thinking occurs when the mind interrupts its habitual, point-to-point thought process and leaps sideways out of the ingrained patterns. To help people do that, you need to give them stimuli that frees them up.

Imagine an 18-foot corporate board table scattered with pictures of bottles of honey and bumblebees pasted to the walls. Every time a meeting participant looks at the honey, he or she remembers that the purpose of the meeting is to "cross-pollinate" the individual committee member’s ideas. The bee motif reiterates the meeting’s purpose while interjecting a humorous theme. Again, these childlike techniques free the participants to banish their adult sensibilities and release their more spontaneous, creative selves.

Cross-pollinating ideas requires a great amount of acceptance among the group. The principle behind this process is not to be right, but to be effective. This means allowing yourself to hit on the "wrong answer". Many times the wrong answer suggests a right answer to someone else in the group, or the group might be able to explore the idea during the analytical process and rework it into an effective strategy.

Get completely involved. In addition to visual stimuli, like the Donald Duck glasses and honey, you can introduce "thinking cues".

Have the group tap all of themselves, calling on the power of their senses. "Five-sensing" pulls on the senses to describe a situation. For instance, how would the group describe the way their strategic plan smells? The way it sounds, feels, tastes?

Research on group process has shown that groups that work well together first create an atmosphere that is informal and relaxed. The success of a meeting depends on the way group members feel about each other, whether or not they trust each other, and how enthusiastic they are about the purpose and goals of the meeting.

Strategic humor, a unique approach, gives you the essential tools to direct your group towards accomplishing its goals. Strategic humor fosters teamwork; motivates participants to be creative; and sets the stage for effectively evaluating and analyzing ideas. Strategic humor builds strong strategies and action plans. And...strategic humor is fun!

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