Let me set the scene. Youhave organised a meeting with several key members of your team to energise andinspire them. You want to motivate them. You want to put them on track to blowaway last year's numbers and to eclipse their targets for the coming year.However, after 30 minutes you begin to sense things slipping away. They begindaydreaming, they are requesting bathroom breaks, and they look much tooserious. What do you do? How can you keep their attention? How can you fill theroom with energy?

You do something simple. You crack a joke. Someone laughs. Suddenly yousee smiles, brighter eyes, better body language, and faces that are moreattentive as the atmosphere of the whole room changes. That is the power oflaughter. As an HR professional, you need to play a strong role in motivating,energizing, and engaging your employees. Using humor to help developrelationships and forge strong connections is a fantastic and often overlookedtechnique. Laughter can improve the way in which you train and motivate yourteam. Becoming the office ‘comedian', may help you to get your ideas across andgenerate fantastic energy within your team!

Laugh to Learn

I grew up and went to school in New York City. My two favourite teacherswere Mr. Ebbin in 6th grade and Mr. Smith in 8th grade. They both used humourto convey their messages and the students loved them! We wanted to learn fromthem. Comedy unites people - everyone wants to laugh and have a good time. Noone likes feeling bored. Do you remember the college professor who spent threehours lecturing you on ancient history, macroeconomics, or particle physics andwas so boring that he sent you to sleep? I certainly remember the one wholectured me and I am sure you have all come into contact with a teacher, trainer,or speaker who has bored you to tears. Think about how this made you feel. Thelast thing you wish to do is to put your team in a similar situation. Thatcould suck the energy straight out of your organisation.

You do not want to interaction with your team to be like thesleep-inducing professor. You need your employees to respond to you, to listento you, and to take on board what you have to say. The likelihood of thistaking place increases if you can infuse your messages with humour. I guaranteethat if you make the effort to try and make your team laugh, they will respond.

"Becoming the office‘comedian' may help you to get your ideas across and generate fantastic energywithin your team!"

Learn to Laugh

Many people regard stand-up comedians to be some of the smartest peoplein the world. This is because they look at things differently. They arecreative, connecting things that do not normally fit together in a way that youcan visualise and believe in. As a trainer and a motivator, you must also be anentertainer. After all, your employees are your audience. Top quality trainingand teambuilding requires laughter as an integral element. If you are funny andentertain your staff, they will feel drawn to you. Regardless of the field inwhich your organisation operates, if you incorporate laughter into the process,you will create better morale. Your staff will be happy, productive, highlymotivated, and increasingly successful.

What about your employees, how can infusing your organization with humorhelp them? How can laughter improve their productivity? If you can energisetheir workplace with laughter, they will begin to look at things differently.Their work-life will seem much less repetitive. They will want to come to workrather than feel that they have to. In other words, they will have more fun,they will be increasingly creative and they will not be afraid to take a few more risks.Managers across your organization will appreciate these newlycreative employees. Therefore, if you want your staff to climb the corporateladder, a great start is to encourage them to laugh with each other.