Medical Humor Blog
Just discovered a great new blog. Check it out: Medical Humor.
Ron
Just discovered a great new blog. Check it out: Medical Humor.
Ron
We learned today that comedian and talk show host Ellen Degeneres will not return next year as a judge on American Idol. She indicated that it was not a good fit and that it was too time consuming. Plus, she said she did not like hurting contestant’s feelings. It’s a shame that she’s leaving because she had the potential of being a great job. Potential, in my opinion, that was not realized.
Here’s my take on her role in American Idol. She was a great judge of music and character but she wasn’t funny enough.
As a fan of comedy and American Idol, when I heard that she was a judge, I was thrilled. I love her quirky, down-to-earth humor and I am mesmerized by her stand-up routine. But halfway through the American Idol season, I was disappointed that she wasn’t using the humor for which she’s known. It’s as if she wanted to appear more judgey than funny. For what’s it worth, I’ve heard Al Franken is doing the same thing in his new role as US Senator. Apparently, he doesn’t want to be too funny or else the other politicians won’t take him seriously. Puh-lease. We don’t take politicians seriously to begin with. But I digress.
Here’s the deal. Humor is a gift. A gift that should keep on giving. Ellen Degeneres and Al Franken have natural talents that most of us would die for. They should use those talents for their benefit and for ours.
I’m not suggesting that every comment Ellen Degeneres makes should be hilarious and I’m not suggesting that Al Franken do an SNL skit on the Senate Floor. What I would suggest, however, is that they use their humor to engage, entertain, and reinforce their message. If they do their job well AND they’re funny, viewers and voters will flock to support them. It’s that simple. And you can do the same thing in your job.
If any of you saw Harry Connick, Jr. on American Idol, you saw an excellent example of how it’s done. He had great advice, great stage presence, and he was absolutely hilarious. His banter made you like him even more.
Those eight of you who read my blog regularly should sit up and listen. If you want to have a greater impact in your job or your life, consider tapping into humor as a powerful communication tool.
Remember what playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “If you’re going to tell people the truth, make them laugh. Otherwise, they’ll kill you.”
Ron
I had the opportunity to see Mark Gungor at the National Speakers Association Convention in Orlando last week. He presented a hilarious program on the differences between the brains of men and women. Isn’t it so much more enjoyable to learn with laughter?
Here’s a sample:
Ron
One of my biggest complaints about the Super Bowl ads is that the car companies don’t seem to get it. Each year, there are so many hilarious ads and yet the car companies want to promote luxury, comfort, and the open road. BOR-ING!
Well, in an attempt to save their reputation, Toyota is changing all that. Their recent ads are hilarious. They take a normally boring commercial and make it really entertaining. You can do the same with your work routines.
Here’s my favorite Toyota ad:
Ron
Recently, a prospective client told me that her organization did not have a budget to hire outside speakers for their conferences. When I offered her a free subscription to my FUNsultations newsletter, hoping that the articles would be a cost-effective alternative to educate her members about the value of humor, she said, “We don’t have a place for humor here. Our association is very serious. We focus on legislative and regulatory issues.”
My first thought was to hop in the car, drive the 2500 miles that separated us, and smack her upside the head for wasting her life. Luckily, I had a dental appointment the next day and couldn’t reschedule.
I readily admit that it’s common for associations to tell me that they can’t afford my fee because they’re required to use their funds for topics that more directly affect their members – such as healthcare reform, reimbursement issues, regulatory changes, etc. But when someone tells me that they don’t want free educational information because the organization is too serious, I just want to weep. And let me be clear. I rarely weep.
This issue is not about the seriousness of the work. It’s about the misguided perspective of the leadership. I worked in hospice care for ten years. I doubt there are many jobs more serious than that. But our leaders appreciated the need to balance the seriousness of the work with fun. They would never discourage staff from taking advantage of an opportunity to enjoy a bit of humor.
No job is so serious that we can’t find the humor and fun in it. Even funeral directors have fun. They just do it when nobody’s looking.
So what do you do if you work in an organization that does not support fun? Here are a few suggestions:
The world is full of “downers” who want us to be on their level. While we may think that our career is benefiting from a serious workplace, our life is not. Remember that we all end up dead no matter what we did during our lives. But those who are the least dead are the ones who really lived. Or something like that.
Ron
Tina Fey is a brilliant writer and comedian. I’m proud to say that she is also a graduate of my alma mater, the University of Virginia. It was announced that she will receive the 13th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in DC. Previous recipients include Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, and Lily Tomlin.
Fey’s work speaks for itself but she demonstrated her talent when responding to the award, she said that she was thrilled but assumes that Betty White was “disqualified for steroid use.”
That’s a perfect example of how to use humor to make your words just bit more memorable!
Ron
OK. So, how do you make something more fun? Pick just one thing.
Everything you do is a process (especially in healthcare!). Every process contains a series of steps. Each step has the potential for being more fun.
In a recent workshop, my audience was brainstorming how to make walking the dog more fun. We listed all the steps from putting on your shoes, to getting a poop bag, to going on the actual walk. As we discussed options for making it more fun, we came up with this: Put a photo of someone you don’t like on the poop bag. Then, when you’re picking up poop, it’s not only less disgusting, it’s actually funny.
That’s brilliant! And the best part? It’s just one thing.
I bet the next time you pick up poop with a poop bag, you’ll think about it completely differently!
Ron
Next week, I will give a presentation to the jobs ministry at my church. This ministry supports those who have lost their jobs or are in transition between jobs. It will be a daunting task as I try to convey the message that it is possible to pursue a career that matches our passion, gifts, and skills. In my vernacular, I would say, “You CAN find a job that’s fun.”
I ran across an article in USA Today about an 11-year old boy who had been hospitalized to remove a benign tumor from his leg. He became fascinated with computer languages and programming . Using skills he acquired in books and on the internet, he developed an iPhone app. You can read the full article here: Young Patient Draws Up an iSketch. And for what it’s worth, when I was eleven, I couldn’t even spell eleven.
This smart young man found a way to blend work and fun. But the important thing to remember is that he had to learn the skills first before he could put the fun into action. That’s the step we often miss.
When you get discouraged because you’re not going where you think you should in life, it’s not usually because you don’t have the passion or desire to do something different. Typically, it’s because you have not developed the skills you need to get you there.
I will never be a successful humorist if I don’t develop the writing, speaking, and humor skills. However, once I do that, my work becomes the expression of my passion and is fulfilling in a whole new way. It’s just darn fun.
Ron
Wow. Spring Break came and went and I was so distracted by having fun, I didn’t blog, Facebook, or Twitter. I guess that’s the way it should be. Fun trumps work. Especially your company name is FUNsulting!
Humor is an asset. There is study after study showing how it benefits us psychologically, physically, and socially. However, the biggest problem with humor is that it is hard to see concrete benefits in the work environment.
Over the years, researches have been hard pressed to find a direct link between the use of humor and the bottom line success of a company. Too many other factors are involved that might skew the results. So, for someone in my position, as a healthcare humorist, how do I prove that humor has a place in the healthcare environment?
Honestly, over the years, I’ve been more concerned about being funny than being a catalyst of workplace change. I look at my work as a way to give people a break from their stress and to encourage them to look at their lives differently. That’s it. I’ve been less concerned with the difference it made in their jobs now or five years later. In fact, I have never even asked my audiences how the information made a difference to them.
That’s why I am so grateful when someone takes the time to reach out to me.
This week, I got a wonderful email from a presentation a few weeks ago. This audience member works in a government agency and said this: “I’m writing just to let you know I’ve read through some of your book and have been working on humor when I can…I’m finding it helpful and, even when I do chicken out, fun to be spending more of my time thinking about things that are funny.”
Maybe it doesn’t matter if researchers at Stanford haven’t found a direct link between humor and the bottom line. If people are willing to do what this guy does, there is no way, their jobs will be any worse!
If you have success stories, I’d love to hear them.
Ron