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The Serious Business of Comedy

15 March 2019

We absolutely and utterly believe in the power of comedy. It’s our stock-in trade, our ‘raison d’etre’. We are the ‘awareness sitcom’ dudes. On a gut level we just know ‘funny’ works. Understandably though we also appreciate it can be a tough sell for some companies and organisations. ‘Working adults’ in the US apparently, ‘are “in the midst of a laughter drought.” While babies laugh, on average, 400 times a day; people over 35, only 15. A study of Gallup data found that people laugh significantly less on weekdays than we do on weekends.’ [1] Could it be we’re so used to the quiet, industrious hum of the workplace, it takes a bit of persuasion, or courage indeed, to break the silence?

But break it you can, and with good reason. Say you’re an infosec or CISO having a hard time convincing someone at Board level, or in HR, to sign-off on a humour-based training programme. Well you’ll be gratified to learn that humour creates a number of physiological responses in humans that can be harnessed to deliver the most sought-after of learning outcomes. First there’s the connection to the brain’s dopamine reward system. And dopamine is intimately linked with ‘goal oriented motivation and long-term memory’. [2] Surely, you have right there the most sought after learning outcomes: purposeful engagement and knowledge that sticks. Boom … boom!

More than that, it’s our experience that humour creates a ‘fan base’. In other words, people who are emotionally invested. This is borne out in another piece of academic research in which students were given different comic materials. ‘Sight gags activated high-level visual processing areas, and language-dependent cartoons activated language-processing areas in the left temporal lobe. Both types … activated emotional areas in the amygdala and midbrain.’  [3] What other kinds of learning materials are going to engage the emotions so happily? Sight gags are universal. They are simple, yet profound. Like Stan Laurel or Homer Simpson. We really love them.

What are we saying then? That using comedy isn’t the risky choice after all? No, quite the opposite actually, it’s the preferred, scientifically endorsed choice. And you can take that to the Board.

 

[1]https://www.edutopia.org/blog/laughter-learning-humor-boosts-retention-sarah- henderson Laughter and Learning: Humor Boosts Retention. Edutopia, March 2015.

[2]https://hbr.org/2014/05/leading-with-humorLeading with Humor. Harvard Business Review, May 2014.

[3] John Allman and graduate student Karli Watson in the online journal Cerebral Cortex (Vol. 16)

[4] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-10/the-popularity-of-the-poo-emoji/8102762

[4] How laughing leads to learning. Research suggests that humor produces psychological and physiological benefits that help students learn. Zak StamborMonitor StaffJune 2006, Vol 37, No. 7

[5] The anatomy of funny – Psychologists using brain imaging are finding that the brain’s reward circuit may be the seat of humor appreciation. By Lea Winerman – Monitor Staff

June 2006, Vol 37, No. 7. Print version: page 66

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