http://yourshiningexample.com/wp-blog I work with organizations that want to LAUGH through difficult cHAnge. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:18:03 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Change causes us to feel out of control. The rug has been pulled, the jig is up. We’re exposed, we’re unsettled, we’re restless. And---we’re not quite sure who we are anymore. Sound familiar? Great! Here’s your chance to DO something constructive during this typically turbulent time we call CHANGE. Change ... http://yourshiningexample.com/wp-blog/2012/02/09/5-steps-to-take-the-pain-out-of-change/ In my humor programs, people have asked me, “What if I work with a boss who has no sense of humor, who expect me to understand technology, and to do things perfectly?” I’ve come to the conclusion that when we’re not living our purpose, we’re going to feel out of control. ... http://yourshiningexample.com/wp-blog/2012/02/07/my-boss-has-no-sense-of-humor-what-should-i-do/ Change means that we feel out of control.  We don't know who we are anymore.  We've lost our identity, and with it, our sense of humor. Then, we take everything seriously, including---and especially---ourselves. So then we can't relax.  So then we can't focus; our decisions are skewed.  What we're left with ... http://yourshiningexample.com/wp-blog/2012/01/30/when-being-out-of-control-is-the-best-way-to-be/ I used to believe the Oprah chant that we are the creators of our selves.  We decide what our identity will be.  I used to believe that.  Until the Penn State scandal. The news of the scandal, and especially the shock of Joe Paterno's ousting, were unsettling to this recent Penn ... http://yourshiningexample.com/wp-blog/2011/12/05/we-arere-constructing/ Q:  Sometimes I'll see someone giving a medical-information presentation and they'll add a funny slide from time to time.  Some kind of medical cartoon, something the people in the audience would get.  Or I've seen some presenters joke about themselves:  "Some people tell me I have an ... http://yourshiningexample.com/wp-blog/2011/12/04/how-to-lighten-up-serious-talks-medical-humor-part-ii/ Q:  I'm not a comedian, but I do talks for professional people, sharing medical information.  I think humor keeps people's interest and keeps them awake.  Is it appropriate to add some humor from time to time in a professional medical setting, where you're trying to share important medical information but ... http://yourshiningexample.com/wp-blog/2011/12/03/i-have-this-boil-is-medical-humor-ok-by-dr-trina-hess-humoracademycom/ What does laughter have to do with good business? Does humor really make a difference in how successful you are in business?  I know it does! That's because humor offers us three keys that are indispensable to business: 1.  the big picture view 2.  a guard against perfectionism 3.  connection with our customers These keys were ... http://yourshiningexample.com/wp-blog/2011/11/28/laughing-all-the-way-to-the-bank-or-not/ [caption id="attachment_3522" align="aligncenter" width="128" caption="unicycle class action"][/caption] "Uni"-eed to Unicycle By Dr. Trina Hess' www.HumorAcademy.com Tomorrow I'll go to unicycle class.  My 3rd class.  I still can't balance or ride without holding on to the wall. But the experience of unicycling shows that in order to learn something new, we have to ... http://yourshiningexample.com/wp-blog/2011/11/25/uni-eed-to-unicycle/ Want to kill terrorists in Yemen, while you're against abortion? Think Postal employees wanting their pensions is selfish, but also resent "sharing the wealth?" Paradoxes leave us steaming and confounded.  Like Homer Simpson's exasperated, "T-oh!" of powerlessness. We feel like we should have a solution.  Or at least a way to resolve our ... http://yourshiningexample.com/wp-blog/2011/11/04/whose-wheels-are-you-under-by-dr-trina-hess-humoracademycom/ When I heard that the Obama administration was planning on forgiving student loans, I was mad.  Mad for all the students who DID have to repay their loans through sacrifice and discipline.  Mad for the people who have car loans and are feeling lucky at this news.  Mad at a culture ... http://yourshiningexample.com/wp-blog/2011/10/27/how-funny-is-student-loan-forgiveness/