Our Humour Training Programs

• Leadership Through Humourship
• The Business of Humour; The Humour of Business
• Managing to Have fun & Profit
• Selling With A Sense of Humour
• Customer Service With A Smile
• Teamwork Through Humour Play
• Powerful 'Business Show' Presentations
• Creative and Outrageous Thinking
• Public Speaking with Humour

Our Philosophy

A sense of humour is an attitude and attitudes are learnt. Humourversity training changes old attitudes while developing new ones.

Take Humour into the Boardroom

"A sense of humour is the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done." Dwight D Eisenhower

Humour in the workplace is not being taken seriously enough in the boardrooms and training rooms, according to Pete Crofts, Humourversity humour expert.

Pete is of the firm opinion that the appropriate use of humour can cure diseases, clinch boardroom deals, boost productivity, win elections, prevent wars, and free us from fear, tension and stress!

A survey of 480 executive officers clearly indicated that the majority of the corporate leaders felt that a sense of humour was essential to their work. In addition, those surveyed believed that humour is an essential means of communication and influence in the workplace.

There is a growing belief on the part of top managers that business can be more enjoyable and productive when humour is part of daily functioning.

In the USA, to hire a humour consultant to boost motivation and productivity is common. Companies such as IBM, Eastman Kodak and AT&T, America's largest telephone company, have been doing it for a long time.

At Kodak headquarters in New York, the theory of "never mix business with pleasure" was thrown out the window, with the opening of the company's first Humour Room. The Room provides a separate space for workers to connect with others in a relaxed and fun way. According to Kodak, encouraging humour in the workplace has paid off with reduced stress and improved health, and better communication between workers.

The Bank of America thought their employees were under too much tension and stress so they ran a laugh-a-day challenge. They asked their employees to bring a joke or cartoon every day to share with their workmates.

Humour is the Best Medicine

With more than 40 weekly stand-up comedy programmes on network and cable television, an estimated 370 full-time comedy clubs and about 200 agencies, comedy is going through an incredible boom in the U.S.

Most interesting, though, is the way companies are cashing in on comedy, using it to perk up employees and thereby raise productivity.
 

In the old Readers Digest belief that 'laughter is the best medicine' a rapidly increasing number of major corporations are paying $500 to $50,000 for comedy performances, teaching seminars, humour workshops and training films.

According to Barbara Mackoff, a psychologist who conducts 'Humour in the Workplace' seminars for such clients as AT & T, IBM and Kodak, the boom is spurred by the increasing stress from company takeovers, cutbacks and uncertain job futures.

One company, Magicorp Productions Inc, has taught magic tricks and comic delivery to executives at Citicorp, CBS and GTE. And the Digital Equipment Corporation Inc says that since it began sponsoring comedy workshops at its office in Colorado nine months ago, productivity has increased 15% and sick day use has been halved.

Meanwhile California's Department of Motor Vehicles accredited a chain of 30 driving safety schools with comedians as instructors. In rating the programme, one student said, "It was better than sex." Yep, ya gotta laugh, ya just gotta laugh.

Laughter IS the Best Medicine

In his world best-seller "Anatomy of an Illness", Dr Norman Cousins, former editor of Newsweek in the US, tells how he regained his health after being given only a one in five hundred chance to live.

His treatment was a program of vitamin C and laugh therapy that consisted of comic conversations with friends, watching Marx Brothers' films, and Candid Camera TV shows.

Dr Cousins theorised that if negative emotions could cause changes in the body chemistry, leading to ulcers, skin rashes, respiratory problems and even cancer, then positive emotions, laughter in particular, might cause changes in the direction of healing.
 

'Ha Ha' Skills Explained

"A fun working environment is more productive than a routine environment. People who enjoy their work will come up with more ideas. Fun is contagious."   Roger Von Dech
 

Using humour to improve corporation communication requires the development of two skills:

HUMOUR ATTITUDE + HUMOUR ACTION
= HaHa Skills

Both skills are important because they control how people respond to what you do and say.

Humour Attitude...for fun

The first HA- Humour Attitude- is about developing an internal sense of humour and being able to laugh as yourself. A good Humour Attitude is like seeing life through a lens of humour.

Skills associated with Humour Attitude are flexible behaviour, creative thinking, a playful manner, adaptive nature and positive personality.

Some of the benefits of a Humour Attitude are reduced stress, feeling good, balanced focus making clearer decisions and being a happier person.

We have to learn to be as flexible as figures in the hands of statistician!

Humour Action...for profit

The second HA - Humour Action- is about being able to use your internal humour externally to communicate with others in a positive way and to manufacture and engineer good humour for others.
 

Skills associated with Humour Action are motivational management, inspirational leadership and innovative marketing.

Some of the benefits of Humour Action are improved staff motivation, increased productivity and sales, greater customer satisfaction, reduced conflict and enhanced corporate identity.
 

A stockbroker who had both Humour Attitude & Action Crashed his car and was badly hurt. He woke in hospital to be told the market had crashed, both on the same day. A nurse said "Your temperature is 104." He moaned and said with a slight smile "When it gets to 107, sell." Are HaHa skills alive and well in your organisation?

Our Trademark

From the old theatre symbols of comedy and tragedywe have two laughing faces called the HA-HA Partners. They are the two basic skills and philosophies we teach.

The first HA is for Humour Attitude = FUN
The second HA is for Humour Action = PROfIT

HA-HA skills for FUN amp; PROFIT

ABOUT THE HUMOUR POWER TRAINING PROGRAMS

The Humourversity is committed to bringing out the humour in people to enhance their personal and professional success and happiness.

To achieve this we have developed a range of innovative training programs, which can be tailor-made to fit your specific requirements, and desired outcomes.

Our programs are pre-written as modules so can be conducted within your at our facility, in-house or as part of your staff training programs.

Program durations vary from half day to five-day programs.

Comprehensive workbooks are provided for each workshop.

Why Humour Training Is Just So Vital

Humour is by far the most significant behaviour of the human mind. It tells us directly about the possibility of changes of perception (and) tells people to beware of dogmatism because, suddenly, something can be looked at in a new way."      Edward de Bono

Laughter releases endorphin, which is the body's natural painkiller. It doesn't need a prescription, has no unpleasant taste, and costs nothing.

Research has proved that people who laugh a lot are happier, more productive and more resistant to disease and illness than glum people.

The benefits of humour and laughter are well documented and include:

• reduced stress
• clearer decision making
• better communication
• improved health
• creative thinking
• a positive outlook
• spontaneity

Incorporating humour into your business culture translates into:

• improved profit margins
• better staff morale
• greater motivation
• increased productivity
• reduced workplace conflict
• and an enhanced corporate identity
• better customer service Can your workplace use morehumour?

"Every joke is a tiny revolution"    George Orwell

HUMOUR POWER PROGRAMS

Leadership Through Humourship

According to US studies, Managing Directors and business leaders who use humour effectively in the workplace wield more power and influence than those that don't.

Humour is a creative thinking tool that can be used to enhance your leadership identity and to expand your leadership mission and vision.

This workshop is designed to give leaders a competitive 'Humourcation' edge so they can out-think, out-see, out-perform, out-market and out-live their competition. Humourcation is the combination of humour skills with communication skills, and helps set a positive working atmosphere, motivate people, solve problems, improve workplace communication, reduce conflict, and help with decision making.

Leadership is often hard, lonely, and unappreciated, yet leaders must keep up their enthusiasm and balance - both attitudes of humour.

Humour can be used in task initiative, team integrity, individual tact, showing support, controlling conflict and expressing corporate values. Leadership involves the cultivation of an environment in which freedom and flexibility will flourish. A leader must commit to the striving and servicing of an organisation. Humour can be both the avenue for resilience and the expression of adaptability necessary for organisational change in your company.

"Science opens to us the book of nature. Humour opens the book of Human Nature"        Anonymous

 

The Joke That Won The Presidency   Ronald Reagan took his humour seriously. His personal joke writer was one of the highest paid in the world and put together between three to six pages of one-liners each week. These mainly relied on self put-down humour directed at Reagan's age, which was a worrying liability and also a target for quite a few fossil jokes like, "At 76, I am not afraid Reagan will push the button. I am afraid he will keel over and fall on it." When debating Walter Mondale for the second time, Reagan knew the "age" issue would be brought up and he had his humorous answer ready. It was based on the reversal formula and is already a classic in political humour. It broke the press up and even got a big laugh from Mondale, and according to the magazine "Newsweek", he sealed his election with the following remark, "I will not make an age issue of this campaign, I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience."

The Business of Humour
The Humour of Business

The correct use of humour facilitates learning, helps to change people's behaviour, increases creativity and helps people to feel less threatened by the prospect of change. Humour skills can be developed and exercised by all staff if provided with the appropriate space, environment and opportunity.

This five-day program is designed to identify corporate culture and identity, and then to enhance personal morale, workplace cooperation and communication and to introduce the positive aspects of humour into all areas of your organisation.

Corporate culture is your company's beliefs, values and characteristics. These are shaped deliberately by the organisation's overall style and personality; what could be described as the corporate soul.

Humour is the best tool for giving your corporate identity a human face. Look at what Toyota have done with that comic symbol, the chicken. They have created a strong identity and a definite sense of fun.

The understanding and strength of your corporate soul is important, but of equal importance is your corporate culture's flexibility in meeting the needs of your customers, employees and share holders, and its ability to initiate change when the need arises. Humour is an agent for that change in your company.

Managing To Have fun and Make Profits

Humour Attitudes and Actions provide Managers with the skills to take a four-step holistic approach to management .

• management of self
• management of customers
• management of employees
• management of performance

Dr David Adramis surveyed 341 people and found employees take fun at work very seriously and consider a sense of fun to be an accomplishment. Those who believed fun belongs in a workplace enjoy themselves the most. The buzz word for this is "psyche-pay", meaning a psychological reward instead of money.

During an Australian election, the country's leader Prime Minister Bob Hawke, was walking around a supermarket when he appeared to spontaneously pick up a large telescope. Surrounded by media cameras he clowned, and put it to his eye, then said "I can't see our opponents policies even with this."

This upbeat practical workshop is structured to give Managers the skill to remain creative and productive under pressure, when solving problems, making decisions, motivating employees, and combating low morale.

We will empower your Managers to create an environment of fun, rewards and recognition and this always improves financial results.

"Have fun. Anything can change without warning. That's why I try not to take anything of what's happening too seriously".       

Customer Service With A Smile

Research shows 96% of the unhappy customers never tell the business of their dissatisfaction, but dissatisfied customers typically tell 9-20 other people about the bad service. our customers are the answers to your success

You need to teach them to smile. A happy customer is one that feels important, wanted and satisfied. Along with purchasing products or services, customers are purchasing good feelings.

We teach a sense of humour and the use of humour.

Humourless people don't laugh because they don't want to laugh. They've found something that's more important to them - spreading gloom and making sour their predictions of disaster come true.

You can't change someone who is a pessimistic, humourless, depressed, sad, person into a cheerful chuckler just because you want to. They must want to move over to the sunny side of the street.

We encourage and trains people to move from the sad to the sunny side of the street...and then stay in the sun.

Humour used positively is the "feel good" factor in customer caring. It creates a happy environment which empowers your employees, who then empower your customers. Humour provides the balance in customer perceptions and expectations, and leads to building relationships with your customers and your company.

"Once you have them by the funnybone...their hearts, minds and spirits will follow"   Anonymous

Team Work Through Humour Play

Humour is one of the fUN-damental elements for teamwork ... unfortunately it is also one of the rarest. People are the most important assets of a business and it is vital to know how each is motivated, feels, connects and enjoys working.

You must know how to bring them together with the right balance of styles, to create a dynamic team.

To stay competitive in this economy you must have high peformance teams. High performance teams:

• reduce cost
• reduce stress
• improve quality
• improved productivity
• improve corporate image

We are all taught to believe that laughter and the state of mind associated with it are reactions which other people or events evoke in us. Consequently we grow worse and degenerate into targets for jokes and professional comedy routines. This spiral downwards can happen to anyone if you let it.

Look at the fellow who became such a snob that he wouldn't sit in the same car as his chauffeur.

When a sense of fun and humour comes from senior management and is looked upon favourably, then laughter and the state of mind associated with it are empowered into your people.

Nobody every created a successful team by accident. Great teams come from team players that are committed to the future vision of their company.

"If its not fun you are not doing it right"
Bob Basso

Powerful 'Business Show' Presentations

Needing to give a dynamic presentation? Impress a client or staff? Guest speaker at a corporate function? Terrified at the thought of public speaking?

Selling concepts is a serious business. There are hundreds of presentation programs but most are only a set of methods and rules. A successful presentation or speech must have a structure; message reinforcers; creative involvement; earn the right to a passion piece; topic modules; and a variety of humorous signature pieces so that the main points motivate people after the presentation.

Humour prevents your back from breaking when you are out of your comfort zone and being forced to bend over backwards. Its times like this when you are most vulnerable to making classic mistakes...

Creative and Outrageous Thinking

The creative and outrageous thinking workshop is designed to zap your team thinking from 3000 years of tragic Greek philosophy thinking (based on doctrine and dogma, criticism and argument), to a philosophy of thinking that breaks the paradigms of perceptions.

Edward De Bono says:

"Humour tells us more about how the brain works than does any other behaviour of the mind, including reason".

Participants will be trained to maximise right brain experiences based on Pete Crofts' pioneering humour technology, where imagination is just as important as information and intuition is just as important as tradition.

Particularly so if the spirit of a person's identity is unleashed, and harnessed and targeted to making your organisation one of awesome innovation.

"There is a close relationship between the Ha Ha of humour and the aHa of creativity."   Roger Von Oech

Public Speaking with Humour

Our most popular program teaches you how to avoid the pitfalls of Public Speaking while holding the audience in the palm of you hand. At the same time knock their socks off with your dynamic presentation style.

Through the use of innovative exercises and improvisation games you will be trained in the dynamic principles , humour formulas, creative secrets, original devices and state-of-the-art techniques to free up you natural personality.

This massively improved ability will give you stunning bottom line results in your presentations, speaking and training.

If you would like more information then send a request form using the details below.