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Fresh Ideas, Real Stories, and a Lot of Laughs

Insights on laughter, leadership, and team culture direct from our founder

December 1, 2023

Did Someone Say “Affiliative Humor”?

Probably not you! Unless you’re a comedy scholar. Even though I’ve written about this before, with the holiday season upon us, full of socializing and “partying,” it feels like a great time to review the value of humor that makes people feel good.

November 18, 2023

Giving Thanks for the Chance to Help

Even in challenging times there is much to be grateful for. I don’t talk about gratitude per se in my training, but I do present appreciation as a self-care tool. I suggest getting in the habit of expressing it not just for others but for yourself. Pointing out something you appreciate about a person or something they did is free! And it helps people feel valued.

November 10, 2023

Have You Thanked a Carepartner Today?

November is Alzheimer’s awareness month! Who knew? Not me before my mother was diagnosed 8 years ago. This is the month the Alzheimer's Association recognizes the more than 11 million family members and friends who are currently caring for a person living with Alzheimer's nationwide.

November 3, 2023

Why You Shouldn't Fear Improv

Twenty five years ago when I took a Stand-up class at UCLA, the teacher Shelley Bonus, one of Richard Prior’s ex’s, said to me after the first class, “You’re a comedian. You may never do it, but it’s who you are.”

October 27, 2023

Add Laughter to your "Boo!"

I shut my eyes and plug my ears at scary movies. And I can’t bear those amusement park rides where your stomach drops before the rest of your body. I don’t understand the thrill of terrorizing yourself. Halloween is here with it's ghoulish figures on lawns, pre-recorded screams coming from bushes, and $40 bags of candy.

October 13, 2023

What's there to Laugh About?

What a sh*t week. Tough to write about laughter. Even typing the word on the page seems tone deaf.

October 6, 2023

Have you heard the one about hugs?

Last week as I was leaving a conference, or it may have been a dance class, I overheard someone behind me announce, “Eight hugs a day, that’s what we need to feel good!” I turned toward the voice and saw a woman embracing another woman, squeezing her and smiling before untangling herself and waving good-bye.

September 29, 2023

Have you tapped into Compassionate Candor yet?

“Compassionate Candor” is HOT right now. It’s popping up all over my social media because leaders are scrambling for a fresh take on how to create cultures where people want to come to work.

September 23, 2023

The Loc Pivot!

In November it will be two years since I had the idea to hire a comedian to cheer my mother up. For those of you visiting Laughter On Call for the first time, I had moved her to Los Angeles near me from New York City because Alzheimer’s was getting the better of her. Initially she adjusted well, but after realizing she was not in a glamourous hotel and was not returning to her home, she became depressed.

September 21, 2023

Birthdays and Better Drugs!

I have a big birthday coming. I’m not going to say which one but it’s not hard to figure out. As Jerry Herman wrote and Bea Arthur sang in the song “Bosom Buddies,” in Mame, “somewhere between 40 and death.”

September 15, 2023

Seniors: We’ve Only Just Begun

Last week the NY Times asked in big bold, all-capped letters, “Can we age gracefully?” They shared this piece at a conference I attended at USC “Aging is Now | Aging is the Future hosted by USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology in collaboration with USC Marshall School of Business.

September 8, 2023

Back To Our Future

I’ve been out of school too many decades to cop to and yet it never fails when Labor Day hits I get that back to school feeling all over again.