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Fresh Ideas, Real Stories, and a Lot of Laughs

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

October 30, 2025

As If It's Impossible to Fail

Anthony Hopkins of “Silence of The Lambs,” and close to a hundred other movies, has written a memoir that is just out, “We Did Okay, Kid,” At eighty eight he has many stories and wisdom to share. Since I’m a fan of both, I dove into an interview with him from last Sunday in the NY Times. Nestled in with show biz tales and personal revelations there was one line that stopped me.

October 23, 2025

H2H to the Big H - Holidays!

Call me old school, but I like a nice handwritten thank you note. Preferably with a fancy pen that makes me feel like Ben Franklin holding a quill. Given this quirk, after running a few laughter skills workshops for business school students at TUCK, I dashed off a few notes to the people who brought me in. In an update about the impact of the classes, Larissa Pyer, Director of Tuck’s Compass Program, thanked me for my note,”... so thoughtful and personal!! You know I love the H2H connection.”

October 16, 2025

You Too Can be a Super Ager!

Earlier this week I was invited to speak at the International Conference for Active Aging. Emphasis on active! The fabulous comic/actor Nikki Ghisel and I were here a few years ago but this week we were both struck by the change in focus of the conference. The agenda has clearly shifted from managing the ravages of aging to being proactive, pun intended, in keeping our bodies and minds healthy! When we spoke here last, in Halloween costumes, we recalled lots of other presenters in estate planning, break-through drug research and no-button pajamas.

October 9, 2025

Embracing Imperfection - Just Do It!

“Wasn’t that just great when Dani was talking about embracing imperfection and then completely lost her script? Wasn’t that just perfect? When our theme is being human?”

September 25, 2025

Failing Publicly & Other Thoughts About Stand-Up

A while back I was hired to do a roast for a West Los Angeles law firm. I was tasked with poking fun at their summer associates. Some ribbing to make them feel part of a team - since I’d be razzing everyone. At my request, the partner sent me brief descriptions of each summer hire. I got to work writing my roast material.

September 18, 2025

When Comedy Writes Itself

One of the reasons I left comedy clubs was because I didn't want to follow what felt like an inexhaustible supply of d*ck jokes. This week I was invited to close a conference in New Jersey where, I kid you not, I followed a "burial expert." Turns out, also not easy!

September 11, 2025

What’s Funny at Work?

In preparing for my TEDx in Cape May, NJ October 5th, I couldn’t help but revisit the talk on vulnerability that launched Brene Brown. Much to her surprise it has garnered over 10 million views. What I didn’t know until recently is how much Brown values humor and laughter as a leadership tool.

September 4, 2025

Is It Too Early To Think About - I mean Plan - for the Holidays?

We think not!

August 28, 2025

Fantastic Four...But Really Just One

I’m writing about The Fantastic Four! More of a surprise to me than anyone - except maybe Tod. I don’t know much about the Marvel Universe but how could I not get swept up in it after all these years? Thinking about the characters and wondering if this set of archetypes is something people pick to identify with - like they do with the houses of Harry Potter. I’ve overheard some very real conversations about whether someone is a Slytherin or Hufflepuff. Not being a Harry Potter connoisseur either, I’ve definitely consulted ChatGPT to determine my “house,” punching in personality traits and hoping it figures it out for me.

August 21, 2025

The Chilled Martini Espresso of Team-Building!

Very little gets me as excited as the concept of the Espresso Martini cocktail. I haven’t had alcohol in eighteen years - but a gal can dream. I’m a very big fan of caffeine and the idea of marrying it with espresso in a fancy glass of gin with a few teaspoons of sugar?! All I can say is, why eat food?

August 14, 2025

Windows to the Soul and Other Stuff

I’ve been doing a lot of walking by myself lately. On the bike path along the L.A. River. It’s not the safest place to wander alone, but there is water and trees nestled in concrete and sometimes there are ducks.

August 7, 2025

608 Million People Can Be Wrong

According to recent stats, approximately 608 million people are victims of scams every year. If you’re a Laughter On Call subscriber, or you came to the webinar last week, recording here, you may feel like I’m beating a dead horse with all the scammer talk. I wish! The deeper I dive into this evil phenomenon the more alive it feels.