If you find yourself having a hard time enjoying your “off time” because you’re so used to being on all the time, then this is the episode for you.
Key Takeaways:
- Reading the room is a skill
- How holding in your humor can backfire on you
- How humor can be used to engage employees
- How to know if you are being too serious
- What to do when you feel like you lost your funny bone
- Get to know Heather Walker
- What is Levity?
- The origin of Lead with Levity
- Humor Effect & the benefits of using humor at work.
- What is Lead with Levity all about?
Key Highlights
1. The Power of Levity
Levity is defined as a moment that is amusing, uplifting, and light. It’s about rising above the weight of daily pressures, fostering joy, and building stronger connections. Dr. Walker explained how even small moments of levity can significantly improve workplace dynamics and personal wellbeing.
2. Levity as a Creative Catalyst
Through examples like interactive workshops and playful corporate training exercises, Dr. Walker illustrated how levity encourages creativity, collaboration, and vulnerability in the workplace. Activities like brainstorming with mundane objects (e.g., scissors and door hinges) revealed how seeing the world differently can spark innovation and fun.
3. Navigating Challenges in Humor
While humor can sometimes be daunting, Dr. Walker encouraged listeners to view it as a skill that improves with practice. By testing small moments of levity and gauging their impact, professionals can build confidence in using humor effectively, fostering trust and psychological safety.
4. Levity for Introverts and Extroverts Alike
Levity isn’t about being the loudest in the room or a natural comedian. It’s about creating a safe environment where people feel comfortable expressing themselves. Dr. Walker shared how both introverts and extroverts can thrive in spaces infused with levity.
Practical Takeaways
- Mindfulness through Levity: Ask yourself, Is this moment lifting me up or pulling me down?
- Creativity in the Workplace: Use fun, interactive exercises to encourage new ways of thinking.
- Courageous Experimentation: Test small humorous moments to build rapport and lighten the mood.
- Safe Spaces for Engagement: Levity works best when it’s embedded in an environment of psychological safety.
About the Guests
Jerome Deroy: “My own experience as a new hire was unsatisfying. Yes, I learned about the company culture over time. But it lacked direction. Through my storytelling work, I’ve come to understand the power stories have to share culture viscerally, in an engaging and lasting way.”
Jerome has worked closely with clients as diverse as CIGNA, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharma, and Warby Parker to craft business-relevant personal stories for sales, leadership, and team building. He regularly lectures at Parsons New School of Design in New York City on The Art of Storytelling.
Julienne B. Ryan: Julienne B. Ryan is a Communications Catalyst. She has spent the balance of her career working in Human Resources, developing talent and championing the benefits of developing diverse communities in corporations, associations and schools. Ryan has always focused on helping people be comfortable at work by communicating better. This involved using common sense, humor and storytelling to humanize challenging situations and interactions. Now she guides her clients helping them to use their stories to teach, motivate and engage their staff, volunteers and customers.
Ryan is an organizational storyteller, a keynote speaker, trainer and coach is the author of the humorous book “The Learned-It-In Queens Communications Playbook – Winning Against Digital Distraction” in which she outlines eight (8) winning “plays.” or techniques that promote calm communication and reduce conflict with quirky humor that keeps the readers smiling.
