The Skill of Humor | Andrew Tarvin | TEDxTAMU

Summary

In this humorous and insightful talk, the speaker shares anecdotes about his grandmother's amusing text messages, using them as a springboard to discuss the importance of humor in our lives. He argues that humor is not just a nicety but a necessity that can enhance productivity, reduce stress, and improve overall well-being. The speaker, an engineer turned humorist, demonstrates that humor is a skill that can be learned and applied to make work and life more enjoyable, using personal experiences and professional insights.

Takeaways

• 📲 The speaker's grandmother's initial text message was endearingly formal, reflecting her newness to texting.
• 😅 A humorous exchange occurred between the speaker and his grandmother, where she misunderstood the casual nature of texting and the internet acronym 'WTF'.
• 🎭 The speaker emphasizes the importance of humor in the workplace, suggesting it can increase productivity and reduce stress.
• 🤔 Skepticism about the value of humor is common, but the speaker argues that humor is essential in today's demanding work culture.
• 🧠 Humor aids in learning and communication by improving memory retention, understanding, and group cohesiveness, all supported by research.
• 💰 Using humor can have tangible benefits, such as higher pay, as it is associated with positive personal qualities.
• 🦁 A story about 'The Lion Whisperer' illustrates that fear of performing comedy is common, even among those with unusual occupations.
• 🎨 The speaker shares his journey from an unlikely background in engineering to a successful career in comedy, showing humor as a learnable skill.
• 🎤 Learning humor involves practice and repetition, drawing parallels to the speaker's experience in improv and stand-up comedy.
• 🌐 The speaker suggests that everyone has a unique perspective that can be used to connect with others and make a point through humor.
• 🤹‍♂️ The 'Yes, and...' mindset from improv can be applied to both creating humor and fostering meaningful connections.
• 💡 The speaker encourages embracing humor in daily life, whether by creating it, sharing it, or simply smiling, to improve personal and professional experiences.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial reaction to receiving a text message from his grandmother?

The speaker was surprised because his grandmother, who was 78 years old at the time, had never sent a text message before.

How did the grandmother's first text message to the speaker differ from a typical text message?

The grandmother's first text message was similar to a letter, starting with 'Dear Andrew,' and ending with 'Love, your grandma,' which is more formal and longer than usual text messages.

What was the grandmother's misunderstanding of the acronym 'WTF'?

The grandmother thought 'WTF' meant 'Wow That's Fun' because someone at Bridge, presumably a social club or community center, told her it did.

Why did the speaker leave his corporate job at Procter and Gamble?

The speaker left his corporate job to teach people about the value of humor, believing it could make people more productive, less stressed, and happier.

What are some of the benefits of using humor according to the speaker?

Using humor can increase long-term memory retention, improve understanding and learning, aid in communication, improve group cohesiveness, reduce status differentials, diffuse conflict, build trust, and bring people closer together.

How does the speaker suggest that humor can improve one's professional life?

The speaker suggests that humor can make people look better, live longer, and potentially earn more, as people who use humor are often paid more.

What is the speaker's background in humor and comedy?

The speaker has a background as a stand-up comedian, improviser, storyteller, and spoken word artist, having performed in all 50 states, 18 countries, and has fans in over 150 countries.

What is the speaker's educational and professional background before becoming a humorist?

The speaker has a degree in computer science and engineering from Ohio State University and worked as an IT project manager at Procter & Gamble.

How does the speaker describe the mindset of improvisation?

The speaker describes the mindset of improvisation as 'Yes, and...', which is about accepting and building on ideas to explore and heighten a point of view.

What advice does the speaker give for using humor in the workplace?

The speaker advises that humor should not replace work but enhance productivity. It's also important to be positive and inclusive, and to recognize that job satisfaction and stress management are personal responsibilities.

How does the speaker's grandmother continue to use humor in their interactions?

The speaker's grandmother uses humor by commenting on his Facebook posts in a way that is either genuinely supportive or potentially trolling, leaving the speaker unsure if she is being sincere or playful.

Outlines

00:00

📲 Grandmother's Texting Adventure

The speaker recounts the amusing experience of his grandmother's first attempts at texting at the age of 78. Initially, she treated texts like formal letters, signing off with 'Love, your grandma'. After being teased by her grandson, she continued the letter format in her responses. The story humorously evolves to include her misunderstanding of internet slang, interpreting 'WTF' as 'Wow That's Fun', which the speaker uses to emphasize the importance of humor and its positive impact on life and work. He shares his journey from a corporate job to teaching the value of humor, highlighting humor's benefits in productivity, stress reduction, and happiness, backed by research and real-world examples.

05:01

🎓 From Nerd to Comedian

The speaker reflects on his background as an engineer and how he diverged from the expected path by pursuing comedy. Despite being voted 'teacher's pet' and self-identifying as a nerd with various interests, he was drawn to humor and started performing in college. He emphasizes that personality assessments do not define us but rather our actions do. He shares his experience of learning and improving in comedy through practice and repetition, and how he applied project management skills to his comedy group. The speaker encourages the audience to learn from professional comedians and to use humor as a tool for connection and communication.

10:03

😂 Embracing Humor in Life and Work

The speaker discusses the power of humor in daily life and work, using the 'Yes, and...' principle from improvisation to build connections and explore viewpoints. He humorously suggests that if humans came with error messages like computers, life would be simpler. The speaker also shares personal anecdotes, like his failed attempts at creating hip-hop lyrics, to illustrate how humor can make work more enjoyable. He emphasizes the importance of commitment to performance in creating effective humor, and suggests that confidence in humor can be developed over time, just like any other skill.

15:06

👵 The Joy of Unexpected Humor

In the final paragraph, the speaker concludes with a return to the theme of his grandmother's humorous and endearing interactions, now on Facebook, where she comments on his posts in a way that is either sincere or subtly trolling. He uses these anecdotes to stress that humor is accessible to anyone, regardless of age or background. The speaker encourages the audience to incorporate humor into their lives, to take ownership of their job satisfaction and stress management, and to practice humor as a skill that can be learned and improved upon.

Keywords

💡Humor

Humor is a form of communication that involves the use of words, actions, or situations to evoke laughter or amusement. In the video, humor is presented as a vital tool for enhancing productivity, reducing stress, and improving overall happiness. The speaker's experiences and professional work emphasize the importance of humor in both personal and professional settings, as well as its role in fostering a positive and enjoyable environment.

💡Texting

Texting refers to the act of sending and receiving written messages through a mobile device. The video uses the grandmother's initial experience with texting as a humorous anecdote to illustrate the generational gap in technology adoption. It also serves as a metaphor for learning and adapting to new forms of communication, showing that humor can be a part of everyday life and is relatable across different age groups.

💡WTF

In the context of the video, 'WTF' is a slang acronym that can have various meanings depending on the situation, but here it is humorously reinterpreted by the grandmother as 'Wow That's Fun.' This misunderstanding adds a layer of comedy to the narrative and highlights the speaker's point that humor can be found in everyday misunderstandings and miscommunications.

💡Stand-up Comedy

Stand-up comedy is a performance art where a comedian performs in front of a live audience, usually speaking directly to them, telling jokes and humorous stories. The speaker mentions his experience as a stand-up comedian to demonstrate that humor is a skill that can be learned and practiced. It also serves as an example of how humor can be used as a profession and a means of personal expression.

💡Improvisation

Improvisation, or 'improv' for short, is a form of theater where most of what is performed is created spontaneously by the actors. The video uses the concept of 'Yes, and...' from improv to illustrate how humor can be used to build upon ideas and create connections with others. It also emphasizes the importance of accepting and exploring different perspectives in a positive and constructive manner.

💡Personality Assessment

A personality assessment is a psychological tool used to evaluate an individual's character and behavioral traits. In the video, the speaker discusses his own personality assessment to challenge the idea that such assessments define who we are. Instead, he argues that actions and choices, such as learning humor, are what truly shape our identities.

💡Productivity

Productivity refers to the efficiency of an individual or system in producing desired outcomes. The speaker argues that humor can increase productivity by making work more enjoyable and reducing stress. This is supported by research and real-world examples provided in the video, showing that humor has a positive impact on work environments and team dynamics.

💡Stress Management

Stress management involves strategies and techniques to deal with stress in a healthy and effective way. The video highlights humor as a form of stress management, suggesting that it can help individuals cope with the pressures of work and life. The speaker's own experiences and professional work demonstrate how humor can be a practical tool for maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

💡Connection

Connection refers to the act of linking or associating one thing with another. In the context of the video, humor is portrayed as a means of creating connections with others by sharing perspectives and experiences. The speaker uses examples from his own life to show how humor can break the ice, foster understanding, and build relationships.

💡Creativity

Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas to produce something new and valuable. The video discusses the creative process involved in developing humor, whether it's through stand-up comedy, storytelling, or improvisation. The speaker's journey from an IT project manager to a humorist exemplifies how creativity can be nurtured and applied in various aspects of life.

💡Inclusivity

Inclusivity is the practice of including people who might otherwise be excluded, ensuring that all perspectives and experiences are considered. The video emphasizes the importance of being positive and inclusive when using humor, especially in a professional setting. This approach ensures that humor is a unifying force rather than a divisive one.

Highlights

Grandmother's first text message was endearingly formal, treating it like a letter.

The humor in the grandmother's consistent sign-off 'Love, your grandma'.

Grandmother's amusing misunderstanding of the acronym 'WTF' as 'Wow That's Fun'.

The speaker's career shift from Procter and Gamble to teaching the value of humor.

Humor's role in enhancing productivity, reducing stress, and improving happiness.

The necessity of humor in the current overworked and stressed-out culture.

Benefits of humor backed by research, case studies, and real-world examples.

Humor's impact on increasing salary and job performance.

The idea that humor is a skill that can be learned, not just an innate ability.

The speaker's journey from being a computer science engineer to a humorist.

The importance of not being defined by personality assessments but by actions.

Learning humor through practice and repetition, as illustrated by the speaker's college comedy group.

Using personal perspective to connect with others and make a point.

The analogy of computers giving error messages versus humans experiencing feelings.

The concept of 'Yes, and...' in improvisation as a tool for humor and connection.

The idea of committing to performance in humor, like characters in Saturday Night Live.

Overcoming the fear of not being funny and the importance of trying.

The role of humor in job satisfaction and stress management as a personal responsibility.

The grandmother's humorous and possibly trolling Facebook comments.

The final message that anyone can learn to be funnier and find humor in life.

Transcripts

Translator: Cihan Ekmekçi Reviewer: Leonardo Silva

Six years ago, I was sitting out with some friends in New York City

when I got a notification on my phone,

and I was surprised to find that I had a text message from my grandmother.

I was surprised because my grandmother at the time was 78 years old,

and she had never sent a text before.

And I will tell you the first text was adorable.

It read, "Dear Andrew, trying out texting. Love, your grandma."

I was like "Aw, she thinks it's a letter!"

So I sent her a message back,

"Hey grandma, it's a text. You don't have to include all that."

Her response was "Dear Andrew,

Okay. Love, your grandma."

My favorite part is it's always "Love, your grandma,"

like if it was "Love, grandma" I'd be confused.

If it was like, "Dear Andrew, have a good time in Texas. Love, grandma,"

I'd be like "Grandma? Who's grandma?"

(Laughter)

But my grandmother's still figuring some things out.

A couple of years ago, I went to Switzerland for work,

came back, sent a message to grandmother:

''Hey grandma, just got back from Switzerland.''

Her response was, ''Dear Andrew, Switzerland? WTF.''

(Laughter)

All right, so I called my grandmother up,

''Grandma, what do you think WTF means?''

And she's like,

''Oh well, someone at Bridge told me it means 'Wow That's Fun.''

(Laughter)

I was like, ''That is exactly what it means.''

I'm not going to explain that to my grandmother.

But over time, I've come to realize

that I think the world would be a happier place

if more people thought WTF -

if more people were like my grandmother and thought, "Wow, that's fun."

Because in 2012, I left my corporate job at Procter and Gamble

to teach people about the value of humor.

I've worked with more than 35,000 people at more than 250 organizations

on how to be more productive, less stressed and happier, using humor.

But when people hear what it is that I do, they are a little bit skeptical,

(Laughter)

because no one thinks of humor as a bad thing.

Is there anyone here that doesn't like to laugh?

Anyone that's like "No, I hate feeling joy in my body?"

(Laughter)

No. People think of humor as a nice-to-have.

Oh, if I enjoyed my work more, if I had some fun, it would be great,

but if not, oh well.

The reality is that humor is a must-have.

In today's overworked, underappreciated, stress-filled, sleep-deprived culture,

humor is a necessity.

Because humor gets people to listen,

it increases long-term memory retention,

it improves understanding, aids in learning

and helps communicate messages.

It also improves group cohesiveness,

reduces status differentials, diffuses conflict, builds trust

and brings people closer together.

It does these things

(Laughter)

and this stuff and on and on and on ...

And it's all backed by research case studies and real-world examples.

(Laughter)

And these are some impressive benefits, right?

Humor can help you to look better, live longer and make it rain, right?

(Laughter)

Because people who use humor are paid more.

And anyone can learn these benefits.

Because when I talk to people about humor or comedy,

sometimes they're intimidated.

That event that I went to in Switzerland a couple years ago

that made my grandmother say WTF,

it was to speak at a conference.

And one of the other speakers at that conference was this gentleman.

His name is Kevin Richardson.

He's also known as the lion whisperer.

If you've ever seen that YouTube video of a lion hugging a dude, that's this guy.

He lives in South Africa,

he raises lions from when they're really young,

and they treat him as one of the pride.

He's basically the human version of Rafiki from The Lion King.

But Kevin and I were talking before the event.

He found out that I did stand-up comedy,

and he was like ''Huh, I could never do that, it's too scary.''

(Laughter)

I was like ''But you live with lions!''

(Laughter)

As if telling a joke is somehow scarier than living with lions.

(Laughter)

But so many people have this perception

as if the ability to make people laugh is somehow encoded in our DNA.

(Laughter)

But the reality is that humor is a skill,

and if it's a skill, that means we can learn it.

Because I am someone who has had to learn how to use humor.

Because I've done over a thousand shows

as a stand-up comedian, improviser, storyteller, spoken word artist.

I've spoken and performed in all 50 states in 18 countries and on one planet.

(Laughter)

I have fans in more than 150 countries,

based on people who have accidentally come to my website.

I've been called hilarious and smart, at least that's what my mom says.

(Laughter)

And I've been seen on The Daily Show with John Stewart, in the audience.

(Laughter)

I recently went to my high school reunion though,

and when people found out that I did stand-up comedy,

they said, ''But you're not funny.''

And in some ways they're right

because I would tell you that this is not the face of funny.

(Laughter)

There's a lot that's funny about this picture;

none of it is intentional.

(Laughter)

And I have the blonde tips up top like I wanted to be in a boy band.

The theme was ''Into a Dream,'' I am no one's dream -

(Laughter)

in this picture.

Because, growing up, I was never the life of the party or the class clown.

My senior year - my senior superlative, I was voted teacher's pet.

And this is going to surprise many of you, but it's because I am a nerd.

And if you're wondering what type of nerd,

the answer is yes; computer, math, sci-fi,

Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, Star Trek, Starbucks - all of them.

(Laughter)

But most specifically, I'm an engineer.

I went to the Ohio State University,

got a degree in computer science and engineering.

And after I graduated,

I started working at Procter & Gamble as an IT project manager.

And that's what people expected me to do,

because based on my personality assessment,

that's what it suggests I should be as a computer science engineer.

But I've learned that we're not a personality assessment.

Because my assessment is

I'm a Type-A, blue square, conscientious, INTJ with the sign of Aquarius.

That means I'm an ambitious, stubborn introvert

who likes long walks on the beach,

but I've learned we're not our personality assessments.

They might give us insight into our behavior

or tell us what motivates us

or tell us which Disney Princess we would be - Pocahontas -

(Laughter)

but they don't define us; instead, we are defined by our actions.

So I started doing comedy in college.

My best friend there in the middle wanted to start an improv comedy group.

He needed people and forced me to join.

And as you can probably tell from this picture, we were not very good.

At least to start out, we had no idea what we were doing.

We watched "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and tried to repeat what we saw.

And what I didn't have in comedy skill I made up in comedy project management.

"If we're going to do this for real;

we'll practice three times a week,

we'll have a business meeting every Monday,

and we're going to go back and watch our shows as if it was game tape.''

And over the course of two years, we got better.

We went from performing in the basements of residence halls

to performing twice a week at a theater on campus,

never really learning how to take a good picture.

But that's how you learn the skill of humor.

It's through practice and repetition.

And anyone can do these things.

And you don't have to become a professional comedian to use comedy,

but we can learn from the professionals.

For example, from stand-up, we can learn about how to share your point of view,

because Louis C.K. has a very specific way of seeing the world,

which is different than Ellen DeGeneres,

which is different than Tig Notaro, Dave Chappelle or Chris Rock.

Everyone has their own perspective.

Some people tell me

that I kind of look like the intersection of Hugh Jackman and Conan O'Brien.

(Laughter)

Other people are like, "Ah, I kind of see David Tennant from Doctor Who."

One woman told me,

''I think you look like Justin Timberlake but from here to here.''

(Laughter)

And we're going to ignore the guy that told me I look like Clay Aiken.

Right, just completely.

Everyone has their own perspective.

And we can use that perspective as a way to connect with other people, right?

We can use it to say, ''Oh, we're alike.'' How many people here like desert?

People love desert. I love deserts. I am obsessed with milkshake.

So it's the most efficient form of desert

because of the deliciousness of ice cream in an easy-to-consume form.

But I don't understand mint chocolate.

I don't know if we have any mint chocolate fan.

I've never been eating chocolate

and been like, ''You know what would go great with this? Toothpaste."

(Laughter)

We can share a perspective as a way to connect.

We can also share a perspective as a way to make a point.

Because I will tell you

that I have always understood computers much more than I understand humans.

Because when something goes wrong with the computer,

you get an error message.

When something goes wrong with a human,

you get feelings.

(Laughter)

Things would be so much easier if humans came with error messages,

wouldn't they?

Say you're overworked, overwhelmed, a little bit stressed out,

it would just pop up: "Warning! System overload."

(Laughter)

"Please restart by taking a nap."

Because we all know naps are the human version

of, "Just turn it off and then turn it back on again."

Some error messages you wouldn't even have to change.

Say, you're out flirting with a waitress, she's not really feeling it.

It would just pop up: "Error. Unable to establish connection to server."

(Laughter)

Things would be so much easier.

But the reality is that humans aren't computers,

no matter how adorable they are when they pretend to be.

Because we, as humans, not only have to manage time, we have to manage energy.

Because it doesn't matter how much time we have

if we've never have the energy to do anything with it.

From improv, we can learn how we can explore and heighten a point of view.

Because the fundamental mindset of improvisation is "Yes, and..."

It's how improvisers at UCB, Second City and ComedySportz make things up

off the top of their head.

And we can use that same thing,

take what they do, accept and build, explore and heighten and say,

''If this is true, what else is true?''

Because it took me going to the state of Florida to realize

that the rapper Flo Rida got his name from his home state of Florida,

and he put a space in it.

That blew my mind!

(Laughter)

We could say, ''If this is true, what else could be true?''

We could say,

"I think there should be a Hispanic factory in Dover

that goes by De La Ware."

(Laughter)

Or like, "There could be a female internet detective in Biloxi

who goes by Misses IP, PI."

(Laughter)

And if this is true, what else is true?

If we can use ''Yes, and'' to create humor,

we can also use ''Yes, and'' as a way to connect with other people.

We can think of that stereotypical small talk conversation

where people are like, ''Ah, how about this weather?''

You say, "Yes, and if you were not at this event right now,

how would you be out enjoying the weather?"

And we can turn an awkward conversation into something more meaningful

where you learn about the person.

''With beautiful weather, I go outside, or I go hiking or swimming.''

If you're me, you stay inside, because you're very pale.

I like to use SPF building; its the best protection.

We learn about people through ''Yes, and.''

We can also use a yes-and mindset to have more fun,

because the reality is that the average person works 90 thousand hours

in their lifetime.

Ninety thousand hours!

That's the entire length, the entire discography of Netflix.

That is a lot of time.

And we can say, ''Yes, I'm going to work 90 thousand hours,

and I might as well enjoy it.''

Between my junior and senior year of high school,

I worked in a factory,

and I will tell you what was not a very exciting job.

And at the time, I thought that I might, in the future,

want to become an international hip-hop superstar.

So, to pass the time, I would think of rhymes in my head,

then I'd write them down in a notebook a little bit later.

And I recently found one of those notebooks

and discovered why I never became a hip-hop superstar.

Because one of the rhymes was,

"Hydrogen plus hydrogen plus oxygen too, bonded together with covalent glue.

What do you get, just a thing called water,

yeah, it's teaming up and it's only getting hotter."

(Laughter)

It's the reason why I never became a hip-hop superstar.

But it still helped me to pass the time to create humor, to create fun.

And finally from sketch,

we can learn about the importance of commitment to performance.

Because the characters from Saturday Night Live,

Key & Peele, Monty Python,

they're so enjoyable, because the actors are committed to the performance.

And they're confident in their presentation,

because it's like dating, right?

People tell you that they want to date someone who is confident.

A couple years ago, I was with some friends at a bar,

and I saw this beautiful girl at the bar.

''You should go talk to her.''

''I can't do that.''

''Why not?''

''I don't have 'game.'''

''You don't need 'game,' you just need confidence.''

But they don't tell you that they want that confidence in certain areas.

Because no woman wants a man who's confident in math.

(Laughter)

That's what I've got.

(Laughter)

So I was like, ''All right. I'm going to try a math pickup line.''

So I went up to the girl and I was like, ''Hey, girl."

(Laughter)

"Are you a vertical asymptote? Because your beauty has no limits.''

(Laughter)

She was like, ''What did you just say?''

(Laughter)

So I tried again, and I was like, ''Hey, girl.

Are you opposite over hypotenuse? Because you're making me want to sin.''

(Laughter)

She was like, ''I think you should probably leave.''

So I left, right?

But then a few hours later, I was like, "Oh, what I should've said was,

'Hey girl, you're way above average, don't be mean.'''

(Laughter)

Has that ever happened to you,

where you thought of something like four hours after the event?

That's actually a good thing, it's called staircase wit.

The idea of ''this moment happens here,''

and then you think of this idea in the staircase.

That's a good sign, because that means you have comedic instinct.

And through practice and repetition,

you can shorten the time it takes to have that a-ha moment

from being four hours later to only three hours later,

to only two to ten minutes to, then, happening in the moment.

Because a reflection on the past leads to action in the future.

And so we become more comfortable, more confident using humor,

the more that we actually do it.

It's like Amy Cuddy says: ''Fake it until you become it.''

I know there's a couple of people

that are like, ''All right, Justin Timberlake eyes.''

(Laughter)

''What if I'm not funny?''

The truth is if you have ever made someone laugh,

even if it's because you tripped up the steps while going up the steps,

you would still use humor.

But even if you're not ready to try creating humor,

you can still benefit from humor by being a shepherd of humor.

You can share quotations out, you can share a TED talk that you enjoyed,

or you can use images in your presentations.

Because I did not take this picture.

I did not go to Sri Lanka.

I do not know this shepherd or any of these goats.

I found it on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

and shared it with all of you, because I enjoyed it.

But even if you're not ready to create humor,

and you don't think that you can find something interesting on the Internet,

you can still use humor if you know how to smile.

Because when we see someone else smile,

we are primed to mirror that behavior with mirror neurons in our brain.

And when we smile, they smile: we create a human connection.

Other people are like, ''But what if no one laughs?

What if I try humor, and there's an awkward silence?''

Well, it's really only awkward if you spend time on it,

if you dwell on it.

And the reality is that no one has ever been fired because of a bad joke.

An inappropriate one, maybe, but not a bad joke.

Because a bad joke is something like,

"I once had to miss class because of hypothermia,

I was too cool for school."

(Laughter)

That's a bad joke.

(Laughter)

An inappropriate joke is one that has an inappropriate subject,

has an inappropriate target or comes at an inappropriate time.

But as long as we are positive -

(Laughter)

and inclusive, we'll be okay.

Because then if no one laughs at our joke,

it's just now a positive and inclusive statement.

Finally, people are like ''What if no one takes me seriously?''

''What if people think of me as a jester or a clown?''

If you're going to use humor at work,

recognize that humor doesn't replace the work.

Humor is like the salt of a meal.

You wouldn't eat an entire meal of salt, would you?

Because that would make you a horse.

Do you want to be a horse? I say nay.

(Laughter)

But you can still use humor

as long as you're making it more productive.

Managers actually want it,

because they know you're going to be more engaged and get better results.

But let's say you work for an organization that says no fun whatsoever.

The reality is that no one can control how you think.

No one can prevent you from listening to a comedy podcast

on your way home from work

so that you relieve stress and show up more present for your family.

No one can stop you from creating a Twitter account to write puns.

No one can keep you from coming up with chemistry raps while you're working.

The reality is that job satisfaction, your outlook, your way of managing stress

is entirely your responsibility and is the choice that you make.

And this is a skill of humor.

It starts by sharing your point of view,

and then we explore and heighten that point of view.

And we yes-and both our work and our life,

and finally we practice, perform and repeat,

because that's how we get better.

And people can take an improv class, or you can try stand-up comedy,

but we can also just be more aware of how we create humor every single day.

And anyone can do these things.

I'll tell you, the funniest person I know is my grandmother, the one that texts me.

And she's elevated her game from texting to Facebook.

She's now on Facebook and she comments on every single one of my status updates.

And I can't tell

if my grandmother is the nicest, most sincere grandmother in the world,

or if she is secretly trolling me.

(Laughter)

A couple of months ago, I posted,

''I'm trying to decide if I should become an athlete or a criminal,

so I made a list of pros and cons.''

My grandmother's response was one word: ''Funny.''

(Laughter)

I was like, "I don't know.

Does she think it's funny, or is she messing with me?"

A couple weeks later, I posted,

''I think a cozy bar that serves figs would make for a plum date spot.''

My grandmother's response was, ''Ha, ha.''

(Laughter)

And I was like, "There's something about the comma.''

(Laughter)

And I'm like, "She's messing with me."

Then a couple weeks ago, I posted,

''Converting the numbers 51, 6 and 500 to Roman numerals makes me LIVID.''

(Laughter)

My grandmother's response was, ''Hey, this one is actually good.''

(Laughter)

Trolled by my own grandmother.

(Laughter)

It doesn't matter, your age, your income, your perspective,

your personality assessment, your senior superlative

or your celebrity doppelganger.

Anyone can learn to be funnier.

And it all starts with a choice,

a choice to try to find ways to use humor,

a choice to be like my grandmother,

to look at the world around you and think, "WTF -

Wow, that's fun."

Thank you.

(Applause)