How can humor and satire spark social change?

Because humor lets the weak speak truth to power. Because satire allows the satirist to outsmart the target without the target even knowing it.

Humor is an essential part of my work as a coach and as a speaker; I frequently use humor to create surprise, to gently challenge the way of seeing things, to laugh at myself, to invite people to laugh at themselves and to be more compassionate towards themselves, as well as to be able to lessen the feeling of severity about some matters and be able to act upon them. I handle satire with more care, since an inadequate reading of the context can turn it into an offensive act that heats up spirits instead of fostering integration, learning, and cohesion.

Humor is a great way to start a hard conversation, and sets the tone for a lighthearted but meaningful discussion. It creates a safe space where people can speak to things that are hard or awkward under non-humorous contexts.

Humor and satire serve as powerful catalysts for social change by challenging norms and prompting critical reflection. Through wit and irony, they can expose societal absurdities, fostering conversations that question established beliefs. Humor disarms resistance, making complex issues accessible and engaging a broader audience. Satire, by highlighting contradictions and injustices, encourages a reevaluation of perspectives, inspiring collective action. This dynamic combination disrupts complacency, igniting awareness and driving transformative discourse, ultimately contributing to positive social change.

In line with what was mentioned above; for example, something that is comical in one country or with a specific group of professionals may be politically incorrect somewhere else. Humor is too serious to be taken lightly (this may sound paradoxical), it is a tool that creates context for listening, hence the need to recognize not just the right moment, but also, how well we can personally deliver it or not.

I am better at telling stories, narrating the things that happen to me, or "exaggerating" situations through language, but jokes are not my thing, and I know people who are great at telling jokes. What's my point? It's that everyone should be able to recognize their own resources, and what, by being more natural - and pertinent - makes the best impact in generating action. Language is action and should provoke action; but be careful, because if it's mismanaged, we can provoke precisely the opposite of what we wish.

I often do this in my live podcasts on LinkedIn, especially in my space "Kftando con Francisco," where we use humor as a tool that accompanies critical thinking, with the aim of provoking reflection and abandoning the inertia of doing for the sake of doing. Humor as a generator must be accompanied by follow-up structures and action platforms to go beyond mere complaint.

In my experience humor and satire are often seen as tools to influence people. If we laugh about it, we should care, right? Yet humor is even more effectful when it is used to identify the root of an issue. Satire hits best, when it has a true essence. This essence of truth should lead your campaign for social change - humor can tag along.

En mi caso soy pro al humor. Creo que da lugar e invita a romper el hielo, a que las personas se dejen mostrar tal cual son, a que se relajen. Pero la sátira, en el campo profesional, creo es indicada cuando se usa correctamente. Ya que el limite entre el humor y una critica que no lleva a una construcción es limitada.