Five Myths About Humor That We Gotta Bust: Humanity and Creativity are Waiting

Humor is such an important people skill. Yet, many of us are scared of it. Humor needs some brand botox and way better PR! OR...maybe we just need a human re-frame. Yes, and...I think that's exactly right.

There are so many myths about humor and humor at work especially that keep us from owning who we are.

Here are five of those myths. Let's bust some myths because as Ray Parker, Jr. sang, "Busting makes me feel gooooooooood!" Aww yeah.

We need humor for mental health and well-being for connection and yes, for joy and communication and storytelling. All of it.

And the depth of these myths keep people stuck and from experiencing joy in the way we all deserve.

Myth 5: Humor is Not Professional.

I'd really like to know how all of that got started. I don't know. How sad. We spend so much of our lives at work, growing our careers and establishing our credibility. So why would we divorce this from our true selves? I understand that fear happens. It's not true. Humor is professional. The name of this very newsletter is 'Humor is Human AF' because it is. It's human. And if you're human, and chances are you are...then humor is part of your DNA. And the idea of what's professional is evolving - thankfully. It used to be men as leaders and we all know that leadership is for all of us. So is humor. Because it's our birthright. We're born to laugh and smile. We learn not to because of socialization. Humor is kind, professional and as human as it gets. For me and for you. BTW, I lead teams in tech for 16 years. I am a comedian and improviser and an MBA, MA. My point is we can be both professional AND lighthearted in serious situations. I am living social proof. We all can be. And improv says "yes and" to all of who we are. We are not robots at work; we're still people. 92.3% of us, anyway. I am not sure about the rest. Don't let people rob you of half of your humanity at work.

Here's the thing: we have to make sure our humor is affiliative and lifts people up. That means poking fun at situations, not people, more often than not. And #4 - humor is WAY more than jokes. Humor is an attitude of FUN! And I shouldn't need to say it...I will anyway..punching down at marginalized groups is never OK. Punching up, hell yes. Those folks have power. This is why it's important to understand that we need to stay away from people, most of the time. AND also that means not over-relying on self-deprecation either. That's cringeworthy when it's over-used.

Myth 4: Humor Means We're Not Serious.

As with Myth 5, we think humor means we're not serious. We can bring humor to serious situations and lighten up and we can take what we do seriously; we don't have to take ourselves so seriously. Being over serious about everything robs us of joy. And leadership is joy. We are made to laugh and experience joy. So let's do it! I spent 16 years leading teams and communications for tech companies.You can be both. And sadly women are held to a higher standard, And that is nuts. Women are super funny. Bring it, ladies...! (my latest piece on We Are Rosie).

Myth 3: Humor is for Comedians.

Again, nonsense. Who wrote that one? Humor is for all of us. For non-comedians and comedians. Because we laugh before we can walk. We express joy and laughter before we can even walk. Why is that? Because humor IS human! As kids, we laugh over 500 times per day. As adults, that number drops to under 30. Because we think 'maturity' means terminally serious. Not true. If you are human, humor is part of your identity. Yes, your ability might be different from someone else's. That's OK. Humor is for everyone. We all have it; yes, being funny is different. Those are different things.

Myth 2: Humor is Being Funny and Doing Jokes.

Wow! No. I've written about this before and will do so many times. Humor is not JUST being funny, It is not doing jokes. Humor is way bigger than that. Yes, it includes that and so much more! Because just being funny means our humor is dependent on what others think and do. Not true. Your humor exists for you. For your joy and laughter - not just for someone else. And yes, we can use humor to connect. Being funny is something else entirely. Your humor is joy and jokes are just one aspect of humor. Humor is accepting your imperfections, owning your joy, wit, wordplay, fun, lightheartedness and levity. It starts with you. You accepting yourself. And sadly, the penalty and double-standard for women is real. I am here to say it's garbage, ladies. Women are funny and use humor to lift people up - like an amazing emotional support bra. You can see my latest article on this in We are Rosie here....

Myth 1: Humor is Scary and Risky.

Here we are. That big scary myth. Not true. Humor is many things - levity, lightheartedness, fun. Not just jokes and being funny. And it's not scary if we view it as human and as our birthright. It's who we are. And who we are meant to be. Humor is a conduit for creativity and storytelling and joy. And don't we owe ourselves and our cultures that? We do.

With humor and improv, we can reclaim that. We reclaim our humanity, dignity and joy - and all the juicy creativity that comes with it - so we can be our best at work and in all areas of our lives.

Want more? Visit me at keepingithuman.com for my talks, keynotes and programs using humor and improv to speak up, connect, create more joy and lead in the moment through chaos and uncertainty.

Q: Tell me what you think below....

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I am on a mission to help people unlock their natural humor and inner improviser for their own transformation. Humor is bigger than you think!

An ex-tech marketing / communications exec who led teams for 16 years and an improviser and comedian for over 24 years, today I use improvisation and stand-up comedy techniques to transform leaders into impactful human communicators who show up, speak up, and story tell playfully and powerfully so they can change their worlds (via my Brave Bold Story and Comedy bootcamps). I am a keynote speaker, Founder of Keeping it Human? and Author of "Stop Boring Me!" I still perform and teach stand-up comedy and improv. My 13 yro used to laugh at my jokes. Now I just knock on his bedroom door, throw red meat in, and run!

From Silicon Valley / Stanford to Second City and Stages beyond - I (and you) have a story to tell and humor is human AF.