How Laughter Vastly Improves Your Life At EVERY Level

Laughter. It’s one of the greatest experiences of life, isn’t it?

There’s so much more to laughter.?

This post serves a dual purpose - to provide an in-depth understanding of laughter from an expert AND to give you insights into another excellent TEDx talk.

Breakdown Of A Meaningful And Memorable TEDx Talk

This TEDx talk was presented by my friend, neurohumorist Karyn Buxman, at TEDx San Diego State University in 2017. To get the most out of this post, watch Karyn’s talk, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bOriPEk7S8 .

Let’s dive into why her talk is meaningful and memorable…

OPENING: Karyn’s opening is one of the most compelling I’ve seen. In the first 35 seconds, she connects with the audience without one word. She uses laughter.?

Why does this work?

Laughter is a common human experience. Also, opening with laughter creates a question in some people’s mind, “What did I miss?”?

It’s an attention-getter because it creates curiosity.?

0:43 - Karyn introduces her main theme and asks “so what?” for the first time. She brilliantly uses these two words throughout the talk to bring the focus back to the audience. In this speech, “so what” also means “what does this mean for you?”

Karyn answers this questions by stating the numerous benefits of laughter — physiological and emotional?

1:30 - She then hits us with her foundational phrase — “Humor is power.” She further supports her assertion with a quote from an expert. Dr. Lee Burke, and offers more insights into the benefits of laughter from his perspective

3:04 - She repeats her foundational phrase, “Humor is power” and provides a twist on an old idea, “Knowledge is power.”?Application of knowledge is the key. She then lays out her objective for the audience.

3:51 - She offers her background and expertise with some self-deprecation, so we now know why she’s qualified to discuss laughter and humor

5:02 - She brings importance of the topic to our day-to-day life with the phrase, “Intentional humor has REAL power in the REAL world.”

5:16 - She brilliantly takes us on a 202,000+ year journey to prove the importance of laughter throughout history:

#10 - 200,000 BC Ogg drops a rock on Oog’s foot - elicits laughter?

#9 - Ancient Greeks and the balance of 4 key body fluids (humors)

#8 - 1722 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine”

#7 - Ninth century - The laughing Buddha

#6 - Dark Ages - no humor there (but, this comment elicits an audience laugh)

#5 - Reformation and emergence of court jesters

#4 - Freud writes about the relationship of jokes with the subconscious

#3 - Norman Cousions cures a serious medical condition with humor and laughter

#2 - Dr. Patch Adams uses humor as a healing modality in hospitals

#1 - Science proves how humor changes humans at a cellular level

6:50 - She then provides a vision of the future - “In your lifetime you will experience the power of humor as it heals disease, shapes society, and helps save the world. She proves her premise with a story of humor diffusing the Cuban Missile Crisis

At this point, we can “buy into” her assertion because she’s given insight into her work experience, quoted a specific expert and shared research.

8:47 - She personalizes the talk further by shift focus from macro to the micro level. Karyn shares research about humor’s impact on blood vessels, cortisol levels, and the overall immune system and then offers specific illnesses it helps overcome

9:52 - She humorously translates an important (but far too technical) medical explanation of humor (nicely recited, by the way) and explains it in 8 words “Humor has the power to change your DNA” (OK, seven words and three letters).

10:20 - She offers more research with a discussion of brain waves and validation through the work of Dr. Lee Burke?

11:04 -?The third time she asks “So what?” and then offers specific examples to make it relevant to the audience

11:58 - She creates audience participation with questions about humor that elicit laughter

12:41 - She offers a shortcut and specific “how to” in order create more humor in your life

14:00 - She shares a brief personal story about her son David and how humor helped him through his medical challenge

15:45 - A terrific call back to a key story in her talk — How humor helped diffuse the Cuban Missile Crisis —?as a subtle reminder of the power of humor. She then?quotes the well-known American humorist Mark Twain and Holocaust survivor Dr. Victor Frankl about the power of humor. This gives even more credibility to her assertions.

16:55 - She then closes with a challenge to the audience and one more repetition of her foundational phrase..

"...time to take humor seriously because humor is power."

Karyn’s speech is another terrific example of a well-structured and well rehearsed talk. If you don’t think so, re-listen to her rapid-fire “reading” of the medical explanation of the benefits of humor at the 9:52 mark.

Well done Karyn! Thank you for offering these excellent insights into humor to remind us why laughter is important, and simultaneously offering a model for a memorable TEDx talk.

Again, to watch this talk, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bOriPEk7S8 .

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