Humor injections is a blog by speaker, author, and humorist Ron Culberson. It appeared for several years and then was transitioned to a new blog here: Ron Culberson’s Blog. Check it out.
Successful Meetings posted a great article about my friend Dale Irvin. Dale is a “Professional Summarizer ®”. He attends conferences and uses humor to summarize the other speakers’ messages. This is a great example of making a mundane process more fun.
Check it out: In Summation
Ron
I just returned from speaking at the Texas Association of Fairs and Events (TAF&E). Now this is a fun group. They are the folks responsible for planning and running fairs, festivals, and events all throughout Texas. It was a great group of people and a great conference.
What impressed me the most was that they create a fun conference for their attendees – just like their attendees create fun events for the public.
For instance, they ran a very exciting Calcutta fundraiser to raise $20,000 for scholarships. They also showcased bands, magicians, and hypnotists for the fair organizers who are looking for new talent. Every morning, they gave away door prizes for the people who show up on time.
But my favorite event was a prize given by “Mr. and Mrs. X”. At the beginning of the conference,a man and a woman are chosen as Mr. and Mrs. X. Throughout the conference they meet other conference attendees as a way to network and connect with others. The 50th person that each of them shake hands with get a door prize. What a great idea!
When you have a process, like a conference, it’s very easy to get into routines rather than think of ways to make the process more enjoyable.
TAF&E know how to make their conference fun.
Ron
Thanks to my friend Terri Langhans for posting this video on her Facebook page.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htU6qYsLsEE
Hilarious!
Ron
I passed the half century mark on December 28. Here is a column on my journey. Enjoy!
Oh Fifty, Where is Thy Sting?
Ron
I am very supportive of anyone who will try to make a mundane process more fun. However, a Wisconsin postal carrier may have taken the idea a little too far when he delivered the mail in the nude as a way to “cheer up” one of his customers. Even though he had told the woman he was thinking of doing it and she dared him too, the “display” resulted in his being charged with lewd and lascivious behavior.
He must have considered himself more of a First Class Male than she did.
Ron
When a prospective client contacts me about the possibility of my speaking at their event, I often send them this funny email as part of my contract requirements:
“I require green M&M’s in my dressing room and 20 bottles of lava-filtered water. If you do not have a masseuse onsite, one of your staff will have to rub my shoulders before I go on stage. After my presentation, I will not mingle with the common folk but will sign books as long as everyone stands at least 20 feet away from me and doesn’t look at me. How’s that sound?”
It usually gets a laugh and affirms that I don’t take things too seriously.
Today, I flew to Atlanta in a small regional jet and then drove 90 minutes to the Ritz Carlton Lodge in Greensboro for a presentation for Ethica Health and Retirement Communities tomorrow. When I opened the door to my room, I found five large bottles of water labeled “Lava Water”, a container of green M&M’s, and a battery operated massage ball!
I laughed out loud. What a cool organization to take care of me that way. I’m sure it will be a fun time tomorrow.
Thanks Ethica for making my day.
Ron
Here is a great article on the power of improv comedy to help people in responding to job interview questions:
Improve Helps the Unemployed
Ron
As we get into this holiday season, take a minute to enjoy a brief humor commentary:
What the Holly Happened to Christmas?
Ron
An article in USA Today reported that a plane crashed into a sand trap on a golf course in Southern California. Luckily, no one was seriously injured but the reporter missed a great opportunity for a humorous headline.
The headline read, “Golf course obstacle.”
Any of you who play golf know that it should have read, “Golf course hazard.” Since hazard is the term for a sand trap.
This is how we use humor. We look for the little congruent incongruities that make life a little more bearable.
So, since I have nothing better to do, I decided to offer you some additional alternative headlines:
“Pilot said approach shot missed the mark”
“Tires on crashed plane failed because there was a hole in one”
“Pilot will need more than a sand wedge to remove plane from bunker”
“Pilot of crashed plane said he wasn’t feeling up to par”
“Pilot of crashed plane said, ‘Hey, even Tiger drove into a tree’”
“When asked how far he flew, pilot said, ‘a fair way.’”
Ron
