Blog posts

The Power of Humour on Mental Health

Submitted by Jack Milner on June 24, 2024

My teenage son’s school quite rightly priorities the mental health of students and staff. They are enlightened and genuinely care. But even then my son will roll his eyes at the solemn dullness of it all. This solemnity when discussing mental health is seen across most  organisations, not just in the discussions but also in the treatment.  And it’s bad for us. Of course we must take the subject seriously but not if that gravitas is at risk of turning off the very people it’s aimed at helping. 

How to Use More Humour in Your Every Day Communications

Submitted by Jack Milner on May 28, 2024

This morning I received an email from my excellent website provider, Ready Steady Websites. The previous day they’d offered a free masterclass on May 12th.  Realising their mistake they immediately sent this follow up. 

“You may have noticed the email we sent yesterday said that Ekaterina's masterclass is on 12th May. Now, she's got a lot of skills but time travel probably isn't one of them. The masterclass is actually on 12th June.”

Laughing All the Way: How Humour Secretly Reduces Employee Turnover

Submitted by Jack Milner on May 23, 2024

Think back through your work day. Have you laughed today? What did that laughter do for reducing stress, for your connection with colleagues, or for your energy? The answer I’m guessing, is pretty positive. 

The truth is that laughter in business can be a game changer. While humour at work might appear to have little relevance to organisation’s success, it actually plays a crucial role in keeping your employees happy and sticking around. 

Why we sometimes need to share our dark side

Submitted by Jack Milner on July 11, 2023

I was working with a client once (no not the guy in the picture) who was just a lovely, lovely, lovely man. And guess what, when he presented, he came across as simply lovely, lovely, lovely... smiled loads, light and fragrant almost and... minimal gravitas.

He was super bright, and his organisation saw him as a future leader.  However, he didn't get many opportunities to present and so shine to the wider senior leadership team. In truth this lack of gravitas was the reason why, and of course the fewer times he presented, the less confident and more smiley he became.

Human Capital Innovations Podcast

Submitted by Jack Milner on May 30, 2023

So what makes a good podcast host as opposed to the average? Firstly, hosting and interviewing guests is not easy. I know from experience it’s easy to ramble, or for the podcast to go off track completely. The best interviewers keep it relaxed and fun, while also moving you onto the stuff that is going to have most value to the listener. One such expert is Jonathan H. Westover. 

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Britain's funniest city

Submitted by Jack Milner on March 31, 2023

A study by the Beano comic has named the nation's funniest city, with residents there laughing 33 times a day on average.

ALSO. According to the findings, nearly a quarter (24%) of Brits found sarcasm to be their favourite type of humour, followed by witty (23%) and observational (11%). Well, there's a surprise for you!

To discover Britain’s funniest city… 

HOW TO AVOID PRESENTING NAKED!

Submitted by Jack Milner on March 20, 2023

The great theatre director Peter Brook was two thirds of the way through his rehearsals for famous Paris production of Hamlet. The star was Adrian Lester.

Brook was probably the greatest and most innovative theatre director of the 20th century. He’d been directing for almost sixty years and had achieved almost God-like status. He was also the definition of “expert leader” and few if any questioned his judgement. His audience for the sell-out shows would surely be made up of Shakespeare buffs and fans. Approaching the first preview, with the show already in fantastic shape, what could possibly go wrong?

Delivering an Impromptu Speech

Submitted by Jack Milner on March 20, 2023

The tricky speech or presentation is not where you have weeks to put together your content and rehearse but the one where some bright spark suggests you “say a few words to (fill in the blank).”

So for all you impromptu presenters, here are four simple steps to creating a 5 minute speech that can be delivered with close to zero preparation.

So what do you do?