LaughBox

Episode 32 Interview with Kelly Swanson

What’s YOUR story? Do you want to make it better? I know you do! Stories are the building blocks of civilization. They help us transmit norms, culture and get things done. They also can grab someone’s attention and make your more memorable. This week’s guest, Kelly Swanson, is an award-winning storytelling expert! We do a hands-on session where she works with me on one of my own stories. It was incredible! Grab a pencil and paper…you’re going to want to get this all down!

More on Kelly…

Kelly Swanson is an award-winning storyteller, comedian, motivational speaker, Huffington Post Contributor, and cast member of The Fashion Hero television show airing on Amazon Prime. She is also the author of Who Hijacked My Fairy Tale, The Land of If Only, The Story Formula, and The Gutsy Girls Pocket Guide to Public Speaking. She was a featured entertainer for Holland America Cruise Lines, keynote speaker for the International Toastmasters Convention, and has keynoted major conferences and corporate events from coast to coast.

Kelly’s wacky wit and powerful stories have charmed hearts and tickled funny bones for over 15 years. In addition to her role as a funny motivational speaker, Kelly teaches people how she does it by sharing what she has learned about connecting and engaging to have more influence in business, through the use of one tool – strategic storytelling. Sharing her own powerful journey through story and the formula she discovered, you come to that magical place where the art of story meets the business of persuasion.

For more about Kelly go to www.MotivationalSpeakerKellySwanson.com

Episode 31 Interview with Sue Stevenson

Dwight D. Eisenhower said that "humor is a part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people and getting things done.” This week, on the podcast, we get to delve into the leader’s brain with Sue Stevenson and how she coaches leaders using humor and humanity so they can build teams that are better prepared for the challenges of today’s competitive Environment. I got to meet “Scottish” Sue a few years ago and, immediately, was drawn to her wit and down to earth approach on making an impact. I think you’ll like the interview and come away with some strategies you can implement immediately. Enjoy!

More On Scottish Sue...

• Over 20 years in Global multinational companies in Global OD, Cultural Change, and HR - latterly at an executive level e.g. brought to USA from Switzerland as SVP, HR for Novartis Consumer Health, North America.
  13 years ago founded her own Global Executive Coaching and Consulting practice, Lifted Fog LLC.
• Current Lifted Fog work includes facilitating Conversational Intelligence (C-iq) with a Medical Device company; Coaching Coaches; as a Consultant for a project developing an internal coaching culture at a High Tech company, and running Coach Mentoring programs for Coaches seeking International Coach Federation Coaching credentials.
• Current Partners include:
• Lead Facilitator, Executive Coach, Assessor and Mentor, The NeuroLeadership Institute - delivering Brain Based Coaching Certification programs, Corporate Coaching Assessments and Mentoring.
• Director, Human Insight, Learning and Growth, Potentia - which helps companies and people optimize their potential.
• Master Facilitator and Coach, Talentsmart - delivering Emotional Intelligence workshops and 360 EQ Assessment coaching.
• Judge for the Chief Learning Officer’s Learning Elite Awards.
• Starting Humor Academy in 2018.

Currently living on a boat in San Diego, Southern California, Sue is best known by all who meet her to be “an engaging conversationalist, fun-loving and spirited story teller with a wee bit of Scottish humor that make her a delight to know.”

Check out Sue on her website: http://www.liftedfog.com/

Episode 30 Interview with Jim Pelley

He’s amazing and amazingly funny!  Jim Pelley has been a part of AATH since nearly the beginning and this week on Laughbox he shares a lifetime of humor strategies that are destined to help you bring more humor to your and other’s worlds.

 

More on Jim...

 

For more than 30 years, Jim Pelley has brought the power and value of humor in the workplace to hundreds of thousands of people at top corporations and organizations worldwide.

 

Jim enlightens his audiences on the art and science of bringing effective humor into their lives to become more creative, more productive, and less stressed. Recent clients include some of the world's most creative and innovative companies - Intel, Disney, Southwest Airlines, Marriott, American Express, Motorola, Hewlett Packard, and PepsiCo, to name just a few.

 

Jim's finely tuned ability to customize his programs delights audiences in such diverse fields as high tech, healthcare, banking, manufacturing, and government. From executives to production and service personnel, his listeners are amazed at the depth of his insight into their environment.

 

You can connect with Jim (and find out more about his work) on his website: 

http://laughterworks.com/

Episode 29: Interview with Don Baird

I can’t think of a better way to start the podcast year off than with this week’s guest, Dr. Don Baird.  Don gives us some great insights this week on how to live a little better and laugh a little longer.  

 

Don Baird has received a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University.

 

He is a past member of the Board of Directors for the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. He has given presentations on humor and psychology locally, nationally, and internationally (including Japan, Norway, Italy and France). He is an Adjunct Faculty in Clinical Psychology at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Episode 28: Interview with Kristin Layous

You’re guaranteed the pursuit of happiness but, as Don Draper (from the hit TV series Mad Men said), “What is happiness but that moment before you need more happiness?”  This week on our podcast, I had the great pleasure to talk with Dr. Kristin Layous, happiness researcher and expert.  In the interview she shares what we can do to make ourselves less happy, more happy and the number one thing that we do that sabotages our efforts to stay in our happy place.  

 

More on Kristin…

 

Kristin Layous has a Ph.D. in Social and Personality Psychology from University of California, Riverside and is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at California State University, East Bay. Her research primarily focuses on activities that promote happiness like expressing gratitude and performing kind acts. Specifically, she explores how and under what conditions these activities boost happiness, as well as who they are most likely to help.

 

Check her out on her website: http://www.kristinlayous.com/

Episode 27: Interview with Izzy Gesell

Where does superman go to change now that all of the phone booths are gone?  Great question, eh?  That’s what you get when you get to spend some time with speaker and comedian, Izzy Gesell.  Izzy shares his insights on how to mine the humor from your everyday life to connect with others and cope with the crap going on around you in this week’s Laughbox!

 

More on Izzy...

Izzy Gesell is an organizational alchemist who helps individuals and organizations transform their thinking from commonplace to extraordinary. Through his keynotes, trainings, coaching and facilitated sessions, Izzy offers imaginative, intuitive and immediately useful insights and programs. He is skilled at delivering meaningful material in a way that makes participants enjoy their time with him.

One of the first to use Improv Theater concepts as tools for personal and organizational learning, Izzy is the author of Playing Along: Group Learning Activities Borrowed From Improvisation Theater,  The Resilient  Caregiver, a co-author of Cancer & the Healing Power of Play, a co-author of Humor Me: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter.

 His has authored 3 video courses on Linkedin Learning  & Lynda.com: “Essentials of Team Building”, “Humor in the Workplace”, & “Leading with Applied Improv.”

Recognized by his peers, he has earned a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speakers Association. Less than 15% of NSA’s 4,000 members are CSPs

A former stand –up comedian and public school teacher, Izzy was raised in Brooklyn NY. He has earned a BA in Psychology, an MS in Education and a P…. that’s 1/3 of a PhD and now lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Check out Izzy’s website at:  https://www.izzyg.com/

Episode 26: Interview with Susan Sparks

A trial lawyer, a pastor, and and a comedian walk into a bar…. That may sound like a great set up for a joke but it’s what actually happens when our guest, Susan Sparks, goes out on Saturday night ALL AT ONCE!  She’s been (or is) all of those things all wrapped up into one FABULOUS, FUNNY, AND FORTHCOMING person (okay, the last was just me needing another “F” word that wouldn’t make my mother blush).  Sit back and enjoy this interview with a person that is out there making a difference one laugh at a time!

 

More on Susan (in her own words)...

Hi y’all, I’m Susan Sparks—a trial lawyer turned preacher, comedian, speaker, author, and Harley-riding cowboy boot addict. I help people regain their grit and reclaim their joy.

We all know life has curves.
Things we never expect.
Things that throw us into the wind or down to the ground.

Trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve lived through a divorce, survived cancer, lost both parents, traveled solo around the world for two years and left a ten-year law practice to create a career as an ordained minister and a standup comedian. I know a bit about curves.

Here’s what I’ve learned:

Bends in the road are inevitable. But they are also where life takes flight. They are the places where we have the opportunity to face down our fears, accelerate through and become something more.

After significant gambles and spectacular falls, I’ve learned to lean into the curves. Now thousands take inspiration and hope from the laughter and wisdom I lead with.

Join me every week as I share The Shiny Side Up – my weekly journal pages where you’ll get infectious inspiration that will lift you up, make you smile and leave you stronger!

Sign Up for The Shiny Side Up

Want to take a walk on the wilder side? Tune in to my motorcycle YouTube broadcast: “Rev It Up!” where you’ll to lean into the curves and live full power.

You can also connect with me live stream through my sermons via Madison Avenue Baptist Church, and live in person via my keynotes, comedy shows and workshops.

Hey, we’re all on the same road. Why not face the curves and accelerate out together!

You can get EVEN MORE on Susan on her website:  www.susansparks.com

Episode 25: Interview with Yakov Smirnoff

You loved him on the stage and big screen and now you’ll love him at the AATH conference! What a treat it was for me to spend a little time talking with Yakov Smirnoff on this week’s Laughbox podcast!  Admittedly, I was a little nervous going into it but he quickly put me at ease as he shared some of his insights on laughter, love, and relationships.  I can’t wait to hear more in San Diego!  Listen in!

 

More on Yakov…

 

Fans who loved the comedy of Russian born entertainer Yakov Smirnoff throughout his expansive career on television, the silver screen and Broadway can experience the hilarity once again in “Happily Ever Laughter: The Neuroscience of Romantic Relationships.” In this new show, audience members are left in stitches as they enjoy Yakov’s insightful and laughter-filled philosophies on love, relationships and the differences between men and women. The New York Times called Yakov, “Warm-hearted, delightful and splendidly funny.”

 

A mainstay on the entertainment scene since the late 1970’s, Yakov co-starred in movies with Robin Williams in “Moscow on the Hudson“, Tom Hanks in “The Money Pit“, Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson in “Heartburn” and Richard Pryor in “Brewster’s Millions.” Yakov has also given command performances at the White House for several presidents and honored guests. President Ronald Reagan called Yakov, “a national treasure.” Smirnoff was a regular guest star on the award winning NBC sitcom, Night Court. He has been a popular guest of numerous national TV shows including the Tonight Show. You’ve seen him on HBO and enjoyed his humor in his critically acclaimed Showtime special, “Yakov Smirnoff from Moscow…Idaho.”  From 1993 to 2015, Yakov performed at his own two-thousand-seat theater in Branson, Missouri where he entertained over four and a half-million people and produced several outstanding award-winning shows. His comedic style is firmly grounded within his mission statement, “to experience happiness and teach it to the world with passion through comedy and sensitivity.“

 

Yakov’s quest to understand the science of happiness took him to the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a master’s degree in psychology in 2006 under the supervision of Dr. Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology. Today, in addition to being a comedian, Yakov is also an adjunct professor at Missouri State University where he teaches a course on happiness and laughter and is currently earning his Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education & Psychology in Los Angeles, CA.

In “Happily Ever Laughter”, Yakov takes his comedy to a new level to showcase laughter’s effects on relationships and envisions a world where sadness and tears are replaced with love and laughter. Whether on stage or in a classroom, Yakov’s audiences love him. He is passionate about helping people extend the honeymoon stage of their relationships and “fall in love and laughter all over again.”

 

Check out Yakov on his website:  http://www.yakov.com/

Episode 24: Interview with Patty Wooten

The Power of Levity After Gravity:  An Interview With Patty Wooten

 

Laughing through a disaster?  Does that seem ludicrous?  Perhaps…but humor always finds a way.  From the treachery and turmoil or being a prisoner of war to the devastation that the recent natural disaster have wrought, humor finds a way.  On this week’s episode of Laughbox, I have the distinct honor of talking with someone who knows the power humor can have in helping you overcome the obstacle, get perspective, and gain strength….Patty Wooten!  I’ve been a long time admirer of Patty and her work.  Some people talk about humor and some get out there and try to use it’s power to make a difference in the world.  Patty has been making a difference for nearly 40 years and, today, she can make a difference for you!  

 

More on Patty…

 

From hospital clown to humorist & professional speaker to nurse retention and renewal specialist, Patty has  made her living for more than 20 years studying, applying and sharing the many ways humor and laughter provide therapeutic benefits to individuals and groups.

 

Even more on Patty in her own voice… 

 

Since the mid-1980s, I have been speaking, writing and, in general, serving as an advocate and spokesperson for the therapeutic benefits of humor. At the bedside, in the workplace, and at conferences of every kind, I have seen humor work magic and have shared what I’ve learned with hundreds of thousands of people.

 

I have been on a television panel with humor scholars, such as Dr. Vera Robinson, and Dr. Bill Fry. I’ve clowned with Patch Adams long before the hit movie about his work. And I’ve even been the mystery guest on the hit TV game show, To Tell the Truth. It’s been a fun ride!

 

While involved with the early leaders of the modern therapeutic humor movement, I have had the pleasure of being a charter member of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, and a long-time member of the International Society for Humor Studies. These two organizations are invaluable for helping our field promote important and accurate information about the many humor and laughter work their magic. In 1999, I was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by my AATH peers.

 

I have spoken in nearly every state in the U.S. and in 11 foreign countries. I guess being a leader in a field for more than 20 years does result in quite an accumulation of knowledge and some element of notoriety.

 

Okay, I guess it’s true. Somehow, my life’s journey has earned me the title, “The Icon of Therapeutic Humor.” I’ll humbly accept the title and will continue to work hard to bring humor and laughter to deserving audiences around the world. 

 

You can get EVEN more on Patty on her website:  www.pattywooten.com

Episode 23: Interview with Drew Tarvin

Are we there yet?  I have to go to the bathroom!  I’m hungry!  Yes, I’ve been on enough road trips with my kids to know that they’re not as fun as you imagine before the trip begins.  But that’s because I travelled with them and NOT Drew Tarvin!  Drew’s a comedian, speaker, author, entrepreneur and spent a year traveling to ALL 50 states and sharing a laugh with the residents there.  On this week’s episode, he shares a little about his travels and how you can curate the comedy in your own life to make a positive impact for yourself and those around you.  Take a listen….but have a pen and paper ready ahead of time (you’re going to want to take notes)!   

 

More on Drew…

 

Andrew Tarvin is the world’s first Humor Engineer teaching people how to get better results while having more fun.

 

Through his company, Humor That Works, Andrew has helped more 25,000 people at 250+ organizations—including P&G, GE, ESPN, Microsoft, the U.S. Navy, PepsiCo, and the International Association of Canine Professional—learn to be more productive, less stressed, and happier. Combining his background in business with his experience as an international comedian, his programs are engaging, entertaining, and effective.

 

Prior to starting his company, Andrew was a top-rated project manager at Procter & Gamble, managing million dollar projects for a $350 million business. He is also an accomplished comedian, having performed in more than 1,000 shows all around the world.

 

Andrew is the best-selling author of Humor That Works: 501 Ways to Beat Stress, Increase Productivity, and Have Fun at Work, has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and FastCompany, and his TEDx talk has been viewed over 100,000 times. He has delivered programs in 50 states, 18 countries, and 1 planet (Earth). He loves the color orange and is obsessed with chocolate.

 

You can get more on Drew on his website:   http://andrewtarvin.com/