Laugh and the world laughs with you

Hello Fellow Banteroos - Some people can make others laugh just by walking into a room.  Most of us though have to try harder to get laughs.  On July 31, Eric Solowka guided us through a workshop entitled "The Laughter Equation".  Yes, math does creep into humour for as Eric pointed out, setup+payoff=laughter.

Why do we want to make people laugh?  Everyone loves to laugh. A good laugh has been shown to reduce blood pressure and stress hormones.  As the great comedian Victor Borge noted, "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people".  So, laughing is physically and emotionally good for you and it helps build relationships.  But how do you make people laugh?  Most importantly for a Toastmaster, how can you weave humour into your speeches?

Through printed material and on the spot practice, Eric showed us how to balance the "cons", that is context, content and conduct.  He reviewed a dozen basic types of humour, which include some tools you are probably aware of, such as the use of puns and plays on words.  He reminded us to keep speeches crisp and devoid of unnecessary words.  Get right to the point. 

Not surprisingly, the evening was full of laughs.  Everyone felt they came away with a renewed appreciation of humour and a good sense of how to inject that precious commodity into their speeches.  The message was, you can tell your own stories about seemingly ordinary events in funnier ways.  Be observant and be mindful of the humour in any situation.

Guests David Potocki of the Talk of Alliston joined us along with his daughter Alycia and her friend Michael.  Other welcome guests included Tulla, Ben and Alexandra.

We were also happy to welcome Division M Governor Bill Martin and Area 15 Governor Theresa Murray.  Governor Martin was very gracious, even after Eric reminded everyone numerous times about his recent 60th birthday. 

Our next meeting will be held on August 7th.  Everyone will be refreshed after the long weekend and so we look forward to a lively meeting.

Cheers - Lorraine Van Wagner