Want A Great Meeting? Consider Laughter!
Want A Great Meeting? Consider Laughter!
By Doug Dvorak
Did you know there are over 5500 laughter clubs around the world in over 50 countries? After September 11th, 2001, people just want to laugh more. Our country and world certainly have changed after that tragic and eventful day.
Many meeting planners are requesting that even some of the more serious topics have some more humor and levity to them. If you are asking people to attend a 2-3 day meeting or conference, it not only has to have substance today it has to have some degree of fun and humor. Humor can help to illustrate key learning objectives and help bring to life dry, technically challenging and boring topics.
When you hire a humorous speaker to present at your next meeting, he or she will probably incorporate some of the following activities learned from their Laughter bank of experience. For example, many meeting planners have considered Laughter Yoga to add a punch line to their event. A typical Laughter Yoga Session has two components: 1) Laughter Yoga Exercises and 2) Laughter Meditation and there are some important guidelines one should follow to optimize the Laughter Yoga experience. They are:
All participants should start laughing at the same time, when the anchorperson gives the command 1, 2… start because, when a group laughs at the same time, the effect is good.
Do not apply too much force while laughing. It should be more of a feeling and enjoying of the process.
The duration of Laughter Yoga Exercises is usually 20-30 minutes, that includes laughter, breathing and stretching exercises.
The Laughter Exercises are suggested guidelines to get started, and it is nit mandatory to follow the same sequence of Laughter Exercises every time. A group can develop their own unique Laughter Exercise to make the session more interesting and playful.
Ideally, a group of 15-20 persons makes a good dynamic for an infectious Laughter Session. More people always help to create a better impact, but even 5-10 people can have a good Laughter Session, if they are committees.
Each Laughter Exercise lasts for 30-45 seconds, or a maximum of one minute. After each bout of Laughter or sometimes after two bouts, two deep breaths are taken, in order to provide a break. This avoids exertion and tiredness. Sometimes, various neck, shoulder and arm stretching exercise are done in place of deep breathing, between Laughter Exercises.
A typical Laughter Session is a perfect blend of various laughter techniques, interspersed with breathing, stretching, rhythmic clapping and chanting
HO HO HA HA HA, in unison.
The Laughter Yoga session starts to wind down with Laughter Meditation. After the Laughter Yoga exercises, we make an effort to laugh in a group, which soon becomes infectious. The session then is complete we end with some deep breathing and relaxation exercises.
By following and implementing some of these simple laughter techniques into your next meeting or event you will find that the attendees will have more fun and retain more of the meetings content.
Doug Dvorak is the CEO of DMG Inc., a worldwide organization that assists clients with productivity training, corporate humor and workshops, as well as other aspects of sales and marketing management. Mr. Dvorak s clients are characterized as Fortune 1000 companies, small to medium businesses, civic organizations and service businesses. Mr. Dvorak has earned an international reputation for his powerful educational methods and motivational techniques, as well as his experience in all levels of business, corporate education and success training. http://www.dougdvorak.com
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