Laugh and Learn: 95 Ways to Use Humor for More Effective Teaching and Training (Hardcover)

by Doni Tamblyn (Author) "A WEALTHY businessman was vacationing on the Riviera, when one day he got a call from home..." (more)
Key Phrases: Reflection Section, Learner Activity, Trainer Practice (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
An entertaining and practical book chock-full of tips, techniques, anecdotes, and exercises that show anyone how to use humor well. -- Dr. Joel Goodman, Director, The HUMOR Project, Inc., Saratoga Springs, NY

Combining learning and laughing is not easy, but Doni does it brilliantly (and with integrity). Highly recommended! -- Eric Jensen, author, Teaching with the Brain in Mind

I read the book twice! -- Applied Improvisation Network 2004

Should be required reading for anyone involved in teaching or training. (I wish some of my teachers had read it.) -- Malcolm Kushner, AFHC, author, Public Speaking for Dummies

Tamblyn provides necessary references to important cognitive studies, yet her writing style best reflects her background as a former comedian. -- Mills Quarterly Fall 2003

Product Description
We may not all be born comedians, but most people are naturally humorous, says Doni Tamblyn, comic-turned-trainer and president of HumorRules LLC. Tamblyn’s humorous techniques have brought serious results to clients such as Chevron, Wells Fargo, AstraZeneca, and other Fortune 500 companies, universities, and government entities. Now she offers these techniques to you in one intriguing, information-packed, and very funny book!

Combining the latest brain studies and humor research with the author's own 23 years of experience in comedy and corporate training, LAUGH AND LEARN is a fascinating look at what makes learners perk up, pay attention, and remember. It’s the first book that 1) explains the research that shows how humor can make information more memorable, 2) teaches communicators how to be funny without relying on joke-telling or novelty store items, and 3) gives specific, light-touch techniques that can be used by virtually anyone who seeks to present their message more effectively. This book will help teaching professionals to:

* Attract more learners to their programs

* Get and hold learners’ attention throughout the learning process

* Present curriculum memorably

* Positively affect learner attitudes

* Go beyond teaching facts, to encourage and model creative thinking (a much-sought ability in today’s organizations!)

* Improve performance scores both inside and outside of the classroom

* Enhance their own reputations as contributors to their organizations' bottom line

* Get "buy-in" from organizational decision-makers

Moreover, LAUGH AND LEARN is a true page-turner! Rich in insights, research data, showbiz secrets, and backstage anecdotes, it is a book that will be read and reread. From the very first chapter, readers will begin to see that professional development can actually be fun!

Wouldn't you like your learners to say the same?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; 1 edition (October 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814407455
• ISBN-13: 978-0814407455
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #566,963 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is Anybody Bleeding?, November 6, 2003

By A Customer

I'm a wildlife rehabilitator, and with the exception of a few goofy raccoons, none of my clients finds me in any way amusing. I've tried some of Ms. Tamblyn's tactics on our furred and feathered friends, and I'm sorry to say they just don't work. HOWEVER.....

I also do lots of public speaking in the service of the furred and feathered, and while my human friends call me amusing and humorous.....all of that seems to leave me when faced with a big audience of people who.......are way scarier than those animals who bite and claw me!

This book was VERY helpful....it gave me permission to fail....to bomb! I just love that, since I've often found myself in mid-stride, suddenly losing my place and thinking discreetly, "Why are these people listening to this? Are they listening? Am I making any sense? Oh %#$##....what did I just say?"

Yes, I'm among those who flub punchlines, and laugh so hard at the joke I'm trying to tell that everyone loses interest. Tamblyn's book includes all the advice you'll ever need on using humor without necessarily using jokes, and getting gracefully out of tough situations.

Finally, my work is very high-stress, and often tragic...the book offers insight on dealing humorously with other people while confronting stress and pain. It can be done. I can and do train others to do the same. I found the chapters on engaging emotion, taking the space you need and laughing in the face of fear the most helpful.

While the book was obviously written with corporate training in mind, those of us in the non-profit (read non-paid) end of the working world can certainly take a page from this book.

Thank you, Ms. Tamblyn!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LAUGH AND LEARN--A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER'S FERVENT HOPE, February 21, 2004

By A Customer

Recently, an old friend suggested that I read Doni Tamblyn's Laugh and Learn, a "how to" book that delineates various exercises, all intended to increase creative thought. At first I was reluctant to read the book--as a high school teacher I am bombarded by teaching methodologies, each one claiming to be the magic key that will unlock student achievement and motivation. So I was surprised when I discovered that Laugh and Learn was 1) witty 2) entertaining 3) well-researched 4) practical and, best of all, actually works!

Through a combination of data compiled from brain-compatible research, and an enormous catalogue of easy to read, easy to implement student activities, Tamblyn makes the compelling case that creative thought flourishes best when learners are first instructed to avoid being clever and original. While the ultimate goal may be to reach heights of innovative thinking, Tamblyn assures us that such heights will more than likely be reached when the learner's mind is relaxed enough to begin making the connections that distinguish the truly interesting thought from the mundane.

In each chapter, Tamblyn discusses the hows and whys of encouraging learners to lose their anxiety and increase their joy as they discover the creative process within themselves. Although the book is a virtual treasure trove of fun activities for students, my favorites have been the "mind map" and the "finish the sentence ball toss." (You have to read the book to find out why these activities are such big fun!) Again, the idea behind each activity is to "sneak up" on the creative drive before it has a chance to realize that it is being scrutinized and therefore shut down like a wall flower at a jr. high school dance.

At least one or two days a week, I incorporate a Laugh and Learn activity into my lesson plans. My students love the program. And their test scores and projects reflect the influence of Tamblyn's techniques upon greater retention of content and increased motivation for success. This is nothing short of a miracle, when you consider the natural reluctance of teenagers to try anything that might make them look "uncool" in front of their classmates.

Laugh and Learn is both brilliant and of enormous practical benefit--two qualities not often found in teacher training manuals. Tamblyn's book should occupy a special place on every educator's desk. Five stars, Ms. Tamblyn, five stars and more...

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, am I glad I bought this book!, January 13, 2004

By	"jakbeau" (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews

After 19 years of school, I now reserve weighty treatises for subjects like international law. What I needed as a trainer of nonprofits in proposal writing and development, was some good technique in leavening what can be awfully dry subjects (after all, they're about getting money) with a whole lot of fun. Ms. Tamblyn's "95 Ways" sparked my creative juices and I use her techniques whenever I teach. Plus, I've been incorporating some of her exercises into my workshops to teach nonprofit folks how to leaven their presentations when they get that much longed for meeting with a potential donor.

This is a "grab it and go" book that fits in your briefcase along with your handouts. If you're a trainer - nonprofit, corporate or otherwise - you know the feeling of "dead air." During the break, turn to almost any page in "Laugh and Learn" for a technique or an exercise that will uncrink your brain and ramp the room up for your returning learners.

You won't become an expert in the science of humor with "Laugh and Learn." But, hey, they give degrees to people for that kind of in-depth knowledge. As a trainer, you will go as far as you like in incorporating humor into the business of teaching - safely, judiciously and successfully.

Thanks, Ms. Tamblyn. You are a funny lady, and you know how to teach what you know!