PPP 487 | Why Humor Is a Serious Leadership Skill, with comedian Adam Christing

Summary

In this episode, Andy talks with comedian and corporate emcee Adam Christing, author of The Laughter Factor: The 5 Humor Tactics to Link, Lift, and Lead. If you have ever hesitated to use humor at work because you were unsure it would land, or worried it might backfire, this conversation offers both encouragement and a practical path forward.

Adam shares how his early influences shaped his approach to humor and why he believes every human is also a "humor being." You will hear why humor is more than chasing chuckles, including how it can build trust, improve learning, and strengthen relationships on teams. Adam introduces the concept of "laugh languages" and walks through examples such as Surprise and Poke, along with guidance on how to tease without crossing the line. They also discuss tailoring humor across cultures and how leaders can bring the laughter factor home with their families.

If you are looking for practical insights on leading with humor, building trust, and bringing more humanity into your projects and teams, this episode is for you!

Sound Bites

• "If you're a human being, you are also a humor being, and I would say not only do you have a sense of humor, but a sense of humor has you."
• "The audience is actually, whether it's three people or 300, they're actually rooting for you."
• "They don't want to be bored. They want to be entertained."
• "When we think back on the things that have made us laugh the most, it's often the flops that are the funniest."
• "They won't trust your humor until you do."
• "There's a saying in show business, 'funny is money'."
• "I really believe that humor is a bridge that helps you connect heart to heart with other people."
• "You're a leader. You need to be the one building trust."
• "Humor is a shortcut to trust."
• "Leaders help their people learn with laughter."
• "Increase your LPMs: laughs per meeting."
• "If in doubt, leave it out."
• "Every meeting really should be a party with a purpose."

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:43 Start of Interview
• 03:38 Adam's Backstory and Early Influences
• 05:23 "I'm Not Funny" and the Confidence Barrier
• 10:36 Why Humor Is More Than Just Chuckles
• 16:00 The Laughter Factor Explained
• 18:10 Laugh Languages and the Power of Surprise
• 21:09 Poke: Teasing Without Crossing the Line
• 24:42 Using Humor Across Cultures
• 30:14 How You Know the Laughter Factor Is Working
• 32:17 Developing a Laughter Factor at Home
• 34:25 End of Interview
• 34:55 Andy Comments After the Interview
• 38:02 Outtakes

Learn More

Get a copy of Adam's book The Laughter Factor: The 5 Humor Tactics to Link, Lift, and Lead.

You can learn more about Adam and his work at TheLaughterFactor.com. While you are there, check out the short questionnaire to discover your laugh language.

For more learning on this topic, check out:

• Episode 316 with Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas. They are completely on this theme of humor being a strategic ability for leaders and teams.
• Episode 109 with Peter McGraw. Peter breaks down what makes something funny based on his book The Humor Code, an episode Andy still calls back to today.
• Episode 485 with John Krewson, a conversation about lessons from sketch comedy that nicely reinforce ideas from today's episode.

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Talent Triangle: Power Skills

Topics: Leadership, Humor At Work, Trust Building, Communication, Team Culture, Psychological Safety, Cross-Cultural Leadership, Meeting Facilitation, Emotional Intelligence, Influence, Learning And Development, People Management, Project Management

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: The Fantastical Ferret by Tim Kulig License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Synthiemania by Frank Schroeter License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license