Laughter
Laughter is probably the best method for relieving stress, improving health and opening up the mind. The beneficial effects of laughter have been proven by scientific studies. It can even heal incurable diseases as revealed by Norman Cousins in his book, “ The Anatomy of a Disease” He literally laughed his way back to health by checking into a hotel and spent all his time watching TV comedy shows like the American Funniest Home Videos and Candid Camera.
Laughter is an excellent way to open up the minds of attendees prior to a meeting. Studies have confirmed that a few laughs preceding a meeting will render it more productive in generating ideas. The five to ten minutes spent on warming up and opening up the mind is really worthwhile.
Among the ways to introduce laughter in a meeting are:
- A joke session where attendees have to take turns in telling hilarious jokes.
- Watching comedy shows on TV such as Mr. Bean and the others mentioned above.
- Games that create laughter.
- Telling funny stories.
In fact, you don’t even need to have humour to laugh. You can just laugh for no reason as in laughter yoga, created by the founder of laughter clubs, Dr. Kataria , which has spread all over the world.
The author, Dr.YKK (Yew Kam Keong, Ph.D) is an international speaker, trainer and best-selling author on creativity and innovation for both the government and the corporate sectors. He can be contacted at DrYKK@mindbloom.net , www.mindbloom.net. He is the author of the best-selling book “You Are Creative- Let Your Creativity Bloom”.