Discover Fresh Perspectives
A series of short conversations, sometimes with myself, usually with others, that provide an opportunity to see every day events through different perspectives. The intent is to open up new possibilities for personal and organizational growth!
Discover Fresh Perspectives
Laughing Through Life: Marla Simlett on Comedy, Therapy, and Leadership
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Welcome to another episode of Discover Fresh Perspectives! I'm your host, David Gouthro, and today we’re diving into the transformative power of laughter with our special guest, Marla Simlett. As a therapist, speaker, and self-proclaimed comedy enthusiast, Marla Simlett shares how humour isn't just a way to lighten the mood—it’s a powerful tool for healing, personal growth, and connection.
From her journey into stand-up comedy to weaving laughter into therapy sessions, Marla Simlett brings a fresh take on why cultivating joy matters now more than ever. We’ll talk about laughter’s surprising benefits, the courage it takes to lead with humour, and practical ways you can bring more giggles—internal and external—into your everyday life.
Get ready for insight, inspiration, and maybe even your own full-bodied laugh as we explore how laughter can help us all learn, grow, and thrive.
A Bit About Marla
Marla Simlett has always loved to laugh and to make others laugh—a passion that began in childhood, when she dreamed of being a comedian. Though she originally doubted comedy could be a solid career, laughter remained an important part of her life.
About five years ago, Marla decided to give stand-up comedy a try, performing on stage and approaching humour more intentionally. As a therapist by profession, she also discovered the power of infusing laughter into her sessions, using humour to help clients open up, lighten the mood, and break down defences.
Today, Marla continues to blend her love for comedy with her commitment to mental health, creating a unique and joyful approach to healing.
Marla's Contact Info and More . . .!
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Links to things Marla mentioned:
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Are you stuck in the same old routine at work? Do you find yourself hitting a creative wall, unable to see beyond your current perspective? It's time to break free and unlock the power of fresh perspectives. I am David Guthrow. The podcast is Discover Fresh Perspectives, and I'm here today with Marla Simlet. Welcome, Marla.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for having me here today, David.
SPEAKER_00So Marla, you know, when we were up, we always just do a couple of minutes.
SPEAKER_01Can we sorry? Can we stop? I just realized when we opened it up, my screen is. Could we start again? Sure. Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that. I try to cover up the ugliness of this room.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I couldn't even see. Well, but you know what? So there's a just to one side of it, there's kind of a bright light that's a little bit distracting. Is it possible to put yeah, it's it's probably because no, I think it's from light coming in and uh reflecting off the door.
SPEAKER_01You're right. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You may not be able to do anything about it, but uh, you know, putting the the screen over a little bit more, so yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's still got that brightness. It's a sunny day. It's a good thing and a bad thing.
SPEAKER_01I know. You should enjoy it. Yeah, that's just gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00What what happens if you open the door? What's on the other side?
SPEAKER_01Uh it goes out into the living room, which isn't too. How's that?
SPEAKER_00Well, it's still I'm it's like it's really bright.
SPEAKER_01I'm where do you live that you've got so much brightness? You are probably thinking. Yeah, and it's actually not that bright in our apartment, so I don't know.
SPEAKER_00So is there is there a a light? Are you looking towards the window?
SPEAKER_01Not really.
SPEAKER_00That's very strange.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I but I would I would tend to I mean I could turn a little bit.
SPEAKER_00And I could cover up Well Marla, this is audio only.
SPEAKER_01So it doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_00So it doesn't matter. So I don't know why it's being so fuzzy.
SPEAKER_01So there we go.
SPEAKER_00Perfect, perfect.
SPEAKER_01Okay, sorry about that.
SPEAKER_00No problem. So we should also start again. Let's make sure it's doing it. Okay, so I'll just cut off that front end. So David Guthrow here with an episode of Discover Fresh Perspectives. And today, as my guest, I have Marla Simlet. Welcome, Marla. Thanks for having me here today, David. So, Marla, when we were chatting just a little bit before we started recording the call, you said one of the things you're passionate about is is is laughter and and and humor. And so maybe let's just go back to when did you discover that was something that was important for you, important enough to actually make a living talking about it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um you know, I've always loved to laugh and make people laugh. And one of the things I wanted to be when I was a kid was a comedian. Um, didn't think that that was going to be a good, uh, a good career move. But about so I've always used laughter and love laughter in my life. But about five years ago, I started actually dipping my toe into kind of some of the stand-up comedy and and being a little more intentional with laughter. I'm also a therapist. And I found I was bringing laughter into my therapy sessions a little bit as a way to kind of lighten the mood and help people be less defensive. And I realized that that was kind of my purpose or my passion was to help people heal with humor, to help bring people to a spot where they could be a little more open to new perspectives and new ideas, using the two things, the thing that I love, which is is laughter and joy. So that is kind of where it launched.
SPEAKER_00So I'm I'm just I'm gonna go all over the place here because, like I said, it's not an interview, it's a conversation. So when you say you use it in um as as a therapist, so how do you do that? How do you bring humor in? Because usually when people come to therapy, at least folks that I know, uh it's you know, because there's something fairly serious going on. So so how do you use humor in a way that that uh supports the conversation that has to happen rather than distracts from it?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and certainly uh not therapy can be heavy work and a lot of heavy lifting. And so I don't uh, you know, it's a fine line to bring humor and laughter in in a way that doesn't detract from the seriousness of what somebody's going through or what they're dealing with. It's about finding those opportunities where um you can shift the perspective a little bit. So, as an example, um, I'm often working with people with uh clients who have things, places where they're stuck and places where they, you know, it's it's you know, I'm doing the same thing over and over again. I see this pattern, I see this, you know, I meeting, you know, dating the same people or having the same conversations. And so because I do parts work, which is um kind of identifying pieces of yourself, usually younger versions of yourself who have formed that that um that's been their role to do that, and it's and it was adaptive at the time and now not so much. And help so sometimes bringing humor in is about giving them fun nicknames and kind of personifying those parts so that you can it takes away shame a lot of the time, it takes away um uh kind of that that internalization. You kind of put them so this is you know, Tammy Too Much, or this is um, you know, love it, Betty, Betty Binger, or this is you know, giving different different names so that you can then um have a different relationship with those parts. So, you know, I've I've I do that with myself sometimes. And Tammy Too Much is is one of my uh my things where I just if I think something's good, I'm gonna do it more because then it's gonna be better. And so I'll have conversations like Tammy, are we really gonna do this right now? And so it makes me laugh a little bit. What you focus on expands. So when you get that lightness of energy from laughter, then it opens up a little bit to be able to think a little bit differently. And that's been my experience.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Now, you also said that uh you you mentioned stand-up comedy. So is that something that you you did, you observed? What's your connection with stand-up comedy, which which quite frankly scares the pants off me? You could not pay me enough to do stand-up comedy. So I'm I'm curious about your experience with it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I started that. So I have a uh a conference I go to every year and they have a talent show at the the last day of the conference. And I always sat there in the audience, like, oh God, I'd love to get up there. I'd love to get up there. And one year I gathered up my courage and I get up there and told one joke. And people loved it. And it was like coming home. I'm just I I loved it so much. And people are like, oh my God, you should write your own stuff. You should da-da-da-da-da. So I started doing that for that um that audience and and writing some of my own bits. And and I still do that every year. I actually MC their talent show every year and bring my comic flair into that. But um, I did last fall take the opportunity to actually go to some of the comedy clubs in Vancouver and try my hand at stand up there.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_01And that's a different experience. Um I did okay. There was some crashing and burning. Um and I found that that it wasn't my niche. It uh number one, you got to stay up really late to be there because they don't start the you know, amateurs until really late. And it um I don't know that it was the audience that I was looking for, but it was a great experience. And so now I find I bring that stand-up or that that comic flair into the the speaking that I do and the MCing that I'm doing, and I get my uh I get my satisfaction that way instead of kind of a comedy stage.
SPEAKER_00Well, and I mean that's that's very interesting that it wasn't your your audience. So, you know, do you have a sense of how you determine in advance how open people are going to be to whatever type of comedy you want to offer them? Is there any way to do that, or do you have to kind of try it first and how see how people respond and then shift gears very quickly?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think shifting gears is key, and and that's something I'm still learning. Um, and that was what that was so interesting about the comedy experience is that kind of you have to be right there with the audience and you have to be able to shift. And and I was so used because I started my comedy, I I do a lot of it online to a quiet audience when I'm doing because we do our and and so I'm used to doing a monologue, right? And and seeing people laugh and but not kind of having the pauses. So the timing is very important and being able to shift. And then I think if you can know your audience. So the first time I got up on stage, Dave, I spent a week polishing this four minutes about the benefits of menopause. It was very funny. I thought it was very funny, and some other people thought it was funny. But I get up on stage and I'm at it's like 11 o'clock at night in Vancouver, and my audience is 20-year-old men and some women who've been drinking. They had no interest in talking, listening to me. And so it was just like this lead balloon. And so if you can know your audience, so I've got that bit anytime I hear people talking about doing something with menopause, I'm like, I got a bit. You want me to come? And I'll share that with you, but not for a late night uh amateur hour.
SPEAKER_00So one of the things I'm I'm thinking is that like one of the differences I see between being a stand-up comic or stand-up comedian and and someone who just uses humor uh in their work is that when you're a stand-up comedian, like you say, you have to have your bit. And when you're doing your bit, it's really hard when you have four minutes to do something totally different. Whereas it's so it's tough to be, I I think other than maybe quick repartees to the audience, uh, it's really hard to be spontaneous. Whereas when you're working in front of a group and it's live, it's very easy to be spontaneous. And it's probably very important to sort of bob and weave as as you were referring to when things come up.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's why I love that, like the MC work. And I know you've done some MC work as well. It I that's where I find it so much fun because you tune into the audience, you you get their energy and you're able to, you know, do the callbacks on things like you're using some of these stand-up comedy techniques or comedy techniques, um, but using them in the moment. So if something funny has happened earlier on, you're able to talk about it later and and linking things together. And and you know, I always like to come up, try to come up, knowing my audience, come up with some great metaphors to start with that you can weave in throughout the day and and uh and just let it take off. Like I when I do that work, I really just uh flow go with the flow and and be you know as silly as and ridiculous as the as the event warrants. Um and and just bringing that joy and and laughter.
SPEAKER_00So I'd like to stick with the the stand-up comedy for for just a moment and uh I'll tell you and I'll tell you why, because what what I'm curious about is you know, what you learned about yourself and thinking about going into it and doing it and deciding that wasn't right for you. And the reason I asked the question that a very, very uh, you know, successful speaker that I know took uh took comedy at uh I think it was at Langara College or something like that, and you know, where they taught you teach jokes and write jokes and stuff like that. And she'd call up, you know, frequently and say, try this thousand times. And and at the end of it, she said, you know, I came to realize that that I'm not funny and that I shouldn't try to be. That doesn't work for me. So, you know, so what did you learn as you were going through that experience both of deciding to to take a shot at comedy or a stand-up comedy, doing comedy, and then sort of the the after effect of that. So, you know, I've if any of this stuff gets too deep, Marla, you could just put a power failure. But uh if you're willing to share that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it was quite the process because standing, getting up on stage, that took me a while to get there, especially on the comedy stage. When I first did my one joke, I knew I knew the audience, right? I um, but to get up on that comedy stage is like, oh, I would never do that. Oh, I would never, well, maybe I could do that. And then I got to a point where it's just like this is something I have to try. And so there was a lot of prep. There was a lot, and one thing I learned is that I prep too much, and that's a theme in my whole life, like Tammy too much. I want to be ready. I think if I can be ready, then I, you know, everything's gonna go well. And I was so ready. And I got up there and it just boom. And my husband was there. I brought him, I told him I wouldn't, I couldn't have him sitting where I could see him, but I wanted him there kind of for support. And I walked off the stage and I I got a chuckle or two, like, you know, I but I walked off the stage and I sat down and and I immediately went into this, and I can feel it as I talk about this kind of like, well, that sucked. And you know, my husband was like, Well, like, you know, later on I got some constructive feedback, but he was just like, like, good for you for getting up there. But what I also learned is I didn't stay in that space. Like, I was like, you know what, good for me. That was a big, big thing. And I see where there was some mistakes, and the next week I made up a different bit, building on that, because my second bit was why do people get up here over and over again? And I I built the whole thing on uh the the theme of uh Comedians Anonymous and how I had to go to Comedians Anonymous because I kept getting up on stage and falling flat. And and I went back the next week and I did it again, and it went much better. Um, but it was just that process for me of I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna fail at this, I'm or I'm not gonna let that failure stop me. I'm gonna keep going.
SPEAKER_00So there's a couple of things I want to dive into here. This I'm I'm enjoying this. I hope you are. Oh, yeah, I'm loving it. So, you know, you you talked about you were really ready. And so the question that occurs to me, how does being ready sometimes put handcuffs on us? Like, what's what's the upside and the downside of being ready in whatever the context is? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01For me, that so being ready helps me feel calmer, it helps me feel like I'm I'm in control and I'm gonna be going to be able to deliver what I plan to deliver, which is great if you're doing a presentation in front of a you know board or whatever, like I come from the corporate uh HR world, that's really great. Where it where it's not so good is the ability to bob and weave. So um that ability to, so I will get on a thing and and it's like it it's it's like having blinders on because okay, no, I gotta get through this. And and I think the more uncomfortable I am, the more I get in that because that's the plan. And it it takes away from the ability to read the audience to veer away because something is gonna be funnier, you know, than what you're gonna say because of something that happened over here. Um, I had an experience on a podcast where uh the host all of a sudden had her her headband was falling off. And and I was so intent on what we were talking about, but what I really should have done was, oh, you know, for the viewing audience, we're having a wardrobe malfunction, and and that could have been really so it it just takes away from being able to be spontaneous.
SPEAKER_00So, and and this, you know, we can come back and talk about the importance of improv as a as a life skill as well. Yeah, that's right. Something else you you know, when your first performance, what you said, maybe it was intentional and maybe not, but I really liked it. You said, well, that sucked as opposed to I sucked. And what's the difference between and why is that distinction important?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Um, because I didn't suck. You know, I got up there, I did a good job, I delivered the material, it was funny for the right audience. Um, but it did not land. So the distinction, and and from a you know, a personal growth perspective, not taking that on as shame and blame and and uh and all the the negativity we can put on ourselves and detaching that, and this didn't go well, I didn't like this, but I'm still a funny and good and talented, you know, person.
SPEAKER_00Well, and I love the fact that you took that experience and actually uh milked it. Right. Like, how can I use this? Because that's so real and so so transparent. I you know, I love that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So, Marla, why is laughter so important? I mean, not just for you, but for the world and and maybe even more so these days and other days. What's what's laughter do for us?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, laughter. So there is when I started uh realizing the focus of my speaking career and was going to be on laughter, I did a really deep dive into the research. And I mean, decades of research on the physical benefits of laughter. So the way that it lowers your stress and the and and the stress hormones and and promotes you know good health and good good uh cardio and all of that stuff. It also for me the biggest piece about laughter, and and and for me, I don't even think you have to actually laugh. If you can generate the energy of laughter, you are because it's the same kind of feeling as kind of gratitude and joy and positivity. And from a kind of I do a lot of um uh energy psychology work, and you can't stay focused on the negative when you have positive energy coming in. So it's really hard. If I ask sometimes, I ask people, okay, so think of something really bad that's happened and and somebody you're really mad at or a situation that's really got you stressed out, and let's focus on that for a minute and and feel that. And then we laugh. And it's really hard to stay in that place of anger or judgment or when you're laughing about something. So for me, it's like a great big reset button for change, change in perspective, change in mood, change in um in the energy that you're experiencing. And you know, sometimes when I talk about energy, people are like, oh, it's kind of airy fairy. But I think I always say, like, nobody can say they haven't walked into a room or been in a room where the energy has been heavy and somebody cracks a joke and you can feel it lighten up the room. You can feel it lighten up, or vice versa, right? The room's pretty light, and then somebody says something or something happens, and that's that experience of of how energy can shift and how and how laughter shifts that energy for people.
SPEAKER_00So well, there's so many other things that are occurring to me. Well, like let's just take that one about um shifting the shifting the energy. Because I think it uh it takes courage to do that. Like if into a walk into uh you know a heavy situation, it's always you to let your mind go and what if I say this, what if that, what are the consequences gonna be, and and and uh and and hold back. And sometimes it's exactly the release that's needed. But even knowing that it's needed, it still takes courage to flip that switch to actually release that. Yeah. Um and and you know, and some environments love that and some don't, but you know, you never know till till you try it. The other thing that was kind of visual images that came to mind when you talk about the power of laughter, that I was just thinking of of hybrid cars that recharge the battery as you put the brakes on. You know, well, you know, what if what if we thought that uh that laughter actually, you know, refills us again, right? It's not just a break, but it actually gives us energy to do more things. It's like and and uh these are all very personal projections here, but I have a spin bike over here and I'm trying to, you know, to I'm gonna have to get a couple of new knees a little while. So I'm trying to get my body in shape for for dealing with that. So I've got a certain caloric count that I'm allowed for the day. And if I think I want to be able to have a little bit more, I have to get on the bike again. If I'm on the bike. And you know, what what more would we be able to do in our lives if we gave ourselves more laughter tool us up, to give us that that energy back? It's uh it's it's not like there's a real hard case to be made that we should be laughing loud. Because we're living in very serious times these days. Be really hard to make that business case.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, for sure. And I love that image you've given of, you know, it's just kind of filling you up, filling up your gas tank, just like you need food, just like you need. And I'm, I mean, my my husband uh it comes from a biology background, and he's always saying, Well, what's the biological We all come from a biology background, Mark?
SPEAKER_00We're all born. I I presume that's not what you meant.
SPEAKER_01No, no. Uh he studies biologic by he studied biology and he's really interested in kind of the evolutionary, like, you know, when we talk about things, he said, Well, that's how people have evolved, or that's what the purpose of this. And I'm always like, you know, however, wherever we came from, whatever your beliefs are, laughter was given to us for a reason. Right. And so what is that reason? And and it's that it's a it's a common denominator that brings people together, that builds trust. That there's one theory, that's one of my favorites, that um I they talk about social bonding, they're like, you know, when we were apes or apes use their social bonding is is actually nitpicking, right? They're picking the nits off each other. And so they said one theory is that laughter has evolved, so it's actually nitpicking as a way of connecting each other. So I love that image. But um what was my point? That um, yeah, so it was given to us for a reason, right? And that reason I think is to create those bonds and to fill us up to be able to help us be in a more positive space, and we can focus on the negativity, and there's a lot of it, like if you're a negativity junkie, fill your boots because you don't have to look very far. Or you can focus on the positive, which then allows things to be in a different perspective. It puts you in a place where you can actually make a difference because that doom spiral, I mean they call it doom scrolling, like you go down that, and I find sometimes I don't pay a lot of attention to the news. My husband reads a lot of the news and I said, Tell me if there's something I need to know, because I find I get into this place. And I'd rather be over here so that if there's something I need to respond to, or then I'm gonna be in a place of power and strength to be able to deal with it, a place of positivity.
SPEAKER_00So I'm gonna ask you a question that you may not be able to answer, but I'm gonna ask it anyhow. So, in terms of of the quality of laughter, like to me, this kind of a range from from uh you know, just kind of chuckling inside to a full-body guffa. So, you know, how and and and the reason I ask this because sometimes I see people once, you know, once they start laughing, they can't stop. And then there's just full-body, and the people say, Oh, I haven't had a good laugh like that for such a long time. Is there a way to shift gears from sort of the the norm of the gentle chuckle, you know, not really bothering anybody to being willing to experience that full body, you know, laugh that just kind of releases everything? Is there a way to actually, you know, engineer that or control that that dial or the accelerator to get to that point? Because I think we could all use a lot more of that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I mean, laughter yoga, which is is based on kind of um, I can't remember the name of the person who invented it, but it's about bringing people into that place of full laughter. And it starts, it seems really fake at first. And I've done some laughter yoga classes, I know some laughter yoga uh practitioners, and it's and you start laughing, you do different exercises to laugh, but it doesn't take long before you're getting into this kind of contagious laughing. Um, and the beauty is you're we're not that smart. Like our bodies and our brains don't recognize what what is fake and what is real, you're still going to get the benefits of that, but often, and you'll know. I mean, if you kind of and then if somebody else started laughing before long, it's like a yawn, right? You're ever you're laughing and it's real. So I think laughter yoga is a way to move yourself into that space. But when I think about some of the the deep, deep, like those laughs that you can't stop, it's very um organic, right? And and a lot of it to I find I find, and I don't know, it's an interesting question because I wonder if it's also related to comfort level, right? And connection, because I find I've had those experiences with people that I'm very connected with and with people that I I really trust, because then you're it's it's a very vulnerable state, right? In some ways to let go into that complete laughter with it where you don't have control. So I'm not sure, but that'd be interesting to uh to look at.
SPEAKER_00Well, you you know, you tweaked another thought, excuse me, which is about the importance of uh psychological safety and being in a non-judgmental environment. And uh sort of how how do you see maybe you can expand upon that, the connection between people's willingness to laughter and psychological safety. And and what's the role of leaders, let's say, because you're an HR, you know, working with leaders. What's the role of of leaders with respect to you know creating an environment where laughter is okay? If if in if in fact they believe there's value there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, there's tons of research, David, on um laughter and leadership and humor and leadership and and how it it builds a leader's credibility, it builds trust in a leader, um and and helps build team cohesion along with creativity and and innovation and all of these things. Um, one of the best books I've read on that, there's two Stanford professors who actually teach laughter and humor in the workplace as part of the MBA program at Stanford. And they have a book, I can't remember the names, it's two women. They have a book called Humor Comma Seriously. And it's a really great, quick, kind of fun, easy read, but it talks about some of the research that's been done in that area. What I find is that oftentimes leaders, if they're not naturally so I've I've led teams in the past, and my teams were tons of fun. I mean, we were very productive, very smart, very, but we had a lot of fun because I tend to like to bring fun into the workplace and the things that I do, and we'd look for the ridiculous and we'd have, you know, silly questions at the beginning of our our team meetings, and and and I'm you know, my team was a happy, cohesive one in play in a place where that wasn't always possible. But I think a lot of leaders or some leaders feel uncomfortable with the idea of they either think I need to be a stand-up comedian, or what if I what if I bring laughter and humor in and they don't respect me? Like what if it takes away from my professionalism or from my um authority? Um what if we get on this role and then I can't control it, right? Like I've I've talked with leaders about what I like to call abs, which is absurd brainstorming sessions. So if you start off a brainstorming session with throwing in anything and letting it get crazy and letting it get um, it opens up creativity. And sometimes there's gems in that, right? But other times then, but you know, sometimes leaders are like, well, how am I going to bring that energy down again to get serious? Because this is serious stuff, not recognizing that bringing it up is going to open up the innovation. Um and and some people have, you know, their own blocks to laughter as well, depending on what their experience has been, and you know, whether they've been shamed for for being jovial or, you know, for for things like that. So it's it's an interesting question.
SPEAKER_00I know quite often when I'm facilitating, whether it be a planning session or excuse me, a town hall or anything like that. As part of the contracting conversation, I will generally have a conversation with the top one or two people in the organization to say that one of the things that I've found is you've just you know suggested that for someone to be able to do that opens it up for everyone else. So I, you know, I would like permission to, you know, occasionally take just gentle little probing, not disrespectful, but but but shots or comments directed to you. And that's for people to see that it's safe to do that with each other as well. And what'll determine if that opens it up is how you respond to what I say. So if you just kind of frown and hump and stuff like that, that's gonna send a very strong tone that we don't really have the freedom to have the kind of energy that's required to be truly creative. So and most people are really, really good at that. Like one of the things I'll quite often do at the end is I have this uh it's a powder called, I think it's called slushy powder or something like that. And so I'll talk about how it's not about what you've learned to hear that's gonna make a difference. It's what you do. And so I'll I'll have this glass and I'll pour water into this, into this glass. The slushy stuff is already at the bottom. And I'll say, so it's just like what we've been doing for the last couple of hours, the last couple of days, is is pouring ideas in. And I'll just for a demonstration, could you please come up here and ask the the president, the CO, whatever to come up and sit in this chair? And so, you know, what happens if we don't use it almost immediately, we actually lose the ability to do it. And of course, nothing comes out, but everyone is like in a total panic. It's only ever failed once or it ended up plopped on the person's shoulder. But but it's you know, letting them allow themselves to be vulnerable because it actually serves them well to be human in these challenging times.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, exactly. And the more human they can be, as you say, I love that, the more they're opening up the space for other people to do it. One of the things, um, and you've and you kind of speak to this, is I I have said, talk to leaders about, you know, you don't have to be the funny one either. You have to open up the space. And like you were doing, you curate your team as a leader, right? So find the person in the team that does have some of the funny and and allow there be to be permission for that person to help help you bring the funny too. So whether it's organizing a you know a funny event or you know, a funny question at the beginning of a team meeting, but you know, use your team, use them for the strengths that they have, because that's your job as a leader, right?
SPEAKER_00So again, I'm just reflecting on on my role. And if I'm doing, excuse me, if I'm doing a keynote, I'll try to arrive the night before because usually there's a reception or something, and just ask, so who are the crazy ones in this group? Who are the ones who are really fun-loving and go connect with them and let them know that I may refer to you the next day. Just again to set the tone. But you know, Marlo, there's probably some people listening to this. I hope there's hundreds of thousands of people listening to this, but even if it's only two. And they're and they're driving. And uh they're thinking, oh, you know, I really need to laugh more. What are a couple of suggestions you could give to them on how they could bring more laughter into their lives?
SPEAKER_01So I I was I've it's international humor month, so it's a great month to be um to be talking about laughter. And uh one of the things I've been talking about on some of my social media posts are the iggs and the eggs. And so the eggs are your internal giggle generators. So the things that you bring up, and and I I like to to say that I was lucky to be born with an IG, an internal giggle generator, because I can just turn it on and off. So sometimes just doing that is enough to get some of that energy flowing. Um there's a woman in Australia, uh, I can't remember her name either. You know, at a certain age, names just leave your head until they come back in the middle of the night. And um, so I'll call you. I'll call you when this happens. But she um has what she calls a laughy prescription, which is you get your phone and you do a one-minute laugh into your phone and then you bring it up for yourself. Um, or if there's somebody with a really funny laugh, get them to do that so that you can climb the pump, so so to speak, to get you laughing. Uh, you listen to your favorite comedian, you watch a funny show, you call your funny friend to get the so those are some of your eggs, your external giggle generators. So you find out, and I talk about this in my um my laughter intelligence framework, is that one of the things that's important to do is map your laughter signature, like knowing what makes you laugh so that you can use it, knowing how you make other people laugh, so that you can use that in in different environments. And laughter isn't something we think about a lot, right? We think it's somewhat spontaneous accident that happens and it's uh, you know, you love it when it does, and and you like those people who make it do it for you, but we don't think about um using it intentionally. And I think it's I mean, as a as a tool, it's free. You carry with it, you with you have it with you all the time, and I have yet to meet somebody who can't do it. So why wouldn't you use it more often?
SPEAKER_00You know, I I think of listening to little babies giggle. Oh, right. Like it's more contagious than a than a yawn. But um, so this would been great, Marla. But before we go, I heard a rumor that you are going to be starting a podcast. So would you mind just saying a little bit what that's gonna be about? And we'll make sure with the title and everything, we'll put it in the program notes. So if people want to follow you, they can do that. So, why are you doing a podcast? What's it gonna be about?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So my podcast is called Laughter Revolution. Come for the giggles, stay for the growth. And I just I want to get the message out there that we can we can use laughter intentionally and we should be using it more in our lives. So my hope is that um people will come in. I'm gonna be talking about um different situations that come up, kind of blocks and and issues and problems that are pretty common to most of us, how we can use laughter and and how I've used laughter myself to kind of get over some of those hurdles. I'm gonna be talking to some experts in laughter. I'm actually taking it on the road for the first uh year. Um season one subtitle is where laughter, learning, and luggage collide because I'm going to I'm gonna be traveling for six months. So I'm going to be finding things that make me laugh in other countries and other cultures and people that that use laughter and talk about laughter. So it's gonna be fun, it's gonna be light, but there's also gonna be some learning because my my passion is really not just laughing for the sake of laughing, although that's good too. It's laughing to help you grow and laughing to help you learn about yourself and and become your greatest you and have the best life that you can. So it's gonna be that combination. Um, and I'm super excited about it.
SPEAKER_00So, Marla, I kind of have a hunch. If I were to predict, if you go someplace and don't find laughter, you will create it. I just have a hunch. But uh thank you so much for being a guest today. I've really enjoyed our conversation. Look forward to following your podcast when it comes out. So again, we'll make sure the name and everything is in the program notes. And uh so thank you for being here today.
SPEAKER_01Thanks. This was a great conversation, David. I loved it.
SPEAKER_00David Guthrie.
SPEAKER_01Have a giggle.
SPEAKER_00Sorry?
SPEAKER_01Have a giggle.
SPEAKER_00Oh, like like when I just kind of tripped over my online chance. I do that constantly. I have the eggs and the eggs. And uh yeah, so uh so come back next week, folks, and I have another guest with a different perspective. Uh in the meantime, between now and then, you might want to practice some of that laughing. Subscribe now because on Fresh Perspective, every episode is an opportunity to explore new horizons and redefine what's achievable.