How Humor Can Save Your Career and Relationships with Kate Davis
In this episode of the Influence Anyone podcast (previously Legend Effect), host Howie Chan interviews Kate Davis, a comedian, speaker, author, podcast host, and most importantly, a force of human connection. They delve into how humor is one of the most powerful tools for leadership, connection, and even innovation, as well as how to stop leaving humor at the door.
The discussion emphasizes the importance of taking your work seriously, but not taking yourself too seriously. Kate provides the techniques for telling a good joke, real-life examples of how businesses can use humor to up their game, and ways to bring humor and levity into work while still being taken seriously.
Episode Breakdown:
04:11 The reason humor is missing from the corporate world
06:52 The evolutionary role of humor
12:37 What makes workplaces great
15:47 How humor can foster creativity, innovation, and lead to better results
17:40 Kate’s favorite coaching transformation story
19:37 Raising awareness about serious things through humor
21:16 Learn how to de-risk humor and be funny without offending anyone
22:33 Ways to bring humor into your day-to-day life and work
26:14 Ways businesses can use humor to give them the upper edge
29:10 Humor not only sells, it also makes things more memorable
30:44 The benefits of creating an environment of levity
34:10 How to use the techniques to tell a joke
38:33 Succeed by knowing your audience and using your intuition
44:31 Ways of bringing humor and timing–without needing to be the comic
49:42 The “So now you are dying, what are you doing to live?” Podcast
57:31 A letter to Kate Davis’s younger self
From Our Guest:
Get the book, Second Best Mom.
Listen to her podcast, So now you are dying, what are you doing to live?
Learn more about Humor, Seriously.
Watch the Still Face Experiment.
Catch up with my interview with Nelson Dellis in episode 14 of the podcast.
Quotes:
“The key here is taking your work seriously, but not taking yourself seriously, because the first is imperative and the second disastrous.” – Kate Davis
“ I think there's just lots of moments where we can leverage the power that humor gives us to really make that connection, to close that deal, to make that sale. And I think any business would be amiss if they're not using that within their corporate structure.” – Kate Davis
“Life is always gonna throw stuff at us. There's always gonna be stress. It's how we adapt and cope with the moments and the stress that it's causing that counts. And humor and laughter and levity can really keep you healthy within those moments.” – Kate Davis
The Influence Anyone Podcast
The #1 podcast on applied influence psychology. Each episode, Howie Chan, a veteran brand and behavior strategist sits down with world experts and practitioners to uncover the hidden psychology that helps you influence yourself (mastering your mindset, habits, and decisions) and get buy-in from others (your team, clients, and audiences.) Together, we turn science into playbooks you can apply to lead, persuade, and create extraordinary success.
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