Episode 158: Five Reasons Why Humor is Key to Success at Work with Adi Clerman
Humor styles are just like personality styles - everyone has something a little different.
Instead of shutting out humor entirely in your professional life, how can you use it to show up more authentically?
In this episode, Adi describes her newest hobby: stand-up comedy. As a corporate professional by day, Adi explains why she included stand-up into her jam-packed schedule, how it’s impacted her work life, and what it’s taught her over the past 10 months.
ICYMI – Your Post-Episode Homework: Jot down your own five reasons about why humor is important to you. Not just how humor can help you show up to be a better person at work, but why humor is key to success. Why is it key to your success? Keep these five reasons somewhere that you can view them. It could be on the note section of your phone or on a Post-It next to your computer. Try to use it as a sign to bring more laughter, levity, and positivity into your workday, to add a little bit more fun to that spreadsheet, or to add a little bit more smiling to that Zoom meeting.
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Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com
Erin Diehl is the founder and Chief “Yes, And” officer of improve it! and host of the improve it! Podcast. She’s a performer, facilitator and professional risk-taker who lives by the mantra, “get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin has created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn and grow. Her work with clients such as United Airlines, PepsiCo, Groupon, Deloitte, Motorola, Walgreens, and The Obama Foundation earned her the 2014 Chicago RedEye Big Idea Award and has nominated her for the 2015-2019 Chicago Innovations Award.
This graduate from Clemson University is a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theatre.
When she is not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys running and beach dates with her husband and son, and their eight-pound toy poodle, BIGG Diehl.
You can follow the failed it! podcast on Instagram @learntoimproveit and facebook, and you can follow Erin personally on Instagram @keepinitrealdiehl here. You can also check out improve it! and how we can help your organization at www.learntoimproveit.com. We can’t wait to connect with you online!
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Episode 158 Transcription
Erin (00:02):
Improve it! Peeps. Oh my God, I am so excited for another episode with Adi today. Let me just say this, I want you to go back to episode 157. If you have not yet listened to that episode, you'll hear all about how her and I met a brief background on her role, how she has used outside the box professional development to train emerging leaders at Gallagher. And then today we dive into the reasons why humor is key to success. If you're someone who wants to add a little more levity, positivity, and laughter into your workday, stay tuned cuz this show is for you. You're gonna hear about a D'S comedy career, how it helps her show up at work. And then we're gonna hear five reasons why humor is the key to success. Stay tuned, let's keep improving it with Adi Clerman.
Erin (00:57):
Hi, new friend. I'm Erin Diehl, business improv edutainer, failfluencer, and keynote speaker who is ready to help you improve your it, it being the thing that makes you, you. So think of me as you are keeping it real. Professional development bestie who is here to help you develop yourself into the best version of you possible so you can develop your team and lead with intentionality, transparency, and authenticity. Oh, and did I mention we're improving your IT through play? That's right. I'm an improvisational comedy expert who uses experiential learning to help you have your aha haha moments. Those are the moments when the light bulb goes off and you're laughing at the same time. So grab your chicken hat, your notebook, and your inner child because I'm going to take you on a journey that is both fun and transformative. Welcome to the Improve It podcast. I want to speak about your own comedy career here because we've, let's, let's talk about what you have done to get comfortable with the uncomfortable recently. Tell us a little bit about what you're doing outside of Gallagher.
Adi (02:25):
Sure. so something fun, a new hobby of mine is that I have started taking and really enjoying standup comedy, which has been great. And the way this all kind of came about was, and hopefully you guys will get the sense of this like over the podcast, that for years I've been told by friends like, you're so funny. Have you ever thought of writing a blog? Have you ever thought of doing a podcast? Have you ever thought of like, like just doing standup or being an actress? And I'm like, a hundred percent no, I'm just funny with you and have like, this is my world perspective and these are the things that I talk about to you and it makes you laugh like the end. And then one of my friends here in New York had, her name is Satya Patel and she, excuse me, Satya.
Adi (03:17):
And she had forced, and we don't care about that man, <laugh>. We went, we went back to that maiden name. But he finally said, and kind of put this, she sent me a link to a comedy class and said, can you just please do this? Just do it. We've all been telling you this. And then my therapist at the time said, oh, you know what, if somebody tells you something six times, you should believe them. And people have told you 600 times that you're funny, you should try this, right? So I signed up for this class and Erin, it was great. Like, the writing came a lot more naturally than I thought. I've never been nervous really about presenting and if I'm basically presenting my own thoughts, it's no different than us having this conversation. And it's been so fun. And so I've been doing this now for about nine months, maybe 10.
Adi (04:13):
And I've done, I've done four shows, like one gradu, two graduation shows an open mic night just to kind of practice. And then what was really kind of special is that one of the owners at the club where I took a class, he said, Hey, you did a really great job for your graduation show. We need to get you back up on stage. Do you wanna perform? The end of February? And I was like, yeah. So I actually had a, a show this past Saturday, which is really fun and it makes me feel, what I've really enjoyed about it is that like, it's a social, it's a social hobby. It's, I'm also, I also like love to cook, but that's like very singular and kind of expensive. And like this to me is like a, a different creative outlet that I can share with like more than just my close friends.
Adi (05:09):
And I can't paint, I'm not a good singer, I'm a pretty good dancer, but I'm not gonna do that like professionally in any way. But this is like, been a really wonderful way for me to feel creative, to feel like an artist, to meet so many different people that I never would've connected with and to get to know my city better. It's been really special and I think that this is something that I want to continue for a long time. And I have, wait, can I tell you like my goal, my goal goal? Can I tell you this? No, of course. Yes, yes. Alright, so I am 40, I turned 41 in April, so in 20 minutes. So my goal is that by my 45th birthday, so I got four years that I get invited to do a set at the Comedy Cellar, which is one of like the premier, like standup places in New York City, if not the world. And like, I can do that. I know I can do that. Like, I went this past weekend to go see a show and I was like, oh my gosh, wait a second. I'm just as funny as these people. I could do this too. And so it, I think it's been really helpful for like, I've always been pretty confident, but confident in a different way, which has been nice. So that's my 20 minute story to your two second question. Erin, back over to you.
Erin (06:28):
Oh, back to me. Thank you so much. Well, I gotta tell you, I could listen to it forever. It was No, it was great. And it was couple things you said, I love that you're like, I got to connect with so many people, people I would've never met I got to connect with. So, but I think really when listening to you share this story, what's really cool is I think you've actually connected with yourself a lot. Oh. And to go deep here, that that's
Adi (06:55):
Cool. That's like, I didn't realize this was the profound podcast. Look at
Erin (06:59):
That. This is the, it's not the Improvement podcast. This is the profound podcast. Wow. We go, we're no longer surface level. We're scuba diving. Okay. no, but like that is so true. I think you've really found this thing inside of you that was sort of waiting to come out and be created. And I think it's super cool to witness. And let's just say in five years we're gonna have you, well, in four years, in four years we're gonna have you back on the show and we're gonna talk about the comedy seller. We're gonna talk about like how it goes, how it went, what you were nervous about, how you overcame this fears because it's so rad. Like it's just awesome that this is what you've decided to do outside of work. And here's a question for you that I'm pretty curious about. How have you seen this translate into how you actually show up during the day at work?
Adi (07:59):
I think from like a, from a presentation skills standpoint and a communication standpoint, it's actually been very helpful. And one of the classes that I took, our instructor said, if you can say things in less words, do that, which I'm clearly not doing on this podcast, but maybe I'll work on that.
Erin (08:18):
Stop. You're crushing it. Stop, stop, stop. You were crushing it.
Adi (08:23):
It was so interesting. If you can say something in less words, do it. Whether that's like how you present. When we were writing out the jokes, we would review them and we'd cut out certain sentences and phrases and make it really tight and focus on delivery. The same with emails. Like if you can say it in less and it's, it's just as effective. And often more attention grabbing, which has been really helpful. I think also just from like a fear standpoint, whether it's meeting with senior leadership or trying something new, I'm like, oh, I can apparently, like standup is pretty nerve-wracking. And if I can do that with a certain element of fun and comfort, like I can, I can do a PowerPoint presentation about interns and hiring projections. So it's kind cool.
Erin (09:16):
I love that. And I feel like really great leaders really want to see people do things outside of work that, because it shows just variety, it changes your brain. And I think all of those things are so true because the, I love the economy of words, that's something improv also teaches you is really just keep it simple, silly, you can, you can definitely that, that acronym kiss. But really and truly I think for what I'm hearing you say too, it's like it's, you're showing up more confidently. It's giving you the confidence that maybe you do get from work, but it's amplifying it on a deeper basis, which I think is awesome.
Adi (10:00):
Yeah, I think it also just like, at the end of the day, this hobby, at least to me and perhaps with some of my friends, it just gives me something else to talk about or something else that I've done as opposed to like, oh, we had dinner and drinks, or like this weekend we had dinner and drinks or like, oh, we went to the movie and then we had some drinks after that and then we like got some apps and it was fun. I think it just kind of has opened my worldviews a little bit too big for that. But like, it's just kind of opened my eyes and horizons and like opened my network and it's just like it's just been a lot of fun. So it's been, it's been great.
Erin (10:39):
I'm so freaking happy to hear that too. And I hear you on that. Cause it's only, you can only have so many dinners and so many drinks. And then it's like, what else? What's the, what's, what's the outcome here? You know, my, my paycheck is going to dinners and booze and then right now what I'm seeing you do is really translate that into something that could transform your life and your career. And I think also a really great point of this is that bringing humor to work actually might make you love what you're doing even more. And so I don't wanna say might I know because this is what I do, that it makes you love what you do even more. So, if you could tell the improve at Peeps, five reasons why you think humor is key to success at work, what would that be?
Adi (11:31):
Sure. yeah, I think one, I mean Erin, who doesn't like a little levity, like not levity, but like levity, brightness, lightness, because that always feels good wherever you are, but particularly at work where no matter what your field, it can be a bit dry, right?
Erin (11:56):
Yep.
Adi (11:56):
Number two I am a very firm believer, and I'm sure you are too, is that pretty much the best part of anything is like when you laugh, whether it's like with your friends, with your family at a movie, it's like, that's like the best part. You, you hear about that all the time. Like, your stomach hurt because you were laughing so hard. And that's what you remember. Like your best memories are when you're having a good time, right? Number three, I think at the end of the day, like, let's be honest, like it's not that serious. It's like nothing is that serious. Even if you're an ER doctor, maybe that's like really, really serious. But even then there's probably a lot of like, I mean, they made Scrubs <laugh>, like that was a funny show, but I think I just stayed it myself. But it's not that serious.
Adi (12:40):
I remember something from your workshop that I took. You said everything's made up. Even this workshop is made up. Like we, it's not that serious, which is always like something to keep in mind. And it's even on kinda like the darkest work days. It's, it's not that serious unless you make it that serious. I think, yeah, I think humor is also a natural icebreaker and just makes you more authentic. It's just, it makes you, it just makes you just like nicer to be around. It's nice to to, to bond on a joke and people don't like fake people. And if you're not, I think like if you have a good sense of humor, whether it's like dry or, or dark or whatever, or brighten light it just makes you kind of a more authentic person and draws you in. And from a professional standpoint, that can only be helpful. And then I think the fifth reason is like, girl, it's just more fun. Like, it's just days are dark and bleak. We're at all we have like wars and sickness and whatever. And at the end of the day, you gotta find fi fun wherever you are. So just more fun.
Erin (13:50):
I'm here for that. Yes. And I think if anybody listening here today is, is listening and thinking to themselves, okay, well I'm having some of these dark days at work. I want to change it up. Try bringing humor into your workday. It doesn't have to be, you know, an episode of Scrubs as you mentioned, but it could be something as simple as go to lunch with your best, your work bestie who makes you laugh or pull up a funny episode of Saturday Night Live your favorite Saturday night like Kni clip at lunch. And give yourself that moment just to laugh, because laughter really does produce endorphins and it's also an app workout. So there's many reasons why you should laugh at work, but I do think we actually have the founder of Laughter Yoga on this show. I don't know if you know that. Oh my goodness.
Erin (14:39):
And it was incredible. It was such a fun conversation. And we started the show. It was 8:00 AM my time. It was 6:00 PM his time. He lives in India. We were, he was like, okay. And I actually, this is a fun fact for you. I had Covid when we recorded the show. Okay? So I was sick and I was like, I'm not gonna change this show time recording because I mean we, this is a founder of Laughter Yoga. We start the show, he goes, okay, we're just gonna start laughing. And we weren't laughing at anything. There wasn't anything funny that was said. We just started laughing and through that laughter, we started genuinely laughing and it made me feel better. I'm sitting there sick at eight in the morning with Covid. He goes, well, let's start laughing. And I just started laughing and then it transformed into real laughter, which transformed the way I started to feel in my body, which at that point in time was sick. And so if you can bring that into your day-today, what a more joyful workspace and place to work and what a more joyful head space to walk around with yourself.
Adi (15:50):
A hundred percent. Swipe right on all of that. Erin <laugh> <laugh>.
Erin (15:56):
I love that so hard. Oh my God.
Erin (16:06):
Improve it Peeps. Oh my God. And he cracks me up. I love chatting with her. We're gonna have another episode of the Improvement Pod with her. But here's your homework for today. You heard a D is five reasons why humor is key to success. And I want you right now to jot down your own five reasons. I want you to think about why humor is important to you. Not just how humor can help you show up to be a better person at work. But why is humor just key to success? Why is it key to your success? Keep these five reasons somewhere that you can view them. It could be on the note section of your phone on a posted next to your computer and try to use it as a sign to bring more laughter, levity, and positivity into your workday to add a little bit more fun to that spreadsheet, to add a little bit more smiling to that Zoom meeting. I am so proud of you for showing up here. I'm so proud of you for investing this time in you. Keep failing, keep improving, and I will see you so soon.
Erin (17:18):
Hey friend, did you enjoy today's show? If so, head on over to iTunes to rate and subscribe. So you never miss an episode. Now, did I mention that when you leave a five star review of the Improve It podcast, an actual team of humans does a happy dance? Mm-Hmm. <affirmative>. That's right. So leave a review for us on iTunes, screenshot it, and send me an email at info learn to improve it.com. I'll send you a personalized video back as a thank you. Thanks so much for listening. Improve It Peeps. I'll see you next Wednesday.