in

CoolCool

Spreading the happy-demic

Article extract from Main Event magazine

Laughter can brighten up your event, whether you are laughing at everything or nothing!

Emcees have longed used humour to warm up an audience. It’s friendly, memorable and fun.

But as more people realise the health and social benefits of laughter, emcees are helping organisations take the laughter with them, long after the conference is over.

“Medically, laughter does some amazing things,” says comedian Scott Williams . “When you laugh the endorphin levels in your body rise, and the endorphin levels help to keep you younger, keep your stress levels down, and keep your blood pressure under control”.

Laughter is universal. There is no language, no boundaries. It’s a powerful emotion

A corporate comedian for 30 years, Williams has been presenting his keynote “the Happy Human” for the last 5 years. “Laughter and joy in your life is not something just given to you or dumped in your lap” says Williams. “Sometimes it does happen, but for the vast majority of the time, like everything in life worthwhile, we have to discipline ourselves to go in search of laughter”

Scott mixes stand-up with education to show how we can laugh more on a daily basis, and he creates a lot of fun in the process of educating. He even incorporates stress tests in the presentation, where the audience can work through a series of questions to determine where they think their stress levels sit as well as steps to take to help bring down a high stress environment. And of course an important part of that is laughter! Williams says good comedy not only makes people laugh, but provides positive ongoing health benefits.

One of the secrets to Scott’s success is that whilst he delivers sharp and hilariously funny comedy, he steers clear of any offensive material. “I’ve always firmly believed that you can derive an enormous amount of great comedy out of day to day things. Life itself is pretty funny!” One quote I read from one of Scott’s many satisfied customers was “I can’t believe I’ve laughed so hard for an hour and not heard a swear word!” “That’s very important” says Scott, “there’s enough funny stuff a comedian can tap into without resorting to crudity – human beings are hilarious in their thoughts and actions – amplifying those humorous traits on stage in a truly funny way will keep a comedian enjoying acceptance and success well into the future”.

“The Happy Human”. Exploring the proven link between laughter and better health.

What do you think?

Written by Scott Williams

Scott Williams is one of Australia's most respected corporate communicators.

Competing with the Paltrow’s

Laughter. A sure-fire tonic for stress!