I loved this conversation with Andrew Tarvin—the world’s first “humor engineer.” Andrew trained as a computer science engineer, worked at Procter & Gamble as an IT project manager, and then discovered a powerful truth: you can’t be efficient with humans; you have to be effective. He started sneaking tiny moments of humor into meetings and emails and watched engagement, memory, and relationships skyrocket. Today he runs Humor That Works, helping teams use humor deliberately to get better results at work.
In this episode, Andrew breaks down how to start (even if you’re not “the funny one”), why humor is a learnable skill, and a practical framework—MAP (Medium, Audience, Purpose)—to choose the right kind of humor for your context. We talk subject-line puns, image-rich slides, “shepherding” humor when you’re not ready to create your own, how improv reps make facilitation easier, and why sustained, light-touch humor changes behavior over time (people actually look forward to your meetings!).
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