The purpose of using humor in safety is to humanize it, get people's attention, and help with recall. The most human sense of all is our sense of humor.
We've all sat through boring safety speeches. But they are mandatory and for most people something we want to get over with. As a funny safety keynote speaker, I know the power humor has to make safety speeches interesting and memorable. And you don't have to be Chris Farley to make it work. Just understand how humor can wake audiences up and make the experience more fun.
Most people fail to notice how serious taking yourself lightly is. Everyday life puts us under so much pressure that we seldom get the time for ourselves, and do something that calms us down, or make us happy. And even though its as essential as drinking water and eating to stay alive, we forget to pay attention. Instead, what crowds our mind is Stress and fear. In this narrow mindset, we're primed to make mistakes, and Stress can be dangerous.
And that's not it. I mainly used the word EVERYDAY LIFE because our work does not just surround us; there are lots of things that strike a nerve. Being stuck in traffic, people wasting your time, arriving late to work, not having enough to time to eat correctly, your children are driving you crazy, you hear something that you didn't want to, opening up a chatbox you were avoiding for some reason, the food you ordered doesn't taste like it usually does, and so many other things that you get to face daily.
And you end up feeling annoyed and irritated by every big and small thing. When Stress crowds you, it impacts your overall wellbeing. It tends to flow over into how you interact with others. If you take on Stress, everything you do will seem larger than life and overwhelm you.
Stress does the same for an audience. There is a lot of fear wrapped up in safety, and it can be overwhelming. Our natural tendency is to tune things out.
However, humor is a way to naturally and easily decrease Stress. It's not to laugh at safety but because of it. It's because we care about each other, and we want to be balanced, happy, and safe that we invest in ourselves. Humor makes you more approachable, builds relationships, enhances communication. It helps shine a light on topics people don't like to speak about or can't find the right words to say. Laughter is a universal language everyone understands.
I'm hired as a funny motivational speaker at safety events. How contradictory! A joke? But a joke is meant to be funny. As hilarious safety videos show, a message delivered with humor makes it more memorable. Saying the same safety speeches over and over tends to make the underlying message disappear. People tune you out. Anytime you deliver a safety speech with humor, recall goes up. Humor activates the brain's dopamine reward system. It stimulates motivation and long term memory.
So you look for things that might lighten up your mood. Do you ever wonder why YouTube videos about cats are so popular today? Why everyone pulls out their phones and burst into peels of laughter? Before anything else, your instant reaction to cuddly cats is laughter, and if not that, a smile. And that simple act makes your mood better—humor aids in healing Stress and builds relationships.
Humor has a way of being engaging with even the most serious of topics. A bit of levity can turn a safety speech around and make it memorable. So, here we have come to the acceptance that yes, a joke can be a very serious thing.
Now, imagine that you are to deliver safety speeches on something severe. And is there anything more severe than the topic of safety? Whether you are a mother, a teacher, a doctor, and especially if you are a company owner, you need to deliver a speech about safety because it’s essential! Here's the thing, though. Giving daily safety speeches will bore your employees, and instead of paying heed to what you have to tell them, they will tune you out.
Speeches about safety tend to be very serious, and people tend to react differently to what you have to say. And that's why you can use humor to keep things light and breezy. The message that you intend to deliver will, for sure, remain in its seriousness but how you deliver the information can be used in a light and fun way so that people will stay focused, and get a clear picture of what you are trying to tell them!
So, yes. Safety speeches can be humorous and funny. Not only do funny safety speeches help in relieving stress, but it also increases recall. People can get an awareness of fun!
Some ways to add humor to your safety speech is to use funny stories, play funny safety videos, using props, or just lightly poking fun at ourselves. Please keep track of funny things that happen and use them. Most importantly, it's learning to take ourselves lightly so we can take safety seriously. To get you started, check out some funny safety quotes.
Some final tips:
Remember to use appropriate content humor. Keep it relevant to safety.
Avoid all sarcasm, crude or inappropriate humor.