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Always Lead Them Laughing
| Article
# : |
12959 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1987 |
2,309 Words |
| Author
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Robert Orben
Robert Orben has written forty-six professional humor books
and edits Orben's Current Comedy, a humor publication
providing material for public speakers. |
The most vexing question I've been asked during the question and answer period following a speech was at a small college in Texas. A student raised his hand - and deadly serious - asked me how I justified my way of making a living.
It stopped me cold. How do I justify a lifetime of creating laughter?
I remembered myself as an eight-year-old in 1935 in the midst of the Great Depression. My family had lost its assets due to the 1929 stock market crash. Paying the rent was a once-a-month crisis, putting adequate food on the table an everyday challenge. The fears this created haunted my parents and, in spite of their best efforts, spilled over into my awareness.
But on Saturday mornings all these survival fears were forgotten. With a hard-to-come-by dime in my hand I'd be standing in a long line of kids waiting to get into the local movie house. We would experience three full hours of adventure, thrills, excitement - but mostly, laughter. Donald Duck, Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges, and the good natured, light-hearted banter in Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musicals - all combined to provide a refuge of laughter from the threatening realities outside.
This flash of memory became my answer to the student's question but, even as I was speaking, I realized that the benefits derived from humor go far beyond the escape factor. In America, a sense of humor is regarded as a valuable component of a person's psychological makeup. But the importance of a sense of humor has now taken a central position in business, politics, medicine, teaching, and communications. Laughter is in.
Humor has gone from being an admirable part of a leader's character to a mandatory one. Official photographs of business and political leaders through the years reflect the changes in attitude. At the turn of the century, the pose was always firm and forthright - the face square-jawed and terminally serious. Today's leaders are portrayed in relaxed poses with friendly, smiling faces.
Humor is a powerful ally. It eases tension, influences attitudes, reduces the embarrassment of awkward moments, serves as a useful teaching tool, usually conveys goodwill, helps project a favorable image and reassert control, and - perhaps most important of all - makes your listeners feel
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