Business Seminar Shows How ‘Funny Business’ Can Boost Bottom Line

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Facing the realities of the nation’s current economic fiasco is not exactly an uplifting experience for any American, including Tri-Cities business owners.

Nonetheless, about 50 business owners braved the rain and gray skies Wednesday to attend a presentation at the Bristol Chamber of Commerce that was aimed at improving their ability to bring laughter and humor to the office while maintaining a productive environment. 

Attendees agreed afterward that it is a good time to lighten up.

“I absolutely think humor in the workplace helps,” said Marty Luttrell, vice president of @WORK Personnel Services in Bristol, Tenn. “It breaks down pretenses.

Humor lets you become more personable and more approachable. The workplace can be as stressful as you let it be, and I think humor helps relieve stress.”

So do Mary Jane Umberger and Eddie Armbrister, who entertained business owners with anecdotes, analogies, jokes and card tricks to help get their message across.

“Laughter is said to lower blood pressure, blood sugar, improve the immune system, reduce stress, improve sleep and tighten stomach muscles,” said Umberger, who was busy drawing words on a large easel as she spoke.

Each word had an arrow pointing to the next word until they formed a circular pattern.

“Laughter can lead to creativity, which leads to innovation, to shared growth to job satisfaction, and back to laughter, where the cycle starts over again,’ she said. “Business growth through this philosophy has not been widely used.” 

The two worked their way through the presentation – The Magic of Laughter – which examined key business principles, such as anticipating change, goal-setting and good communication, and showed how humor supports those principles.

“A little bit of funny business” can help the bottom line, Armbrister said between card tricks and magical slights of hand. “Humor inspires others. And by inspiring others, you become an asset, not a liability. Manage chaos rather than becoming a victim of it. We are already putting fires out day in and day out. What’s so fun about that?” 

Armbrister and Umberger worked as a team to lay out business principles and how they can be accomplished better with a dash of humor.

Umberger offered an analogy of someone walking up a downward-moving escalator.

“If you continue walking at the same pace, what happens?” she asked. “You stay in the same place. But what happens when you walk a little faster. Right, you move ahead.

“Now what happens if you stop?” Umberger asked.

“You fall!” yelled an audience member, an answer that wasn’t quite what Umberger was looking for and drew laughter from the group.

Armbrister finished the presentation with a humorous story aimed at getting business owners to focus on hiring employees with keen observational skills.
He then asked business owners to learn to motivate each other and their employees.

“We need to stop for a second and say, ‘hey, we reached that goal – we did what we set out to do,’ ” he said. “When goals are met, it should make people happy. And happy people are more creative, productive and they communicate better.” 

David Lee, a collections manager for United Southeast Federal Credit Union in Bristol, Tenn., agreed after the presentation that a happy employee is more creative.

“I think a little levity helps round out the day,” Lee said. “We seek laughter at home and through the books we read. I think humor and laughter bring us together. If we can laugh with each other, we can bond.”

Armbrister has a unique background as a professional magician, successful entrepreneur and member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Tennessee.
Umberger is certified as a human resources senior professional.

The Bristol Herald Courier and PennStuart, a local business consultant, sponsored the event.
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