 So thanks everyone for joining in today and I hope everyone of you had a good lunch and so with that, let's start with the session. Awesome, thank you. Okay, so what I understand that it was just lunch and after this, I hope no one sleeps in the session and today we are going to learn something really not new, but let's do a revision. What is agile humor or is humor if it required? Okay, what's the agenda? Well, first agenda would be please enjoy the memes that I have actually really tried very hard to find for you for this session and if you like the memes, please give me a thumbs up. Well, I sound like a YouTuber, I guess. Why we are here today? So I will tell you a small story. I was actually, I'm a big fan of stand-up comedy and of course the Indian one. I'm Indian, like my origin is Indian. Right now I'm an Australian citizen, but then you can never take the Indian out of me. That's what I can say. So there's a new show in Amazon Prime and where like, you know, celebrities would come up on the stage and they will learn how to do stand-up comedy. Really loved it, but when I was actually watching it, what I realized that, hey, there's so much of similarities in like stand-up comedy and agile coaching. Now I know this might sound bizarre, but think about it. Okay. So I will ask you to actually think about that question. And the question for this moment is, is human needed for agile coaching? Now what I also realize, because I think I forgot to introduce myself. So who am I? I'm Soma Mazumdar. I'm an independent agile and Kanban coach and trainer. I'm based in Sydney, Australia. And if you would like to connect with me, that's my details up there. So please connect with me. I would love to chat with you. Okay. So let's make it a bit more interactive. What you can do, you can just take your phone and just scan this code and go to Slido. And when you go to Slido, could you just put in there what according to you sense of humor is? Like if you can put in like, you know, a couple of words there, maybe. So are we ready? Also give me some kind of cue so that I know that you are also receiving everything I'm trying to convey. Maybe a thumbs up would be great. Yes. Okay. Okay. We have a few things coming up, which is good. Okay. I love that answer life. That's so, so good. Let's give everyone a few more minutes. Relaxing is very, I can relate to that. Motivation. Love it. Love. Yes. Awesome. I think, oh, human. I love that. That's so cool. And thank you. Thank you, everyone. Let's get back to our thing. So yes, whatever was there is so relatable. Now, what is actually sense of humor? It is a combination of everything that you have said. But at the end, it's actually someone's, you know, ability to perceive emotions and also appreciate it. Now, when we think about it, now, the definition on the screen, if you don't agree with it, please blame Wikipedia because that's the source of it. So don't blame someone. Now, when we think about sense of humor, what are the benefits? Some of the benefits that I have learned and have been able to observe through different stand-up comedies and everything, or the movies that I watch, is that, you know, like everything that I see there, let's take the example of the stand-up comedy. Whenever a stand-up comedy, like a comedian comes on stage, one of the first things that I have seen or observed is that they really learn how to fail fast. Because if some of their jokes doesn't work, they actually improvise it on the spot. They learn how to take feedback from their audience. So they would actually look around and see that, okay, if the jokes are working or not, if the punchlines are working or not, and if not, they would change it, they would improvise it based on the situation, based on the context, based on the context of the room. They built rapport. So when you can make someone laugh, that's the best kind of, you know, the ice-breaking. That was one of the answer in the Slido as well, which is true. Also, as a stand-up comedian, if sometimes your show doesn't go well, you learn how to handle rejection, which is amazing. And I would like to take the example of the famous comedian and actor Kapil Sharma. So if we remember the incident, what happened to Kapil Sharma in 2017, I'm not going to go into details, because I'm sure most of you would know or remember that incident, where his career was like, you know, the rock bottom after the incident that happened in Australia, the flight in Australia. But what he did, you know, after that, he just bounced back. Like it took some time, but that's how the agile coaching world also worked, right? So we do not have a plan. Like, yes, we do plan, but sometimes the plan doesn't work. And what we do is that we always take feedback from the context, from what's changing around us. And based on that, we change our approach. So that's what I would say. Now, when it comes to humour, humour is present in all cultures, but different in each. I'm sure when I try to say things, you know, like, which is very specific to Indians, it wouldn't make sense in Australia. So once in my first workshop in Australia, I was actually trying to explain. So that was a workshop on EQ. And I was trying to explain the audience that, okay, I would say that I am more like a human labrador, where I do not understand that how much space I should give to others. Because growing up, I am a Bengali. And I have always learned that, you know, like, it's okay to care for each other. It's okay to ask those, you know, like normal questions, which seems very normal to us back in India. But here, people would mind. Like, for example, when I was in India, I wouldn't, I wouldn't think twice before asking someone something a bit personal, like, hey, are you married or single? But here I would, because sometimes it's not taken in a very positive note, because it's like invading someone's privacy. So again, what I'm trying to say here is that humor is very specific to our upbringing to our culture. And so, like, sometimes, whenever we are trying to crack a joke, maybe we need to be more aware of our surroundings. Maybe we need to figure out that where we are, based on the context, the joke might work or might not work. And what I've done here is that I've just coded a reference. So the man your man could smell like is like a old spice ad, which went viral, like, which was a like cultural phenomenon. And I cannot understand why. Maybe that's where it is coming from that maybe I do not understand what like why that was such a big hit in that time. And what is the reason I cannot connect with that. So again, the link is there. If anyone is interested, I can definitely forward you the link, you can have a look. It's like a one minute video. Now, when we are talking about, like, we are talking about humor so much. Well, first, I actually just pause and ask if there is any question. Yeah, so something in the chat so far. Yep. But can I ask all of you who are here, do you have anything to share on the cultural aspect of humor? So, Anjali says it's really important to consider this because you can really offend someone to turn them off. So. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Thanks, Anjali. Yes, and I have done that, you know, like multiple times and talking from my experience. So this whole talk is based on my experience and observation, what I have faced coming from a different culture to a different culture. And also, like going into the world of agile coaching, we sometimes think, you know, agile coaching is not only about processes and framework, it's about real people. And when it is about real people, all these things are very much applicable. It is always based on the context. You cannot just go and apply a solution to a problem. I mean, the problem might seem similar, but then if the context is different, if the background story is different, everything changes. So again, when it comes to humor and agile coaching, there are so many similarities. Like for example, if we are talking about the benefits that we have learned about humor, the same thing applies to agile coaching, because all those benefits helps us to build our relationship with other people, with our coachee, with our client, with customer. So it's really, really important to understand the context. And who likes to go into a boring meeting, you know, like where no one talks, no one says anything, it's just like, look at a screen and then get out of there. It's boring also, we don't know if it is productive or not. So getting a little bit of humor in your coaching would always be a good idea. Well, I do not have a very good sense of humor, but I think sometimes I just make people laugh somehow. I'm not sure how many of you are laughing because I cannot see you all, at least I hope you are enjoying the memes. So the coaching stance is actually the humor stance. And why is that? Whenever it comes to humor, it is always about the EQ. So as a comedian, as a stand-up comedian, you have to have a really high EQ. So the EQ about your social awareness, because when it comes to EQ or emotional intelligence, there are four elements to it. The first one is self-awareness, where you should know how you can control your own emotions. The second part is self-regulation, where you should know how you can, like what triggers you, but then how you can actually manage that emotion. The third one is social awareness, which is really important as a comedian, but also as a coach, because you need to understand who is sitting around you, who are your customer, your client, your coaches. So if you don't understand them, you won't be able to help them. So that's where the social awareness part is coming from. Empathy. Connecting with your audience as a comedian and also connecting with your coaches as a coach is really, really important. So the coaching stance is actually the humor stance. And let me know what you think about that. This is something totally based on my observation I've come up with. So it's not there or verified by any source. So again, we are getting to the end of the session. So in order to be a good comedian, a successful one, you have to have a really high EQ. You really need to be observant, need to be a good listener. And again, in order to become a successful coach, you need to have all these qualities or traits. So in order to be a successfully funny coach, you have to have a very high EQ. And it is not impossible to grow your EQ. So grow it. That's the whole talk is about to find out the similarities between coaching and comedy, comedy and humor, and how maybe we can learn from the other world and apply it in the coaching work and make our coaching stance better. So if I have to ask you one question, is there anything that you are taking away from this talk today and applying it in your day to day world? So that would be it. Thank you. So to be honest, now I understand better why my Gile coaches keep on laughing throughout the day. Well, I try to. But I do understand that the Gile coaches, they really need to read the room, understand their audience, so as to pivot on the fly and ensure they are able to deliver it to the audience they are catering to. Yeah, I think this also quotes the Ford Agile manifesto responding to change over following a plan, which is my favorite one. And also the first one, right, individuals and interactions over processes and tools. So if you think about it, everything that a stand-up comedian does is actually so, so similar. There's not much difference. We just try to create and put them into boxes, but then there's so much we can learn from each other, the different roles that they're out there. I was just saying, you know, how EQ applies in so many places and so I love how it was brought in here in terms of our role as Agile coaches and how Samayu related it to having, you know, a sense of humor and what a person who's a comedian has to consider and think about and how similar that is to how we approach our work as coaches. I loved it. Thank you. Antili, do you have anything to share about your experience that how important EQ is as a coach or like it applies to every role actually. I shouldn't be saying coaches. Oh, absolutely. And I think for coaches, it's absolutely essential, but I think for every one of us, I think that's, you know, often we refer to it as a power skill because it really supports everything else that we do, right? Like if we are not aware of ourselves and of our surroundings, our environments, then it's very, very hard for us to be effectful and impactful. So I think EQ is like foundational, but a sense of humor, I love that because it can really cut through some very tense situations. And when we can laugh at ourselves and, you know, laugh with other people, it kind of releases tension, keeps, you know, creates a safe environment, which is another thing that I think that we, it's so important for us as coaches to be able to create and a sense of humor can really, really make a big difference in that, in creating just psychological safety in a space. Yeah, that's really a good point, which I forgot to mention. Thank you, Anjali. Yeah, psychological safety is absolutely important and sense of humor can actually help you to get there. Yeah. Thank you so much. All right. We are at the end of the session now. So we will be closing the session. Thanks, everyone. And thanks for this wonderful session. Thank you. Thanks, everyone.