 Hey everyone, welcome to Kaiser Permanente, Colorado's Arts Integrated Resources Lafisuticals, the virtual edition. I'm at home because of COVID-19. You probably are too. Hold on one second. That's better. Big shout out before I keep going to my son, Aiden, who's helping me film today. Yay! Okay, so what we're going to focus on today, when we talk about laughter as well as today, it's about writing a joke 101. Now, you're probably thinking, writing a joke really want me to write a joke? Yes, I do. You can do this. It's a great way to connect with someone, make something kind of unique because you're the writer, you're writing a joke specifically for them. If that sounds interesting, stay tuned. Why would Kaiser Permanente, a healthcare organization, want to include laughter? Now, of course, we all know the phrase laughter is the best medicine. Of course, that is a very simple answer. That's one thing. Here's a couple other things that you should know. In an article from The Greater Good, there's a conversation around how laughter can show others that we have a similar world view. It may unite us and strengthen our relationships. It brings us together. And right now, we all have a similar world view on we're all trying to figure this out. We don't know what to do. So this is the way that we can work together. It also connects us. This next article is kind of interesting as well. It talks about how laughter may actually inhibit our flight or fight response. So if you're kind of not knowing what to do right now, or you're just kind of angry at everything going on, laughter actually can help us cope with that and deal with that. Now, to be fair, these jokes are not going to get you like on stage performing for the 10,000 people. If they do, I get 15% commission. But no, these are more like cheesy, kind of goofy jokes. But something that you can actually connect with someone, make them kind of smile a little bit. Just have a little lighthearted moment. That kind of connection is what these jokes are great at. Okay, for example, so Aiden, why is COVID-19 not in Antarctica? Why? Because it's so isolated. Dad? Yeah, that's what I'm looking for. Okay, so this is a classic improv joke setup. It's called 185. The setup goes like this. 185 subjects go into a bar. The bartender says, we don't serve subjects in this bar. The subjects say, that's your punchline. This is your setup. Now, how do we get this to here? Watch. Okay, so if you haven't done it, grab a piece of paper and pen. I'll hang up for a second. And then step one, draw two circles or a donut or a lifesaver or use your imagination. I got a paper cut. Putting the paper back on the poster. Okay, now just kind of draw, almost would feel like little like quadrants kind of an area here. Okay, I'm going to do this one out here. And now it's a happy little sunshine. Yay! Okay, now Aiden, in all sincerity, have I told you what to say next? No. Okay, promise? Mm-hmm. Great. Give me a job that you think would be really cool, a really tough job or a really hard job. I know an exciting job. Maybe like a movie director? Movie director it is. Well, Steven Spielberg back there. Okay, so movie director is going to be my subject and I'll show you more in a second. Okay, so movie director is my subject. Let time be your friend right now. Meaning, a lot of times when we try to be funny or witty or anything, we want to think about things and really focus in on them. And don't worry about that. Trust yourself. Trust your brain. You got an amazing brain right there. Let's use it. Okay, so I'm going to, in this circle right here, write the first words or thoughts that come to mind about movie director. So I might say famous. I might say action. I'm going to maybe say cut. I'm going to say the director's chair. I'm going to say Steven Spielberg, since I just said that out loud. Good. Steven Spielberg. Let's see. I'm going to do the funny hat because they have those little funny hats traditionally. In charge. And I'm also going to say Oscars. Okay. Step one. Trust yourself. Go for it. I'll tell you more in a second. Okay, now movie director is my subject. Here's my first thoughts and reactions and things. My next step is to do a couple of words associated with these ones. So famous. I might say star or Hollywood. All right. I'm action. I might say adventure. Or moving. They can't even spell moving or fight. Now you connect these with cut. I might do slice. I might do pieces. However, just go around the circle trusting yourself to come up with what the next layer is. Okay, so I finished my list here. And of course my wise son said, Hey, did Steven Spielberg actually direct stand by me dad? No, Rob Reiner. What are you going to do? It's on the board now. Okay, so now I'm going to take my reactions. I'm going to try to apply them again. Here is my formula. Right. So for example, my first one might be 185 movie directors go into a bar. The bartender says, we don't serve movie directors. 185 movie directors say, ah, cut it out. The director is going to a bar bartender says, we don't serve movie directors in this bar. 185 movie directors say, well, your place is getting zero stars. Bartender says, we don't serve movie directors in our bar. 185 movie directors say, and me and my friends will go somewhere else then. You kind of see it's cheesy. Like I said, I did warn you. But the idea, take this thought, this word and link it. What might be something you see, feel here in a bar? What might happen in a bar where you can connect these thoughts? You're taking these little words and just seeing where they inspire you. Again, just have fun with this, right? I mean, you're trying something new and I think people will really appreciate it that you're also reaching out to them. So if you think of someone who's maybe do something tough right now, I mean, I'm thinking a frontline healthcare worker, you know, nurse, doctor, someone like that. You do 185 nurses go into a bar for them and you send them a little joke to brighten their day. I bet they will love it. Think of the people in your life that you want to connect with, what they're doing, maybe something they're into. If they really love animals, you know, 195 penguins go into a bar. Bartender says, we don't serve penguins in this bar. 105 penguins say, why is everything so black and white with you? Okay, so it's that kind of idea. You just want to reach out to someone and make that connection. Thanks for playing along. Thanks for just trying something new. Have fun with it. Keep laughing and be well.