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Continuing Education

ESS 914
Tactical Humour: Leveraging the funny to build connections, camaraderie, and community

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Course Outlines
We all love to laugh. But how do we build and leverage our sense of humour to enhance our personal and professional lives? This course examines humour and how it is used tactically in healthcare, education, business negotiations and cross-cultural communications. This interactive three-hour course explores the history of comedy, the four types of humor, how and when we use it, and insights by humorists themselves. The course draws on research from University of Colorado's Humor Research Lab or HuRL, Stanford University, Second City Comedy Sketch Writing Program and Saturday Night Live. Course breakdown: HUMOUR Acronym Humour 101. Why do humans laugh? What other mammals do? An anthropological and sociological theory of laughter to gain historical and social perspective. Understand Your Humour Style. There are four types; discover which fits and how and why we use that type. Managing Others with Humour. Case studies presented that reveal how managers garner better collaboration and communication using humour. Observation. The Humourist's Superpower! Hone your skills to see more. Discover why and how humour makes the strange, familiar and the familiar, strange. Underdog Tactics. Learn the subtle, powerful humour tactics used to gain the upper hand in negotiations. Relate. Connect and appreciate differences in gender, intergenerational, and cross-cultural humour.

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