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Media Kit
Media Medley
The Media Delivers the Message About Humor Power
More than 7,000 television and radio shows, newspapers, and magazines have featured the pioneering work of The HUMOR Project in 175+ countries. Here is a taste:
ASSOCIATED PRESS NATIONAL FEATURE: Good Humor Man
Did you hear the one about the business consultant who turned a hunch about humor into a business? His name is Joel Goodman, and in 1977 he founded The HUMOR Project, Inc., an enterprise that has become a driving force behind the explosion of humor seminars and workshops. Goodman works the lecture circuit, gleefully spreading his message: “Even when we lose perspective and can’t see the lighter side, there are ways to intentionally jump-start our sense of humor.” Goodman is the guru of the humor-training movement. His annual humorfest attracts corporate honchos from such light-hearted luminaries as IBM, Monsanto, DuPont, and Kodak, as well as educators, health-care professionals, therapists, clergy, and regular folks.
DONAHUE:
The HUMOR Project brings us the awareness that smiling and humor can heal us. Yours is a therapeutic undertaking. The HUMOR Project was established in 1977, two years before Norman Cousins’ book. You teach at hospitals, schools, and corporations about humor. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have reminded us, along with a number of other papers, that there are a significant number of corporations that are introducing humor to improve morale and get along better with people.
THE SARATOGIAN: Editorial
Tell people there’s a whole industry tied into humor and they’ll stare at you, waiting for the punch line. It’s no joke. Humor is a serious business. Just ask Saratoga Springs resident Joel Goodman. He has reason to celebrate this weekend as The HUMOR Project hosts its annual international conference in the city. Twenty-two years ago, Goodman founded The HUMOR Project, a locally-based institute that developed an international reach. It was the first, maybe the only, full-time organization focused on the positive power of humor. Goodman has written and edited books and articles about humor, founded LAUGHING MATTERS magazine, appeared on radio and television news and talk shows, and has been a speaker, consultant and workshop leader for conferences and training programs worldwide. The HUMOR Project has provided grants to more than 300 schools, hospitals and social service agencies to help them tap the power of humor. Goodman has been a Business Review businessperson of the year and recipient of the Clown Hall of Fame Lifetime of Laughter Award. The value of humor in achieving and maintaining good health, managing stress and dealing with life at work and home is well documented. At the head of the pack was Goodman, who found a niche and built it into a business so that his parents no longer need to ask, “You do what for a living?” His secret, he has said, is taking his work seriously and himself lightly.
BUSINESS JOURNAL: Humor in the Workplace Theme of Recent Meeting
Talk about humor in the workplace may be dichotomous. But there are people like Joel Goodman, Ed.D., who take humor and its role not only in the workplace, but in our jobs, in medicine, healing, and in our lives- seriously. It was his organization, The HUMOR Project, which recently sponsored a conference on “The Positive Power of Humor & Creativity” attended by over 1200 conventioneers. Goodman spoke at the conference telling attendees that his personal interest in humor came about because his father got sick, requiring life-or-death surgery for an aortic aneurysm, “but a funny thing happened on the way to the hospital. In the short five minutes it took to go from the hotel to the hospital, Alvin (the bellman whose duties included driving the shuttle van) took my mother and me and transformed us into people who were a lot lighter and looser. He had a wonderful light and gentle touch that helped all of us to lighten our load. I marveled at his gift for doing that.” The situation got Goodman wondering, “Do we have to leave this thing called humor to chance? Do we have to wait for the Alvins of the world to cross our paths just when we need them or can we be more intentional about it?” Goodman’s ponderings eventually led to the founding of his Saratoga-based organization.
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: Humor Me
According to The Wall Street Journal, companies are now hiring humor consultants to reduce employee stress and to inject the restorative powers of laughter into the workplace. So I recently called Joel Goodman, who as director of The HUMOR Project in Saratoga Springs, NY, has conducted humor seminars for I.B.M., the C.I.A., the F.B.I., and the I.R.S. Having been audited by the I.R.S. some years ago, I can speak with some authority: this is a funny, funny group of people.
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Gigglemeister Inspired to Invent HUMOR Project
After The HUMOR Project was born, Goodman became a clearinghouse for humor research, a world-traveling speaker about the power of humor and a self-styled Johnny Humorseed. “We were the first kids on the block doing this,” says Goodman, whose wife, Margie Ingram, coordinates The HUMOR Project’s annual conference. Goodman estimates that he has personally reached one million people in years of speaking and that he answers 50,000 letters a year “from all over the planet.” “He’s really the guru of all this,” says Sheila Feigelson. They also share a bit of their success. The organization has passed out about 300 “humor grants” to spread good cheer in hospitals, schools, libraries, drug treatment centers, even prisons.
THE DAILY REFLECTOR: ACCENT SUNDAY: Laughing Matters
Something funny doesn’t always happen on the way to the office. And when the responsibilities pile up, so does the stress. International speaker Margie Ingram says humor helps lighten the load. “Humor has a lot of benefits,” she said. “It connects people, reduces our stress and can physically make us feel better. Humor is like any new skill. The more we practice it, the easier it will come.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Jane Brody’s Personal Health
Consider how you can foster your own sense of well-being by various measures to increase your “laugh-ability.” Dr. Joel Goodman recommends the following: (1)Start looking for the absurd, silly, incongruous activities that go on around you; (2)Take a 5- to 10-minute humor break each day. Read jokes, add to a humor notebook, listen to a funny tape, play with a small child; (3)Practice “tongue-fu,” a verbal form of martial art. Prepare quick retorts and creative punch lines to disarm predictable verbal attacks; (4)Avoid sarcasm and ridicule. Concentrate on esteem-building humor, not quips that are self-degrading or demeaning to others.
CBS THIS MORNING:
This is the story of one consultant who is laughing all the way to the bank… and just about everywhere else he goes. That’s because laughing- and getting others to do the same- is his job. At his annual humor conference, Goodman puts on a comic full-court press. The goal is not necessarily to make people funnier; it’s to help them learn to have more fun. But it’s not just fun and games. Goodman has made a career for himself by helping others to lighten up theirs. People from all over the world have learned Goodman’s tricks of the humor trade by ordering from his storehouse of inexpensive books, tapes, and props. The point is this: humor makes you take yourself less seriously, and when you take yourself less seriously, you are more likely to be able to see different answers in the same questions.
USA TODAY: Happy Employees Are More Productive
No one takes humor more seriously than Joel Goodman, who touts the virtues of comedy and sponsors an annual humor conference. Goodman founded The HUMOR Project 23 years ago to promote the power of humor and creativity. The author of Laffirmations: 1,001 Ways to Add Humor to Your Life and Work is wrapping up his next book, Chicken Soup for the Laughing Soul.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Front Page
Laughter is big business, as companies seek ways to break office tension. Companies are increasingly hiring humor consultants to help reduce employee stress and burnout. “Everyone uses the expression “Someday we’ll laugh about this.’ Why wait?” says Joel Goodman, director of The HUMOR Project. More than 1000 managers, educators and others are expected to attend The HUMOR Project’s Positive Power of Humor and Creativity Conference in Saratoga Springs.
THE CHINA JOURNAL: Dr. Goodman Uses Humor To Cure Taipei’s Stress
The Chicago firm of Hodge-Cronin conducted a survey in which 737 chief executives said they would be more likely to hire someone with a good sense of humor. Goodman said executives praise humor as an effective way to relieve tension, build morale, and bring new perspectives to serious problems. If employees are more effective in handling stress, they will be more productive and experience less burn-out.
SELF MAGAZINE: 8 Quick Ways to Hone a Creative Edge
Creativity has long been considered the province of the painter, the poet and the inventor. But a new breed of “creativity consultants” has a different message: Innovative thinking is vital to all of us who are trying to solve life’s problems, further our relationships and our jobs and get through the day with as much originality as we can muster. “Creativity isn’t limited to some designated artistic class of people,” says Joel Goodman. “All of us have access to a creative capacity; it comes with being human. Without it, we couldn’t survive as a species. Getting in touch with that creativity is to empower ourselves.” In fact, the ability to look at the world around you from different perspectives is one of eight key components of the creative edge outlined at a recent annual conference, “The Positive Power of Humor & Creativity,” sponsored by The HUMOR Project.
JOHN STOSSEL ON ABC NEWS: The Mystery of Happiness
Goodman is called a “humor consultant.” Companies pay him to teach workers how to lighten up. They’ve found that improves morale and productivity. Goodman teaches people to look for the humor, to find an excuse to laugh. If you look for it, he says, you’ll be happier. Goodman’s clients believe- they include IBM, DuPont, Disney, the FBI, and the IRS. Be grateful for that if you don’t get your tax return in on time.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: Lobbyist for Laughter
“For us, humor is fun, but not just for fun,” remarks Joel Goodman, author of Laffirmations: 1,001 Ways to Add Humor to Your Life and Work. The HUMOR Project supplies speakers for corporations, operates a bookstore/mail-order operation offering humor books from all publishers. In addition, Goodman is compiling Chicken Soup for the Laughing Soul with Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.
PREVENTION MAGAZINE: Comic Relief
These days, a growing number of health professionals are talking about the importance of humor, laughter, and play for people who are ill, their families, and their care givers. “Laughter is a positive contagion that’s spreading in the medical world,” asserts Joel Goodman. Goodman notes that hospitals have set up humor and positive-emotion rooms, and many others have “humor carts.”
NEW YORK TEACHER: The Laughing/Learning Link
“One of the keys to learning how to use humor in the classroom is broadening our perspective of humor,” said Goodman. “You don’t have to turn into a stand-up comic,” he said. Introducing humor might be as simple as wearing a button like Goodman’s. It shows Charlie Brown lamenting to his pal Snoopy: “I’m still hoping that yesterday will get better.” Goodman said that humor can help us bridge the gap between the excellence we seek daily and the imperfection that is human nature. “Being able to laugh at ourselves is a key way of closing that gap,” he said. “Teachers need to give themselves that gift and to help their students develop their ability to laugh at themselves.”
THE SARATOGIAN: Humor Brings Smiles Around the World
The first time HUMOR Project director Joel Goodman visited South Africa, the country needed a good laugh. It was 1992. Two years before, Nelson Mandela had been freed after 27 years in jail. The nation was at unrest. Two days before Goodman left for his trip, 100,000 people had marched on Pretoria. Goodman was part of a multiracial, multinational team to take a look at humor and creativity as tools for change. Since Goodman’s first trip, Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and elected president of South Africa. Goodman made his second trip to South Africa in 1998. He gave the keynote address “Chicken Soup for the Laughing Soul: A Recipe for Humor in Your Life, Your Business, Your Country” at the 4th Annual International Creativity Conference in Pretoria. “For me, it was profound to see the creative transformation in moving from hatred in a system like apartheid, which disrespects humanity, to love and empathy,” Goodman said.
THE NEW YORK TIMES: How Punch Lines Bolster the Bottom Line
“There has been a dramatic increase in corporate interest in humor and in the number of requests for programs on humor for managers and other employees,” said Dr. Joel Goodman, director of The HUMOR Project, a clearinghouse for humor research. The interest in humor is a sign of the times. Companies see a dose of humor as a remedy to reduce tensions and motivate workers. “We are going from a climate where humor was belittled, or considered subversive, to a situation where it is highly prized,” Dr. Goodman said.
READER’S DIGEST: ‘Tis the Season for Relief
On his way to the hospital where his father was to undergo surgery, author and educator Joel Goodman shared a hotel courtesy van with the anxious relatives of several patients. The driver began telling his stressed-out passengers a few jokes. “In that five-minute ride he taught us that humor can relieve our stress.” The surgery was successful, and Goodman was so moved by his experience that he researched laughter’s power. “A good laugh relaxes muscles, lowers blood pressure, suppresses stress-related hormones and enhances the immune system,” he says.
SARATOGA LIVING MAGAZINE: Laugh Doctor Prescribes Wit for 25 Years!
Recognized worldwide for his innovative work, Joel Goodman has logged untold miles bringing smiles to the faces of more than two million people. Past keynote speakers and honorees at his annual conference have included Steve Allen, Sid Caesar, Victor Borge, Gilda Radner, David Hyde Pierce, Jay Leno, Art Buchwald, Al Roker, Bob Newhart, Soupy Sales, Meadowlark Lemon, Mark Russell, the Smothers Brothers, and more.
SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA) MORNING HERALD: Haha, Hoho, It’s Off to Work We Go
American author Joel Goodman, the summit’s keynote speaker, is known as the world’s first full-time humour educator. “There’s an important difference between behaviors that are childish and perspectives that are child-like,” Dr. Goodman said. “Having a child-like perspective actually could be a mature adult coping mechanism.”
AARP BULLETIN: It’s No Joke: Humor Heals
The power of humor is at work… it is promoted by organizations like The HUMOR Project, Inc. through international conferences and training workshops. Journals, newsletters and Web sites are devoted to it… For a good time, call The HUMOR Project.